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5 ways quality content affects your content marketing

5 ways quality content affects your content marketing

5 ways quality content affects your content marketing

There is no denying the fact that quality content is the core building block of a well-established digital marketing strategy.

A compelling and well-structured content shares your brand story and ultimately helps in viewer conversion.

Besides imparting the necessary information, quality content is engaging that helps to grasp and retain the viewer’s attention.

It also triggers their inquisitiveness which makes them want to learn more about the topic.

Every digital marketer, as well as business experts, know the value of high-quality content.

Simply speaking, if you don’t put enough emphasis on generating quality content, no marketing strategies, no matter how good they are, will work.

What is high quality content?

Before divulging further into the ways quality content affects marketing, let us first understand what it exactly is.

Its common characteristics include informative, and helpful.

Quality content also helps to answer all the probable questions regarding the topic.

Moreover, it is unique and original and targets human readers and not search engines.

However, sometimes even the most talented writers commit errors that degrade the content quality.

For example, they make it complicated and therefore hard to understand.

Poor content is also unoriginal, irrelevant, monotonous and tries to manipulate the readers by sharing false information.

Thus, these need to be avoided at all costs.

5 ways quality content impacts marketing

Better conversions

The content you post on your page is one of the primary factors that influence conversions.

The information educates the reader about your brand and its services, a crucial step that determines their purchasing decision.

Besides this, the content also helps to establish a connection between the customer and the company.

This is especially important in the case of blogs as they have immense potential to attract traffic.

I recommend you use original graphics instead of stock photos in your content as the former is more effective due to its uniqueness.

Moreover, please make sure to guide readers on the next step they should take and always include a Call To Action (CTA) button.

Earn customer trust

As already stated above, one of the most common characteristics of quality content is its value and helpfulness.

If readers derive both of these things from your content, they are more likely to put their trust in your brand.

In recent times, buyers have become more cautious, and they do not like to read pretentious content that tries to oversell.

They want to make their own decisions.

Informational and quality content allows them to take their own time to make educated decisions and purchase your company’s services or products.

There is no point in trying to bamboozle or manipulate a modern customer.

They would want to stay loyal to a brand that is successful in delivering all the promises that had been mentioned in the content.

Stand out in the market

High-quality content enables you to stand out from the rest of your competitors in the industry.

Simply speaking, it puts you in a position of authority.

If your website content is credible and informational, there is a good chance of gaining a higher search engine rank, which in turn attracts a higher number of customers.

Quality content also showcases your expertise in the particular field and answers the readers’ inquiries.

Thus, you appear as an industry expert which increases your brand’s trustworthiness.

New business opportunities

Besides gaining more customers, quality content might also attract new investors and business partners.

There is no need to hard sell your business products and services when high-quality content already exists on your website.

If your blog post or some other content featuring yourself or your company succeeds in creating a favorable impression, several profitable investment or partnership opportunities might arise which will help in your business growth.

Save money

There is no denying the fact that marketing is a costly process.

Besides, the money charged by freelancers or in-office full-time writers, you might have to spend way more money on digital marketing strategies such as paid searches if the content is not up to mark.

If you compare marketing methods such as traditional marketing, display advertising and content marketing, there is no better process than content marketing if you wish to garner a greater audience on a limited budget.

How to write quality content?

Now that we have a brief idea of what quality content is and the role it plays in marketing, it is important to know how to write it.

Please remember that you are writing content for the audience and not for yourself or the search engines.

You must consider what your audience would like to read about and make sure to answer and solve all their probable questions and problems regarding the topic.

Research is extremely important.

You need to devote ample amounts of time to proper research.

This not only helps in making the content informational and accurate but also builds language proficiency.

Please make sure that your content is not just informational in a bland way.

People would not prefer reading the entire article if it’s not engaging and captivating enough.

The content structure is also included in this.

There need to be proper headings and subheadings and original images.

Readability also plays a significant role.

People would not like to spend their time deciphering or decoding hard words and complicated sentences.

Moreover, quality content is credible and trustworthy.

As already mentioned before, modern buyers do not prefer hard sales that do not live up to their expectations.

Wrapping up

Thus, we can conclude that high-quality content is a principal factor that determines the success of a digital marketing campaign to a large extent.

It establishes a level of trustworthiness with your target audience and provides them with interesting and valuable information that cannot be found elsewhere.

Track the traffic and leads generated by specific content such as a blog post to ensure if it is doing well.

Lastly, please remember that in the long run, content quality overtakes quantity.

10 different ways content marketing benefits your business

10 different ways a business can benefit from content marketing

10 different ways a business can benefit from content marketing.

It is always good to revisit our blessings. We all know the benefits of content marketing and I have written multiple times on my blog how you can gain from content marketing.

I came across this blog post – Top 10 business benefits of content marketing – on Search Engine Journal, and thought of sharing it here.

Some years ago, I published this YouTube video on 6 advantages of content marketing.

 

Content is everywhere on the Internet. You visit a website and you read its web page or blog post, it is content.

You visit a social media or social networking website, and you go through your timeline, it is content.

You watch a YouTube video, it is content.

Through content, you build your platform. When you regularly publish blog posts on your blog, people visit your blog regularly. They pay attention to what you have published. It becomes your broadcasting platform.

The beauty of content marketing is that people are drawn to your website or blog on their own. You do not need to tell them to visit your website.

Why is content marketing so effective?

Because instead of promoting your product or service, you are providing useful information to people. You help them solve problems. You make them feel informed and intelligent.

It is like TV channels. Only, TV channels do not usually sell products (some do). They entertain you. They inform you. They show your content you love to watch. While you are watching that content, they show you advertisements. They make money off those advertisements. They have built platforms. They have built audiences. They make use of those audiences. The same thing applies to content marketing.

When you provide them useful information, on an ongoing basis, they begin to respect you. They want to keep track of what you are publishing. They will go to extra lengths to subscribe to your email updates or follow you on social media, or make sure they visit your website or blog regularly.

I provide content writing services. When people visit my blog, even if they are reading blog posts on the various aspects of content writing, even when I am not asking them to hire me as their content writer, they know that I write professional content.

It is because my website and my blog are branded in such a manner that you cannot help but notice that I provide professional content writing services.

But I am not forcing anyone. I get repeat visitors because of my content marketing efforts and over a period, they begin to remember that I provide professional content writing services and I share lots of information on the subject.

The Search Engine Journal author has mentioned the following benefits of content marketing in the above-linked blog post…

  1. Content marketing increases your organic search engine rankings because you publish authoritative content.
  2. Consequently, you get more organic traffic from search engines.
  3. Since your rankings improve, it becomes easier for influencers and blog publishers to find your content and link to it, therefore, sending more referral traffic your way.
  4. More social engagement is facilitated through content marketing as, when you publish useful and relevant content, people talk about it on their social media timelines, or at least, interact with you on your own social media timelines.
  5. You publish targeted content to make customer journey meaningful, engaging, and informative.
  6. You begin to enjoy higher conversion rate because you get more targeted traffic from search engines, social media platforms, as well as other referral websites.
  7. Content marketing inspires you to publish multiformat content. This does not just get your content found through multiple means, it also makes it easier for people to consume your content in their preferred formats.
  8. The content that you publish for your content marketing campaigns is usually evergreen content. If it is relevant today, it is also going to be relevant after a couple of years.
  9. Content marketing also prompts you to use original research data.
  10. There is long-term cost saving. Content marketing costs you much less compared to traditional marketing and advertising.

I always tell my clients that content marketing (also content writing) is not a one-off affair. It is an ongoing effort. Why is it an ongoing effort?

Huge quantities of content are constantly being added and then being crawled by search engines and being displayed by social media platforms. If you think that you can publish content for a few weeks and then go on with what you are doing without publishing new content, your content is soon taken over by people who are publishing content more aggressively, and with a stringent routine.

Hence, content marketing certainly has its benefits, but just like any other marketing effort, it requires persistence and strategy.

An All-Inclusive Guide To Creating A Content Calendar

Guide to creating a content calendar

Guide to creating a content calendar.

Bill Gates, Diane Hendricks, Warren Buffet, and Oprah Winfrey.

Apart from being billionaires, what is a common thread among these highly successful individuals?

The power of ‘organization’ is an enviable characteristic.

All content creators have felt the need to be a little more organized and disciplined about their schedule at some point or the other.

A content calendar does just that!

Have a schedule to prepare and plan your content posting.

Hope you’re on onboard because we’re going to find just how to do so:

Meaning & Definition

Think of it as an editorial calendar.

Like your mom plans grocery shopping, cooking, arranging, taking care of your (unnecessary) needs, and working!

You too can plan when to post your next piece on great white sharks, status updates about your upcoming music, announcing a partnership with your favorite content creator (you’ve been waiting for this but it needs some build-up!)

Other updates regarding your content and promotional activity!

Where Can I Do It

While the medium is only a means to an end, it is necessary to pick one that you’re comfortable and quick in.

Your options are Microsoft Excel, Google calendar, Google sheets, Looming, Co-schedule, editorial calendar plugin for WordPress, to name a few.

The selection of a content calendar tool depends on your team, your content, and familiarity.

Don’t be afraid to try a few to pick the one that’s best suited to your line of work.

How To Do It?

Step One – repurpose & start with what you have

Remember that old pitch you made to a brand you wanted to work with?

You can break it down into articles, personal blog posts, or videos for your website / social media handle.

Step Two – the best content will come from your friends, family, and coworkers

Setting up a workstation and traveling to look for interesting interviewees can take up too much time.

The best intimate, personal, and spontaneous moments are discovered with the people who know you the best!

Especially for vloggers and influencers, this allows you to be more productive when it comes to scheduling, marketing, and blogging, all at the same time.

While your followers get a peek into your life, you also save time chasing other people for interviews!

Step Three – creating your kind of content – find your usp

Depending on what your forte is, you should create more effective and impactful videos on your preferred medium.

Improve your social media presence by creating relevant content that strikes a chord with your audience.

You can do this in the following ways:

This involves two types of content –

  1. Regular Content –

All types of podcasts, webinars, reports, a series of videos, etc that fall under the same theme and structure.

Your content could be entertaining, informative, or both.

Know who your audience is and keep reaching out to them by updating your content.

Regular posting – Posting every once in a week is a good lesson on how to properly update your content for SEO.

Plus, this means you can reach out to newer subscribers or followers on Instagram or YouTube.

  1. Special Content –

Campaigns, research papers, and contests are less regular and don’t need as much posting but require more attention to detail.

Since your audience knows your stance and voice, these types of posts need more research and must be carefully planned out for release.

An example of this would be a collaboration with an NGO or an informative show.

Step Four – editorial meetings

While planning and creating content, you are likely to miss out on sitting down with your team and discussing your evolving strategies.

It is also a great opportunity to discuss pending timelines, newer product collaborations, ideas, social media activity, and feedback.

This is a good place to change and tweak your content for last-minute changes to increase customer satisfaction and improve response time before publishing.

Statistics regarding your revenue model and engagement can be discussed and brainstormed.

Step Five – have a content repository

Does your content calendar seem full of things to do and ideas to execute? That’s okay.

You will always want to take inspiration from previous experiences and moments.

A content repository is a storage, like your journal – with your ideas, thoughts, and your work – complete and incomplete.

It’s like a safe space for your work that you can come back to whenever you want to.

Step Six – make it shareable

You can edit your content calendar from time to time but let it be accessed and viewed by your team as much as possible.

Since content is never created alone, it is ideal to have the people working with you to be aware of your expectations, timelines, and deadlines.

This way, everyone works together in making sure that the best work is completed.

You can even share it with your mentors and peers, people whose feedback is important to you.

Step Seven – change is the only constant

Lastly, make sure that you update your content calendar as much as you can.

Regular updates will allow you to evolve and change your process according to the situation to target your potential customers granularly.

This way, you can also allow time for creative discussions and set aside time for ideation whenever required.

Conclusion

If there was one thing I had to leave you with, it would be this – there’s no right or wrong way to create a content calendar.

Start with a template and then commit to the realistic deadlines you set yourself for better productivity and an overall better work ethic.

Email marketing dos and don’ts during the Covid-19 pandemic

Email marketing during the coronavirus outbreak

Email marketing during the coronavirus outbreak

Businesses all over the world are being hit hard as the world reels under the scourge of Covid-19 (popularly known as the Coronavirus).

Thousands are dying. Hundreds of thousands are being infected. Businesses are being shut. Employees are being laid off.

At the time of writing this, there are almost 190,000 Coronavirus cases in the US and the death toll surpassing 12,000 in Italy (source). India has crossed the 1600 mark.

In this atmosphere of extreme chaos, how do you keep your business running?

By “keep your business running” I don’t mean promoting your products and services and asking people to buy them when they are in no position to buy them.

What I mean is, how do you maintain contact? How do you reach out to your customers and clients who may be affected by the pandemic, in various degrees?

What sort of emails should you send to your mailing list?

People are not interested in business offers because they are dealing with a much bigger problem.

On the other hand, you shouldn’t put a stop to your usual communication with your customers and clients.

In fact, this is the right time to inculcate a sense of normality, without aggressively promoting yourself.

Talk about the Covid-19 pandemic

Image source: Science News.

This Inc. article suggests that you should address the problem head on. Talk about the Coronavirus pandemic or the Covid-19 outbreak and how it is affecting practically everyone, directly or indirectly.

At the time of an outbreak, people want to be informed. They want to get the latest information.

If you have a mailing list, you already have a platform to raise awareness about the virus.

I often order medicines from an online medicine delivery service. Recently they sent a very nice infographic on how to practice social distancing and how to wash your hands properly to keep yourself from getting infected.

There was no marketing message.

Pretty much everyone is aware of the importance of social distancing and properly washing hands, but the infographics was pretty nicely done.

Inculcate hope amidst negativity

Everyone is stressed out. Even if people are not sick, they are confined to their homes. They are losing their livelihoods. Their sources of income are vanishing.

Whenever you come across positive news, share it with your mailing list, with your subscribers or your blog readers.

If new medicine is been discovered, let it be known to your customers and clients.

If immunity can be improved, let it be known to your customers and clients, how.

If there are examples of communities pushing back the outbreak, talk about it.

Spread positivity. Show genuine concern.

You can also share your own experience of how you’re coping with social distancing

Should you completely ditch non-coronavirus updates?

This blog post seems to say so.

Dismiss all non-virus stories out of hand. There is room for stories about other topics, just think through how they’ll be received in the current climate.

I personally believe as long as you are genuine, you can talk about anything. Of course, you have to be sensitive about the situation – not just pretend to be sensitive but be actually sensitive.

Everyone can relate to the need for carrying on. Everyone knows that the world is not ending. This dark phase is going to pass. People haven’t stopped working. They simply work from their homes.

They still have to use services. There are many products that they still need.

These days I’m continuously coming across updates on how you can use Zoom better.

I’m getting G Suite updates on how to work better from your home.

There are many cloud-based services that are promoting themselves because people need them.

More people seem to be inquiring about my content writing services because they think that while they wait at homes, they can work on improving their SEO and generate better content for their websites now that other things are on hold.

So, business, career, livelihood and marketing are realities of our times. People don’t mind marketing. But people mind if you just focus on marketing.

Instead, focus on providing help. Focus on being there. Figure out how you can help people using the business assets you have built.

Use your blog to publish useful information. Use your mailing list to disseminate useful information. Use your social media profiles to raise awareness.

We can deal with this. We will emerge victorious.

 

Why aren’t your customers paying attention to your content?

Why aren't your customers paying attention to your content?

Why aren’t your customers paying attention to your content?

No matter how many blog posts you publish, no matter how many videos you upload, no matter how many updates you share on social media and social networking websites, your customers don’t pay attention to your content.

It’s frustrating.

Unless they pay attention to your content, how are you going to draw their attention and consequently, lead them to your website, blog or landing page, and unless that happens, how are they going to buy from you?

This Forbes article rightly says that for your customers to pay attention to your content, you must first understand who your customers are:

Defining exactly who your consumer is — and I mean truly knowing the consumer persona you want to speak to. Maybe for your brand, this includes multiple personas, and in that case, great!

I also face this problem when writing content for my clients.

Many clients simply want to focus on the keywords they think are important for them rather than providing meaningful content to customers and clients.

And when people don’t pay attention to their content, they wonder what’s the problem.

Fortunately, after playing around with their own ideas, they agree to try out some of my ideas.

Take your personal example. Do you give your attention to everything that comes by?

Or do you pay attention to only those things that interest you?

Similarly, when you want to use content marketing to attract people to your website – especially those people who will become your paying customers and clients – do you make sure that you know what they’re looking for in terms of content consumption?

When you publish a blog post, what objective do you have?

What persona have you defined find?

This brings me to another point: don’t try to please everyone when writing your content, or when getting your content written by a professional content writer.

This dilutes your message and content density.

Take a problem, and solve it.

This blog post, for example, tries to tell you how to make your prospective customers and clients pay attention to your content, and consequently, your business offers.

It does not teach you about content marketing.

It does not try to sell the idea of regularly publishing quality content.

It does not talk about SEO.

It talks about getting the attention of your audience.

What makes people pay attention to your content?

What makes people pay attention to your content?

What makes people pay attention to your content?

When I say content, I mean web content.

The way people read content on the web is totally different from the way they read it in a magazine or in a newspaper.

A magazine or newspaper is not a multimedia experience.

You are not constantly getting notifications. The area that you are viewing is considerably large.on

The consumption of web content happens mostly on a computer screen, on a laptop screen, on a tablet, and mostly, these days, on the mobile screen.

So, whatever attention they are able to pay to your content, you need to make the most of it.

Since I’m a content writer, when it’s content, I mostly talking about written content.

But you can apply the same philosophy to video content, audio content and images and graphics.

How to make people pay attention to your content writing?

How to make people pay attention to your content writing?

Here is a small list of things you can do to get the attention of people when writing content:

  1. Be relevant: Tell them something they can really use to improve their lives.
  2. Be timely: Don’t suddenly wake up and talk of something that happened back in 2003, unless it is relevant right now.
  3. Be trendy: People pay more attention to what’s trending right now.
  4. Deliver what you promise: If you are promising a solution, then deliver a solution.
  5. Write shorter sentences.
  6. Use line breaks after every sentence – makes it easier to absorb one idea at a time especially on a small screen.
  7. Use headings, subheadings and bullet points to make your text scannable.
  8. Use images wherever possible.
  9. Apply law of copywriting – the previous sentence must make the reader read the next sentence.
  10. Use data to make points.
  11. Back up your claims with authoritative references and links.
  12. Write sincerely and with enthusiasm.
  13. Focus less on keywords and more on value.
  14. Personalize as much as possible – this can be achieved by narrowly focusing the subjects of individual web pages and blog posts.
  15. Make yourself familiar by publishing regularly.

Whereas many of the things mentioned above are cosmetic, two things that are very important for the success of your content marketing, to make people pay attention to your content are

  1. Focus on delivering value by clearly understanding your audience.
  2. Be regular.

With so much content being available round-the-clock, it becomes difficult for your target customers and clients to remember you.

If you’re talking about the same old stuff repeatedly then also, it will put people off.

Seth Godin is known to publish a blog post every day, even on Christmas.

He is among the most known people on the Internet, at least among those who take interest in doing business online.

The point is, if you want people to pay attention to your content, offer them something they are interested in.

Offer value regularly.

So regular that they begin to remember you.

It’s easy to pay attention to people you are familiar with.