- Your content marketing strategy should stretch beyond the borders of your website and reach social media, email, video platforms, and interactions with customers.
- Finding ways to offer unique content across multiple platforms is your best strategy for a successful business blog.
- How well you get your message across, and if you reach them where they hang out the most, determines how successful and impactful your blog will be.
- By tapping into new technology, refreshing old content, using social media, differentiating content, seeking exposure, and improving the customer experience you can stand out from the competition.
When you think of content marketing, you might immediately consider your blog and what pieces you should include on your site. However, your content marketing strategy should stretch beyond the borders of your website and reach social media, email, video platforms, and interactions with customers.
The Content Marketing Institute’s 11th annual B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends report surveyed 1,707 online respondents. Researchers uncovered 51% of those who reported low success with content marketing admitted it was due to strategy issues.
Figuring out how to mesh together marketing efforts across different channels while still keeping a thriving blog going requires the ability to juggle multiple moving parts. Here are the ways your content marketing strategy can improve and how to take your blog from just your website to the target audience you wish to reach.
1. Tap into new technology
The Internet of Things (IoT) grows exponentially every year. More and more devices tap into the network and people automate things such as turning off lights when leaving for work or checking weather reports on their smartphones. You can tap into this vast wealth of information and figure out better ways to offer content to your users.
For example, you can develop an app and let your existing customers know when a new product arrives or send out an SMS to notify existing customers of new content as it goes up on the website.
Another idea is to create an interactive blog. Come up with a question, and when the user answers via SMS, they’re taken to one of two options. Continue this method to help them build information exactly personalized to their needs.
Avoid posting the same topics repeatedly. Stale content drives users away, but most customers enjoy fresh, unique pieces that help them learn more about your industry and business.
2. Refresh old content
Over time, content on your site grows stale. New research, recent changes in technology, or growth in your business can all make it obsolete. It’s important to revisit old posts and refresh them from time to time.
Adding current research and improving your articles to meet today’s search engine standards improves optimization and helps you rank higher in search engines. Pay attention to “People Also Ask” on Google to see what users search for. Answer questions they have within your content and share the responses on social media to drive more traffic to your pages.
Make sure your content offers something of value to your target audience. What content do your competitors offer, and how can you put a unique spin on yours or cover areas they left untouched?
You can also present your content in fresh ways, such as collecting articles into a guide or ebook, creating an infographic, or recording videos.
3. Use social media
Approximately 500 million blogs publish over 7 million posts each day. Content often gets shared on social media, where users engage by commenting, liking, and reposting. You can significantly increase your exposure simply by using social media as part of your marketing strategy.
Start by looking at the pain points your target audience has. How can you address these problems with your social media posts? Offer a Q&A session, Facebook live video, or links to content that helps solve the problem.
Through ads and posts, you can drive traffic to your site. Add a teaser and then link to the full piece for the full information. You should also strive to engage users through contests, personalized tags, and responding to questions and complaints.
4. Differentiate content
Understand who your target audience is. Build buyer personas for each main component of your customer base. Segment your audience into groups, so you can write content and distribute it to those most likely to respond.
As you schedule posts, make sure you differentiate your topics. Seek to solve pain points for each persona. What does the particular audience member care most about?
It’s also important to utilize cookies and membership accounts and differentiate content on repeat visits. You want users to always feel your site is current and regularly updated. Relevant articles encourage them to return and tell others about your site.
5. Seek out exposure
Don’t just limit yourself to posting on your blog and sharing those articles in your marketing campaigns. Seek out opportunities to gain additional exposure with potential customers. Some ideas include:
- Guest blog on related sites, such as a cooking blog for a cutlery company.
- Make an appearance on a podcast, sharing tips and expertise in exchange for a mention of your brand.
- Create cooperational promotions with complementary brands. For example, a local restaurant and a theater might offer an inside look at how they work together and give readers a date night coupon to dine out and see a movie.
Consider each opportunity and try new things until you hit on the ones that bring the most attention to your blog.
6. Improve the customer experience
Most landing pages have a conversion rate of around 2.35%. The number varies, with top sites hitting 11.45% and higher. How can you achieve the best possible conversion rate optimization (CRO) for your site?
Start by making sure your content includes calls to action (CTAs). Once a reader finishes learning about the issue at hand, how do you want them to respond? Would you like them to sign up for a newsletter? Perhaps you want to take them to a page to order a product that solves their pain point. Know your goal for the page and include it in your CTA.
You can even send out personalized emails and use cookies on your site to create a one-of-a-kind experience for your users. The more personalized the visit, the more likely they’ll respond by converting.
Stand out from competitors
People in today’s world are hyper-connected and bombarded with messages throughout the day. Finding ways to offer unique content across multiple platforms is your best strategy for a successful business blog.
Your customers will come to expect what you frequently offer. How well you get your message across, and if you reach them where they hang out the most, determines how successful and impactful your blog will be.
About the Author
Eleanor is the editor-in-chief at Designerly Magazine. She’s also a freelance web designer with a focus on customer experience. Eleanor lives in Philadelphia with her husband and dog, Bear.
