Top 5 Tips For Content Marketing in 2015, By Tony Burke.
With the first quarter of 2015 coming to a close, and seasonal businesses are preparing for their time in the sun, let’s take a look at cutting through the speculation that surrounds content marketing.
The essence of content marketing is creating stories and using these stories to speak to your audience; past, present and future. Going viral is not the objective, and probably is the most misunderstood concept of digital marketing so far this decade. There are several reasons why you may choose to get involved in content marketing. Maybe you heard it is the big thing, or something like content is king etc. etc. etc. The reasons why you choose to don’t matter, what matters is that you create something, or at least anything, that is original and commit to doing so on a regular basis.
Another popular misconception is that you have to blog regularly to succeed in content marketing, which again is just not true. The secret is in the title, CONTENT. Content can be described as something that is to be expressed through some medium, as speech, writing, or any of various arts: So in the digital world, that means anything from podcasts to videos to blog posts.
The main potential here for local businesses would be to embrace the fact that adding a level of humanity and becoming socially aware can have a huge positive impact on their brand. Remember the goal here is not to be the next big social empire overnight, it is to provide quality levels of knowledge about the business you are in, so when a potential customer sees what you say and do, they have a more informed decision about whether or not to use your services.
Any marketing plan has the following objectives, so take a notepad, thinkpad, googlepad, tablet or good old fashioned spreadsheet and take note of the following as may be appropriate.
CREATE : PROMOTE : CONVERT
1. Plan Your Content Marketing Plan.
OK, keep it simple here. Use the five Ws – Who, What, When, Where, Why.
- Who do you have available within the company that would be able to help with content?
- What can you or they do on a regular basis to provide and promote content?
- When can something you create or think of be incorporated into your website or social media?
- Where do you put the content?
- Why is the content you are thinking about relevant to your potential audience?
Now you should start to think about options of available means to you. Basically you need to come up with a plan of what you can share to the digital world and how often you can do it. Do not think in the short term, the benefits come to those who wait. Plan at least 30 minutes a week to start engaging with small things and do not worry if there is no engagement at first. Plan to ‘Content Market’ at least once a week and commit to it, regardless of what happens.
2. Create Content To Suit Your Audience.
A good use of your time now would be to gain the insight that sharing content that is relative to your business services. For example, how would sharing a picture of the Easter Bunny on a business Facebook page for a tech company make any sense? It does not, but mark my words, in less than 3 weeks, Facebook is going to be littered with Easter related posts from company pages that have nothing to do with Easter. The same principle applies to those who run like and share competitions to win an iPad. Unless you are a marketer for Apple, forget this concept, as one of these days, you are going to have to pay to get the ‘likers’ on your page to unlike you, because it hurts your engagement. Understanding the simplest rules of social engagement here will go a long way, but before that, give a great deal of thought to creating relevance to your content. Post about the human element behind your company – write about your opinions on hot topics within your industry so you can be seen as an authority in the area. Keep it simple, keep it relevant.
3. Find A Resource For Images.
Assuming that taking a course in Photoshop and finding the time to learn how to use it properly is not high on your agenda, try browsing some of these links for suitable images that you are allowed to use: even though you can use photos without credit, it is always a nice idea to credit the source, for digital karma.
http://www.unprofound.com/
http://freerangestock.com/
http://www.gratisography.com/
4. Write, Think And Then Write Some More.
Getting into the habit of thinking about writing can cause a block. Write a bit first, then think, then write some more. Not everything you write needs to be catchy. In fact, very little of what you write will be catchy, or clever, or engaging – but if you are honest and true, somewhere along the line you will find a happy medium. Find a way that works for you, not everyone can sit by computer and type all day long. Be natural, be yourself and be creative.
5. Deliver Your Content To All Your Social Media Channels.
This may be the simplest but most effective method of content marketing. Do not leave you poor blog posts isolated, as they will get lonely. Share yourself wide and far. Engage. Another thing to remember is you do not have to be on every social media channel. Pick 2 or 3 and be regular with your choice.
