The marketing strategy goes by many names. There is no one-size-fits-all. As the creator of contents, your lens focus is fixated mostly on nothing else but the content. The conscious effort you make to measure if the content makes sense or does it capture your brand sentiments.
If done correctly, the content has the potential to skyrocket your business with ease. Businesses in the current market are in the constant hunt to figure out the best components that could contribute to a successful marketing campaign. In this competitive world, the market has a no-mercy approach. You need to aim to bring the best out to sustain.
Establish a Strong Brand Image
Create an appealing brand image that is strong and has a powerful effect on the target market. The brand name, tagline, URL, website design, all of these contribute to the brand image. The idea is to guide your target audience what to look for when they are following your brand. There is an increased dependency on visual content. Initial investment on a strong brand name has a direct impact on your business’s increase in return on investment.
The Reading Experience
Remember, your business markets to an audience who has a natural interest in your products or services. Understanding the needs, lifestyles, technical knowledge and demands of your customers will help you carve and polish what, when and how to create.
It is always wise to consider a few basic rules of thumb:
- Less is more. The more you elaborate, the less interested people would be to read till the end
- Complex fonts complicate things. Always stick to simple and readable fonts
- Symmetry is attractive; visual representation draws attention
- Pictures should be of high resolution
Your website design matters, the patterns you use matter. The content as a whole should be able to retain the readers. The colours you choose to speak volumes about your brand. Navigate your readers rightly, do not confuse them with directionless content. Some idiosyncrasies do not translate well across certain domains or topics. The tone of your article or post should be your style guide. Make sure to avoid any topics that run outside the narrative.
Timing is Everything
As a content creator, you need to understand that the user is more than a pair of eyes and a wallet. How are your readers reaching out to your sites or posts? What device do they use? How big the screen could be? Why are they reading your content? How much time do they spend reading your content? Are they able to view or listen to your video postings in their regular viewing environment? These are the volumes of questions that come to the mind of a marketer. This indeed is the buyer persona.
There could be multiple reasons why your posts are performing poorly. The probability of the reader not able to listen to your latest video, or maybe your post gets published after your reader has left home for work, there your post will be lost in the ever-churning media shuffle.
There are various methods you can choose to analyse and optimize your timing. Create your buyer persona and identify the time and devices used during the time of the day when your posts are viewed the most by the bulk of your audience. This information can be used to understand where your readers reside and the medium they choose to view your posts. Large sample size is needed to derive to the conclusion so close scrutiny for a couple of weeks would be necessary. The right post at the right time reaching the right people is what you should be aiming to constantly achieve.
Streamline Your Strategies
A well narrated and sound content marketing strategy aligned with the latest technological implications is a must-have. As a business, you need to create a content marketing roadmap. It is highly important to pinpoint the purpose of your content.
Identify your target market and their journey. Why is this necessary? It is important to know the age, gender, demographics, the topics that interest them the most and the types of content they prefer to share with their friends. One of the primary reasons is that the content that you create will not have the same impact on all your consumers. Knowing who your buyers help you to create content tailored to the demands and preferences of your consumers. The bottom line is to create content that would tell your brand story in ways that will resonate with your clientele.
Choose the right content promotion platform and distribution channel that best suits your business. You don’t need to show your presence on every possible social media platform. Do a thorough analysis of which are the platforms that work best for you and direct your focus on those.
The Diverse Types of Content Marketing in a Marketer’s Arsenal
There are a variety of content marketing platforms the content creators can choose from. It’s ultimately about which platform promotes your business effectively. Below are a few high performing, fabulous content marketing types to engage your leads and boost your sales.
Blogs:
Blogging helps improve your search engine optimization and is also one of the best ways to build relationships with your customers. An initial stage of research has to be done on what keywords the consumers’ type and then plan the topics for the blogs accordingly. A cluster model can be used to organize the blog topics and also the content has to be relevant to the products or services.
Social Media Posts:
There are endless opportunities in social media. Everyone is on social media every minute, so you need to be continuously active on social media too. The one disclaimer is that you need to be consistent on social media. If you do not post on a daily basis you will lose the exposure, your audience and your reach. You will end up losing opportunities too.
Through social media, you will be able to reach out to your audience on multiple networks expanding your reach. There are tons of tools that help you to showcase your presence on social media. It is definitely worth the investment and time.
Videos:
Videos are one of the best types of content marketing tools, they are dynamic and engaging, and also a versatile medium. People view more video content than ever before. Harness the power of videos by creating short, informative and attention-grabbing clips and engage your consumers.
No matter which industry you are in, using video as a form of marketing strategy provides such an appealing return on investment. Nowadays, before buying a product, people prefer to watch a video about it.
Infographics:
This visual content marketing format would give your target audience a quick bite of the content that you are about to share. Infographics help viewers to visualize data in a much-simplified manner.
Not all topics can be shared through this medium, so ensure to choose the relevant topics. It can be ideally used to explain complicated topics through statistics or diagrams. Like this, the audience will be able to understand things in a simplified manner, making your life easier.
Case Studies:
These are customer stories that tell the tale of how your service has helped a particular customer. Case studies help the consumers see the journey of a specific client from start to finish. This helps them learn more about your business through your satisfied customers.
Buyers prefer case studies as it helps them better understand how your brand adds value to their lives. Case studies can be used to highlight special applications. It is important to carefully consider which of your customers you ask the consent, to serve as a case study example.
eBooks:
An incredibly popular online marketing tactic, eBook should provide useful and relevant information about your business to the consumers. This is a way to give valuable information to your potential clients and a great way to help with your demand generation.
You give readers a high perception of content value by offering your eBook for free. It helps you establish credibility and you will be able to subtly guide your readers towards your business.
GIFs and Memes:
No matter where you turn, someone or the other is posting their favourite memes. GIFs and memes are extremely popular and have solidified their importance among consumers. A fun way to engage people on social media, these are the most shareable types of content marketing today.
These are inexpensive contents that support a sense of community. It creates a sense of belonging because your audience can relate to the situation.
Testimonials and Customer Reviews:
These are contents generated straight from the buyers. Small businesses can add customer reviews on their websites and if your business is operating in a niche market, testimonials are the best ways to give a short synopsis of why your brand is standing out.
Testimonials from previous customers play a vital role in converting new visitors into customers. It gives a smooth ride towards the customer’s comfort zone and helps them be part of your relationship-building journey. They also strengthen your reputation.
As a business, you need to choose the right form of content marketing best suited for your business to increase traffic, generate leads and drive sales. This will help you get long-term, sustainable and significant results. Add variety to your content and surprise your audience as they are always in the quest for new and engaging experiences.