Optimizing Your Content Marketing

May 10, 2021

There’s no way to have a robust and successful digital marketing campaign these days without having content that works to build your bottom line. In the most fundamental sense, the phrase “content marketing” covers the pieces of information you send to your digital audience to help educate them on your business or brand.

Of course, this broad definition can apply to everything you publish online — social media posts, blogs, email newsletters, webinars — if it shows up on the internet and it’s meant to grow your customer base, you can consider it content marketing. However, it’s got to be good content to offer a return on investment, and that’s often easier said than done.

If you feel like your current marketing strategy isn’t working as well for your business as you had hoped it would, it might be time to take a close look at improving your processes.

Bulk Up Your Blog

Businesses large or small and entrepreneurs across all industries need a blog, end of sentence. It’s a cornerstone of your website, and in some cases, it might be one and the same. It needs to be updated regularly with relevant information, but the good news is that it doesn’t need to be an everyday thing. You don’t need to do a deep dive to find topics, either. In the absence of a team of marketing professionals to help, you can simply think about the solutions your products or services can offer to your customers’ problems.

Commit to Copywriting

Any written word in your marketing messages could fundamentally be called copy. It’s an extension of your brand, it can help grow your customer base, and optimized copy using search engine keywords can boost traffic to your site. So many different pieces of content can spring forth from good copywriting. For example, copy on your site about products or services can turn into a blog post, a how-to webinar, and even a video tutorial on your business’s YouTube channel.

Hit Your Target

All the great content and copy you are now sending out is a great start but it actually has to find the audience it’s intended for in order for it to convert. Identify who that target audience is, where they’re spending time online, and what kind of content they respond to the most. Use this information to help shape your content marketing distribution strategy and prioritize where you spend your marketing dollars.

Keep It Evergreen Too

While it’s great to use internet trends to create content that gets noticed, you’ll also need pieces that stay relevant for months and even years to come. This is considered evergreen, and it isn’t time-sensitive or based on holidays or special events. Evergreen content positions your business as a point of reference within your competitive market and lets your potential and current customers know that you care about keeping them educated on commonly searched topics.

Don’t Forget the Call to Action

The path your customers take to make a purchase is called a buyer’s journey, and it doesn’t happen in a vacuum. The whole goal of content marketing is to guide your customers through that journey and point them in the direction that helps your business grow. Calls to action in your content let them know exactly what to do next and include a touch of psychology and a bit of literary magic. Need some examples? “Sign up now!”, “Like and comment”, or “Join today” are clear and concise.

Call In Backup

Content marketing may be something that every business needs, but it’s not something that every business owner can do on their own. Working with a team of marketing professionals can bridge the content marketing gap you may be facing. Content marketing can either skyrocket the exposure your business gets, helping your prospects to know, like, and trust you enough to want to do business with you – or it can quickly become yet another burdensome, unproductive marketing tactic that draws your resources and provides a disappointing return.

While managing your own content marketing strategy for your company can be done, it will require time, technical know-how, and skills you may not want to devote to making it work. That’s why so many companies outsource their content marketing to professionals. 

If you’d like to talk about the role content marketing could play in filling your sales funnel, we’d be delighted to have that conversation. Request a content marketing consultation for your business today!

The post Optimizing Your Content Marketing appeared first on Cole Dalton.

Forecasting the Next Ten Years of Marketing

10 Apr, 2024
Marketing is gearing up for significant changes as we enter the new decade. With new technologies, shifts in buyer behavior, and changes in consumption culture, the way businesses reach out to customers will look very different in the coming years. While we can't say what marketing will look like in 10 years, we can examine emerging trends and strategies to forecast its future. Here are some predictions experts are suggesting could take shape moving forward. Increasing Personalized Advertising Personalized marketing should undergo even more profound transformations in the coming decade, leveraging advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and data analytics to forge deeper customer connections. With the ability to glean insights from vast amounts of data, companies will craft highly tailored ads and messages that resonate with individual preferences and behaviors, fostering stronger brand-consumer relationships. From dynamic content customization to predictive marketing algorithms, the era of hyper-personalization will redefine how businesses engage with their target audiences on a one-to-one level. Advanced Device Communication The proliferation of voice-enabled devices and virtual assistants heralds a new era in consumer engagement, requiring marketers to adapt their strategies to communicate effectively through these mediums. As voice technology continues to gain traction, companies must anticipate the rise of voice commerce and tailor their approaches to accommodate this emerging trend. By leveraging conversational AI and natural language processing, brands can deliver seamless, personalized experiences that resonate with consumers, whether shopping, seeking information, or interacting with digital assistants. Wider Use of Virtual Reality Virtual reality (VR) is poised to become a ubiquitous tool in the marketer's arsenal, offering immersive experiences that transcend traditional advertising methods. With VR, brands can transport consumers into captivating virtual environments where they can interact with products and services unprecedentedly, fostering deeper engagement and brand loyalty. As VR technology becomes more accessible and sophisticated, expect to see a proliferation of immersive marketing campaigns that leverage the power of virtual experiences to captivate audiences and drive conversions.

The Power of Storytelling

12 Mar, 2024
Marketing tends to focus on analytics and systems, but we sometimes forget about one powerful tool that has existed since the beginning: storytelling. From our ancestors telling ancient myths to be passed down for the generations to come to modern-day brand narratives, stories have held the power to inspire and connect in all different ways. Today, consumers face a constant bombardment of advertisements and catered content; using the power of storytelling in marketing campaigns has become critical for businesses, especially smaller firms aiming to create meaningful connections with their target clients. Why Storytelling is an Effective Strategy When a brand uses storytelling to convey its message, it connects with the audience emotionally. By telling a compelling story, marketers can create a memorable experience for consumers, making them more likely to remember and engage with the brand. Additionally, storytelling allows marketers to communicate the brand's values and personality more authentically. Instead of bombarding consumers with sales pitches, storytelling enables brands to share their stories and build trust with their audience, increasing brand loyalty and customer engagement. The Emotional Resonance of Stories At the heart of storytelling lies its ability to bring out emotions and create profound connections on a human level. Unlike traditional marketing messages focusing solely on product features or sales pitches, stories can engage the audience's imagination, stir empathy, and spark genuine interest. By weaving narratives that resonate with their target audience's hopes, dreams, and challenges, small marketing firms can create a powerful emotional bond that transcends transactional relationships. Building Brand Identity and Authenticity Storytelling is a potent tool for small businesses to authentically define and express their brand identity. Through compelling narratives that reflect their values, mission, and vision, small firms can differentiate themselves from competitors and carve out a distinct identity in the minds of consumers. Whether recounting the founder's journey, highlighting customer success stories, or showcasing the company's commitment to social responsibility, storytelling allows small businesses to humanize their brand and foster customer trust and loyalty.

A Guide to Employee-Generated Content

13 Feb, 2024
In a world of "influencer marketing" and brand deals, companies can easily overspend their marketing budgets and get caught up in the frenzy. An influencer may feature your product or brand only for their videos to perform poorly. At best, you lose out on the money spent sending the product to the influencer and whatever you spent on hiring them. At worst, your business gets a bad reputation online, and customers don't take your brand seriously. Consider that influencer marketing is just the "shiny new toy" in marketing. In that case, companies should continue to produce consistent, cost-effective outcome. One source for this? Your Employees. Employee-generated content refers to any videos, pictures, or copy that employees publicly post about their position and the company. Find out the benefits of employee-generated content (EGC), what this content can look like, and how to implement EGC into your overall strategy. What Does Employee-Generated Content Look Like? The beauty of employee-generated content is that it can take many forms. Any content your employees make that involves details about their role, the company itself, or the relationships they've developed with coworkers or customers/clients can be EGC. A simple, straightforward EGC piece can be an employee spotlight for new hires or veteran employees. You can choose to craft employee spotlights as infographics with a picture of the employee along with some fun facts about them, write a long-form piece from an interview with the employee speaking about their time at the company, or even long or short-form videos with the employee speaking on their experiences. While these methods may require the help of a graphic designer, copywriter, or videographer, the idea is that the employees generate the content by speaking about their experiences and introducing themselves. Other ideas for EGC pieces might be "day in the life" videos following a specific employee throughout their day, reflections employees have from conferences or professional development opportunities, employment milestones or recognitions, or even just pictures employees take with each other or showing what happened that day. There are limitless options and iterations for employee-generated content, and the key is to find out what works well for your business and why.
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