It’s pretty boring to hear the same phrase over and over again. Every online marketing guru says “content is king“, but there’s a valuable conclusion hiding behind it. Numerous conclusions, in fact, because there are plenty of reasons why producing great content will prove to be one of your most valuable marketing endeavors.
There are a few reasons why this is happening. The main reason being the fact that the internet revolves around content. If it were about buying and selling products then we would call it a “virtual shopping city” or something else entirely. There would be no Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn without a consistent content stream provided by its users. In their innermost logical core, all of these are content sharing platforms.
But even paid to advertise depends on the content (Content Is King), but the content isn’t just something marketers create. Content comes from an entire organization, mainly from its public-facing parts, the people that directly interact with the customers. In some cases, product development joins the fun too. This has led to a culture, where almost every individual working in the company is becoming a publisher in its own right.
The classical forms of online advertisements, such as videos, banners, and other common formats are becoming less efficient. People started to use ad blockers because of the excessive use of ads only made them angry. So marketers have to find new ways to reach out to their customers. This is where content marketing proves to be the most useful. It’s helpful, entertaining, and educational.
During the content creation process, every department in the company works in close collaboration. Usually, their main goal is to provide some of their expertise in a relevant, easy-to-consume manner. But you don’t have to be an expert to create useful content for your audience, because content can involve just about everything. You can create content about sensors, beacons, vehicles, trips, community events, interviews, and so on.
Yet one of your main goals in this process is to stay ahead of the curve and be better than the rest in some way. So today, we’re going to share some awesome content creation tips with you. But first, let’s go through the numerous benefits of doing some great content marketing (Content Is King).
Why It’s Worth to Invest Into Producing Awesome Content
[ Content Is King ]
Here are some of the main reasons you should always produce a steady stream of content for your company’s site.
It Boosts Your SEO
Having high-quality, unique content on your company’s onsite blog has a powerful effect on its search engine ranking.
Publishing at least 500-1000 words of original content with internal links to other relevant content pieces and naturally placed keywords will significantly help a website rank.
By pushing out such content consistently, you’ll also build the authority of the website and have a solid backlink profile.
It Encourages Customers to Engage With You
Good and useful content, no matter where they find it, will encourage its readers to engage with the brand, even if they don’t realize it. If the content is really good, makes a user think, they will pause to read it and maybe even leave a comment. If it’s bad, they’ll just keep scrolling without a second thought.
This simple reality will help you foster a quality relationship with your audience or you’ll just be another ghost in the cyberspace.
Once you’ve created high quality content, make sure that it’s easy to share with social sharing buttons.
It Increases Traffic
The more good quality and original content (Content Is King) you have, the more people will want to come and see it. It’s the most brilliant way to drive organic traffic to your website and keep customers there.
Good content will show a much smaller bounce rate and encourage the user to interact with the website and visit multiple pages.
Ways to Enhance Your Content
There are plenty of ways that you wouldn’t even think about how much it would improve your content creation process. Here are a few of them.
Always Have a Goal for Each Piece
Before you dive right into creating your next post or video. It’s useful to spend a bit of time with planning.
I’m not talking about creating a complex plan, rather just outlining what you want the content to achieve. And establish a metric through which you can measure whether it was successful or not.
Create Context
The main goal of the content creation process (Content Is King) is to build a relationship with your audience, by giving them something they actually care about. Provide them with three times as much value than what you would ask for.
That creates context and actually makes people care about you and your company. It’s the process of becoming their friend, the guy they turn to for advice and someone they actually trust.
So let’s see the main ways you can create context and be much better at sharing content.
Never Interrupt the User’s Experience
One of the reasons I’ve quit watching TV (besides that it makes me feel stupid). Is the fact that they always interrupt the show you love. If there’s even a bit potential in your favorite series or your favorite movie. It’s bound to be interrupted by numerous infomercials throughout a single hour of air time.
You can’t do anything about it, you just have to bear with it, because they know you will. They’re keeping your favorite show and you as a hostage.
Take into account the context, the platform on which the content will be consumed and never interrupt the customer. If they’re watching your video, they definitely won’t want to sit through an ad, just so you can make an extra buck. They’re watching it because they want to see more of you, so give it to them without interruption. Nobody wants to see something they’re forced to see.
A one-second ad or a banner (like the ones you see on YouTube videos) is okay. It will make you a bit more cash. But it won’t take the control out of the user’s hand and interrupt the experience. Having to watch a 5 second or a minute-long ad video before coming to watch the one you actually came for is annoying as hell.
Just Do What’s Best For Your Story and Forget the Rules
There are plenty of parameters that make a particular content piece successful, but they might not always apply to what you’re creating. Video may prove more effective than written content in many cases.
Every marketing guru shares their own experience on what worked for them and outlines some pretty useful rules that drove their success. But when you’re making actual decisions regarding how you’re going to create your content. Sometimes you should just disregard all the rules.
Think about what works for your story and how you can best represent what you’re going to say. You don’t have to stay within any kind of boundaries anymore. People are looking for authentic stories and a unique, unconventional approach to a certain topic.
Respect Your Audience and The Platform You’re Using
Always respect the mindset that people are in when they’re browsing through your content. You know what a 14-year-old teenage kid or a 40-year-old woman is doing online in general.
You know that she’s more likely to shop on Pinterest than she is likely to try and keep up with the world on Facebook and Twitter. Strategizing around the psychology of the platform itself is what will make your strategy a winner.
The second important thing is to put out content that you know they would like, not content that you would like. Sure, you have to love what you do and what you’re creating. But the main thing is to strike a balance between what you love and what they love.
Make it all about the audience, because readers don’t really care about you. They want to solve their problems as quickly as possible.
So, respect the platform, respect the audience, and push your own agenda once those are done and that’s it.
Push Out Content Consistently and a Self-Aware Manner
Believe it or not, everyone in your audience is keeping track of your personal development as a content creator. Using the same style, talking about the same things, using the same structure in your sentences, and using the same kind of images will make you stale.
Every move you make online, every social media post, every blog post, and every video will be built into your brand image. So, underneath each of your posts and each of your content pieces, you have to keep your brand’s goals in mind. Your content stream has to be consistent and your persona has to be consistent as well. It should somewhat develop along the way too.
Understand the value of social media and ensure that you have a steady stream of content on various networks to keep your company’s pulse up and running.
Take It to the Next Level
Creating compelling written content isn’t an easy task by a long shot, and you can’t stop there. The more mediums you use to create your content, the wider audience you’ll attract. It’s almost a law of nature.
You’ll increase engagement by including original images, infographics, and creating video content. Above all else, the most important thing is to make sure that your readers see the value in what you’re producing.
Sure, writing a report about emerging trends will definitely draw some attention. But imagine how much better it would perform with custom charts, images, infographics, and an embedded video.
Stay Ahead of the Competition with Speed
Not everyone has the resources to operate as a news agency and to be ready to push out an article right after a story happens. These days, there’s a heightened expectation for brands to respond quickly. People expect a creative response to breaking news, pop culture moments, etc.
Not every brand has numerous content writers, social media managers, and marketing specialists to wage social media wars and react to everything on the internet. But having a plan for observing and deciding what’s worth reacting to is pretty useful.
Make Content They Care About
Your content has to be targeted, at least towards humans. Do a bit of research before you publish a content piece and make sure that your story is something that people will care about. By creating content that humans will happily read, you’re developing loyalty and trust between you and them.
It will also boost social sharing and drives your business results. Be sure that your content is either funny, interesting, useful, or valuable to your target audience in some other way.
Conclusion
Creating thoughtful and engaging content requires one thing at its core; for you to understand your audience. The rest depends on your talents and resources. But you can definitely leverage the benefits of a good content marketing plan, whatever kind of brand you’re building.
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading through this article “Content Is King” and that we’ll see you again soon in the next one!
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