When you run a business one of the most important things to aide your progression is to reflect. Reflect on what has worked with your business and what has not worked. With the end of the year near you have the perfect opportunity to look back and assess.
Today we will re-cap 2016 in terms of Content Marketing.
What is content marketing ?
It's the guy that sticks around no matter who leaves the party. It can be hard yakka trying to keep up with forever changing marketing ideas. What's hot now may not even be close to being hot in March 2017. Content marketing will always be hot. So invest your time smartly.
Engaging your clients and their expectations is paramount when working on your content marketing strategies.
How does Content Marketing help you reach your goals ?
The most powerful aspect of content marketing is allowing your customers/clients to get to know you behind closed doors. It allows them to relate to you and almost feel connected at a personal level rather than a consumer level. This allows you to build relationships with your customers. According to Kapost 78% of consumers believe businesses that create original content are more open to creating a relationship with their customers.
Another way it works is through catching your clients attention right when you need it. 68% of customers are likely to spend time reading content by brands they are interested in (the-cma.com). This means when writhing your content and engaging your consumer you have the opportunity to slip in some sneaky advert to current products down the bottom or even in the content.
So what are the top 5 tips of 2016 ?
1. Know who you are writing your content for. Creating a buyer persona should be done before you even start your journey. This will make the creation of your content a lot easier than if you didn't know who it should appeal to.
2. Create a blogging timetable. Make it consistent so customers know they can rely on you. For example Blog every Monday, Wednesday and Friday - not every now and then. This is important to keep in mind so you don't over commit yourself. If you can only blog once a week, stick to that same once a week and increase as you can.
3. Push your content through all avenues. One of the beautiful things about content marketing is that you can repurpose it. If you write a blog on your website share it to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Instagram (you get the picture?). The more people you reach and refer back to your website - the better your ranking .
4. Use your network of influencers. Who gives off what you want your company to resonate with? Share their social media posts, write about them, link them to your blog - just connect with them. You will then effectively reach their market through association. Smart.
5. Keep up with the times. Subscribe to anything and everything relevant to make sure your in the know of your industry. Keep your content with what's trending and don't fall behind.
If you use 2017 to implement these 5 tips to start - you will be on a brighter route towards a successful business.
