Marketing without great content is impossible.
Only 42% of marketers believe they are effective in their content marketing efforts, so it sounds like some of you need a helping hand!
Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach, focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience and drive profitable customer action. Basically it’ s all about creating beautiful, engaging content that’s tailored to your target audience.
Did you know Content Marketing costs 62% less than traditional marketing and generates about 3 times as many leads?
1. Use a Content Management System
A CMS, or content management system, is a great way to manage all of your content in one place.
If you've ever struggled with trying to find the right version of a document or people leaving who have all the login details then using a CMS will be a gamechanger for you.
An effective CMS can:
- Make cross-team collaboration easy
- Make planning more manageable
- Alleviate concerns about accessibility
With Zym's Content Studio you can do all of this and more. It connects to other areas of the platform like our campaign builder so adding content to your campaign is super easy.
2. Document Your Content Strategy
We know most marketers would rather be doing than planning but it's a crucial part of any strategy and perhaps even more so when it comes to content.
While time frames and schedules can change throughout the year it's much better to have an idea of what's going to be delivered and when; especially if you plan on working with externals or need to allow time for design work.
Also creating a content marketing plan GANTT can be great for productivity and team morale as everyone knows what they should be doing, when and how it fits in with the wider strategy.
3. Find the Revelvant Content Topics with Topic Research
Sometimes it can be tricky to find out which topics you should be making content about, it’s important that your valuable time isn’t ‘wasted’ on a topic that may not resonate with your audience.
We suggest using a tool like SEMrush’s Topic Research Tool, for example a quick search of marketing automation gives me great ideas.
We know that getting that initial starting point is sometimes the biggest hurdle so using a tool like this should help open up the floodgates. Team morale as everyone knows what they should be doing, when and how it fits in with the wider strategy.
4. Tailor Your Content to Fit Each Stage of the Buyer's Journey
Serve the right content to the right person at the right time!
Keep saying this to yourself while you’re writing your content because in today’s digital world your customers are being bombarded from every angle so you need to make sure you stand out from the noise.
Using personalised content that’s relevant to which stage in the buying cycle they are in is vital, for example is a prospects opens and clicks the first email you send them it doesn’t mean they are ready to book a demo or see a pricing guide, you need to nurture prospects through the funnel with clearly defined content for each stage.
This will lead to the prospect feeling valued and that you respect their time.
With Zym's Audience Studio you can do all of this and more. It connects to other areas of the platform like the blog builder and content studio to attribute content to specific stages of the buyers journey, meaning you can clearly identiy if you are low on content for a certain stage.
5. Find Out What Your Customers are Interested In
Asking customers directly is a great way to achieve this, either by surveys or a user group. However not all customers will be willing to spare their time in providing this feedback to you directly so you may have to hit the forums, LinkedIn groups, Discord servers etc.
When your prospects are interacting with their peers they are much more likely to be open and honest so jumping into these types of conversation could provide a deep well of ideas for you to draw from.
6. Infographics and Illustrations
Research shows that 38% of marketers planned to leverage infographics for the first time in 2022. This shows us that it’s still a relatively new way of presenting and digesting content which means it’s a great time for you to get stuck in and be at the forefront of this new trend.
Infographics and illustrations are much more easily consumed by your prospects than text only content and they can be a great way of piquing interest in a certain topic which should drive them to download more of your content!
7. Leverage Other Brands with Cross Promotion
I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine, not literally of course but tapping into another brands audience is a great way to increase your own brand awareness and generate leads.
Whether it’s a new target market you’re trying to break into or just expanding your own reach, cross collaboration is a great way to do it.
Make it your goal in 2023 to find and form new partnerships, ideally with brands that share your ethos, hosting joint webinars or workshops are a great example of this but it can be something as simple as a competition with both brands putting up prizes.
8. Leverage Micro-Influencers
Let’s stay focused on leveraging because it’s a big world out there and it’s full of influencers and potential partners.
First off, what is a micro-influencer?
Well it’s generally something with a social media following bigger than a regular person but not as big as a celebrity, which could be anything from 1,000 to 100,000 followers.
Micro-influencers are a great choice because they are generally better for your budget and generate higher engagement rates. Research says, that 82% of consumers are ‘highly likely’ to follow a recommendation made by a micro-influencer. This is because they form a closer relationship with their followers which makes them seem more trustworthy.
9. Newsjack the Hot News and Events Stories Throughout the Year
This is a great way to get your brand name in the mix with some top trending stories, it’s all about creating relevant content around a big event or popular news story. For example, the death of a famous person, national holidays and celebrity actions.
Using a site like Trends24 you can see what hot topics are trending on twitter, then you can shoehorn these trends into your content to boost your normal reach. Don’t forget to include hashtags and tag other companies for maximum exposure.
Want to know the other 10 methods? Download our FREE guide to get the juicy info!
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