Potential customers usually look at several articles, infographics, or videos before deciding to become a buyer. Content marketing is a powerful force in persuading people to try a new brand or to deepen their existing relationship with one.
Strategies evolve with content marketing. What worked a few years ago isn’t always successful today. Here are some suggestions about what to try now.
Add Video Creation to Your Repertoire
Video is growing in usage every year. It used to double annually in the average minutes viewed but now viewing figures are galloping away.
Companies need to differentiate between content that will work best as a blog versus being best presented in a visual medium. There are also blog posts that additionally benefit from the inclusion of a company-produced video.
Also, it’s worth looking at the different video types such as explainer, product demos, and interviews. This can help to vary what’s used to match the preferences of different segments of the audience. Also, sometimes one type will be more visually impactful to get a marketing message across to the viewer; companies must be mindful of this rather than stick to a single presentational style.
Focus on Value Concepts
Dig deep into the value that potential customers would like to receive.
For instance, work with an agency that can connect the benefits of products or services to the marketing message. While features are useful to know, people want to be persuaded that a product or service will solve a problem or make their life easier.
Technically minded companies may love what they produce but struggle to create a compelling story around it. An agency can help to overcome such difficulties.
Authority Matters More Now
Demonstrating authority within the content is important too. With the myriad of available content, authority separates you from the pack.
For instance, health sites now include peer-reviewed articles that an M.D. has reviewed. Similarly, it’s possible to have employees that oversee content for accuracy and relevance, even when it’s outsourced to external writers. Readers can then see that they’ve reviewed the content, even if they didn’t write it.
Re-using Content Across Multiple Platforms
Content that can be broken down into new parts for distribution across multiple platforms or additional channels is useful.
Turning a long-form article into a summarized version for Facebook encourages readers to click-through to the full article. Also, an infographic included within a blog post can be shared widely and attract new views.
Broad content may be divided up into smaller parts for easier digestion on a mobile device. It may even be re-written for use elsewhere.
Less is Sometimes More
Less is sometimes more through quality and customization.
Consumers and business owners only have so much time to consume content each day. Therefore, content producers need to aim for quality and relevance to the target audience over gaining a broader appeal.
Furthermore, sharable content due to being high quality and highly focused allows it to reach a larger audience. This also avoids your content being read today and forgotten by tomorrow.
Content marketing continues to change, shift, and evolve. It’s up to companies to adjust to new realities so they can use this type of marketing more effectively.