Content marketing is pivotal to engagement, social media promotions, new lead generation, and digital marketing efforts. As a matter of fact, the potential of quality content to help support your marketing goals is growing all the time with the introduction of new tactics and strategies to push content development to exciting new places.
It is no longer enough to simply blog on your site and post to social media platforms. You must develop a methodology that delivers smart and effective content creation by focusing efforts on attracting, engaging, and converting your target demographic or audience. Your content must entertain and educate in equal measures if you hope to develop your market identity, brand recognition and seize new opportunities for growth, development, and expansion of your company.
Your business needs a creative and comprehensive content marketing strategy if you want to succeed in the very competitive realm of online marketing and digital promotions.
Identify Buyer Personas
Who are your customers? What segment of the population is your product or service directed at? The better you know your buyer’s personas, the better targeted your marketing efforts can become. Your content needs to address the interests, concerns, operational requirements, spending habits, and even hobbies of this unique demographic. In order to create effective content ask yourself; who is buying from me, what are they like, how do they earn a living, and what do they do in their downtime? By clearly identifying your client’s and customer’s personas you can directly tailor your content for your ideal audience.
Offer Expansive Content Platforms
The modern online marketing environment is incredibly content-rich, as savvy advertisers have recognized the power of quality content for some time now. Simply blogging every couple of weeks is not nearly enough to compete. While not to be ignored, blogging should merely be one of many aspects of a diverse content portfolio.
Going into the new year, consider expanding your content offerings to include white papers, videos, ebooks, webinars, custom visual content, and email newsletters. Think of content as a toolbox; there’s a tool for every job and the more tools you have at hand, the more you can get done!
Mobile and Adaptive Content
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again; 2015 will be the year of mobile dominance. As smartphone and tablet usage continues to grow, so too shall the demand for mobile content. Customers can view and access your content 24/7 on a wide range of different devices. If your content cannot be accessed on mobile devices, you’re missing out on a sizable chunk of the market. A mobile-friendly or responsive website ensures that your content looks great on any device.
Adaptive content is designed to be supported and personalized across all channels. Many businesses swear by the importance of personalizing messages and modern consumers want to see personalization when they access your content.
Visual Content
Visual content is quickly emerging as a power player for modern online marketing strategies. We are incredibly visual creatures and respond dramatically to visual stimuli that peaks our interest. Make video production and the creation of unique visual elements a cornerstone of your 2015 content strategy. It’s a great way to engage and attract, even mobile users. If you’re feeling creative, try developing infographics or memes and even cartoons to highlight your products or services, tell your brand’s story and win over brand loyalists. These tactics work especially well on social media platforms, particularly those with an emphasis on visuals, such as Pinterest.
Website Content Optimization
Nowhere is the quality of your content more important than on your website. Your website content must be kinetic, engaging, and properly SEO’d in order to leverage its marketing potential. The content of your website, be it copy, images, or video, must be designed to attract guests and convert them into customers. It can be either your best salesman or your worst detractor, depending on how much effort you put into its creation.
Bear in mind, however, that even the best content is ineffective if no one sees it. SEO efforts work to improve your website’s search engine ranking, based on the content of your site, to improve your overall visibility. A site with killer content but weak SEO is often less effective than a properly SEO’d rush job.
New Year, New Rules
While it’s impossible to predict exactly what new changes 2015 will bring to the world of digital marketing, the signs are clear. 2015 will be, in many ways, the year of content, and those companies that put in the extra effort to fortify and diversify their content offerings are sure to enjoy great success in the new year.
