If you’ve got any experience in the world of digital marketing, you’ll most likely have heard that “content is king”, but what does this mean? The phrase was first written by Bill Gates in a 1996 essay, in which he notes that the majority of internet-based revenue would come from content. Some 27 years later, it’s clear that he hit the nail on the head, which is why exceptional content creation has such an important place in digital marketing. We will talk about in detail on the topic of how to do content marketing successfully, for growth hacking of your business.
When we talk about “content,” we mean the words, pictures, videos, and everything else you find on a website, blog, or social media post. The better the content, the more people will want to read or watch it. Good content is like a magical wand that pulls people in. It’s like having a secret power to engage and captivate your audience. That’s why businesses, bloggers, and even your favorite YouTubers work hard to create amazing content. They know that if their content is awesome, people will keep coming back for more.
Check out the step by step guide of content marketing.
Why is content important in 2023?
When you search anything in Google, you’re presented with millions of search results and a lot of them appear to be saying the same thing, making it difficult to decide which content to trust. However, if you scratch beneath the surface, you’ll find that some content is clearly better than others – and it’s here where people decide to stick or move on.
Content helps us learn and understand new things. Imagine you’re researching a school project on space exploration. You come across an article that explains the history of space missions, the challenges astronauts face, and the latest discoveries. This content provides valuable knowledge and expands your understanding of the topic.
On a larger scale, content allows us to stay updated with current events. News websites, blogs, and social media platforms provide us with the latest information about what’s happening around the world. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, content played a crucial role in spreading awareness about safety measures, vaccine updates, and health guidelines. It helped people make informed decisions and stay safe.
Even though Bill Gates was talking largely about the financial benefits of Content King, it’s still true that it holds the most power to marketers, especially when they’re trying to establish a brand’s voice and authority. According to a Forbes study, 83% of marketers believe that content marketing is crucial for their overall success. As the Google algorithm looks at Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E-E-A-T), it goes without saying that exceptional content will always help to establish dominance within an industry.
Content is also essential for businesses and brands. Companies use content to promote their products or services, engage with their audience, and build a strong online presence. For instance, they create engaging videos, informative blog posts, and eye-catching social media posts to attract customers. To nail it all successfully, you must know how to do content marketing and its various aspects. In 2023, businesses are investing more in content marketing because it helps them connect with their target audience and increase sales.
So, in a nutshell, ‘content’ is everywhere. Whether it’s reading an article, watching a video, or scrolling through social media, we are constantly consuming content. It has became endless now-a-days. You wouldn’t be surprised to know that the global E-learning market value size will be around $648 Billion by 2030.
Best way to approach exceptional content
You can attempt to write exceptional content on a broad topic, but it’ll most likely fall short of its purpose. Therefore, you should narrow down the scope and talk about a niche topic, which will help show readers how knowledgeable you are. It will help you to cover in-depth topics.
Always make sure to gather facts and figures to make your content informative and reliable. Do search online to find trustworthy sources like books, articles, podcasts, blogs and websites. For instance, if you’re writing about careers and jobs in the AVGC industry in India you could include statistics regarding the current market strength of Animation and VFX studios, their current and pipeline projects, their international connected to get regular work, skill set of artists, new developments in the industry and many more related. You must also take details from official entities like MESC (Media & Entertainment Skills Council), FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry) etc.
Focusing on SEO and search intent, you should be creating quality content. Your customers’ direct questions should be the headlines for your article. If you can do this, you won’t have to waste too much time coming up with a captivating hook, as readers are already there to get answers. Do organize your content in a logical order. Create an outline with an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. In the introduction, grab the reader’s attention with an interesting fact or a thought-provoking question. In the body paragraphs, present your main points, using facts and figures to support your arguments. Finally, summarize your ideas in the conclusion and leave the reader with a lasting impression.
After writing your content, take the time to proofread and edit. Look for spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors. Making these revisions will ensure your content is polished and ready to engage the users.
How to do content marketing?
The first step is putting a strategy together that outlines your brand’s ethos, audience, and other key information. By creating and sharing valuable and relevant content, you can build brand awareness, establish credibility, and drive customer engagement. As well as this, you’ll need to create a posting calendar to keep you on track for all channels. The content you choose to write can take many shapes including:
- Videos
- Words
- Audio
- Graphics
If nobody in your team has marketing expertise and you don’t have the resources to hire an in-house professional, then consider outsourcing your content writing efforts to a company like Market-U, who will create a strategy and create winning custom content.
You can follow given below content marketing guide to get the best of your efforts.
1. Understand your target audience
It is the first step. To effectively reach your audience, it’s very important to understand who they are and what they’re interested in. Conducting market research helps you identify your target audience’s demographics, preferences, and needs. For example, if you’re targeting teenagers, you might find that they are interested in fashion, music, or social issues. Understanding your audience allows you to tailor your content to their preferences, increasing the chances of engaging them.
A cosmetic brand targeting young adults might create content on skincare routines, makeup tutorials, and beauty tips. They would research popular beauty trends among their target audience and create content that aligns with those trends.
2. Create high quality content
Creating high-quality content is required to capture your audience’s attention and establish your brand as a reliable source of information. Make your content interesting and entertaining to keep your audience engaged. Use storytelling techniques, visuals, and interactive elements like quizzes or polls.
A fitness brand could create high-quality content by producing workout videos led by certified trainers, providing exercise tips and explaining the benefits of different exercises.
3. Marketing channels
Different platforms cater to different audiences. Consider where your target audience spends their time online and what types of content they prefer. Platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Twitter are great for sharing visual content, short videos, and engaging with your audience through comments and direct messages. Create a blog on your website where you can publish longer-form content, articles, and informative guides.
A food delivery app targeting busy professionals might focus on sharing quick and easy recipes on Instagram, engaging with their audience through polls and Q&A sessions in Instagram Stories, and sending personalized recipe ideas via email. So, use the marketing channels as per your client genre.
4. Use of proper SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
Before starting any SEO, identify relevant keywords and phrases that your target audience is likely to search for. Tools like Google Keyword Planner can assist in finding popular search terms. Incorporate all these naturally into your content’s title, headings, meta descriptions, and throughout the body text. Make sure that the content is mobile-friendly since a significant portion of online searches now happens on mobile devices.
Share your content across your social media platforms, engaging with your followers and encouraging them to share it with their networks. You can also partner with influencers or industry experts who have a significant following in your target market. They can help promote your content to their audience and provide valuable endorsements. Now-a-days, many businesses take their of this niche segment, because they know very well the various fresh methods of how to do content marketing. You should also notify your subscribers about new content releases through regular newsletters.
Understand one thing very well. SEO is not a one time job. It needs to be continuously nurtured and looked upon. Google keep on changing its signals and parameters on a daily basis, so the SEO must be updated in a constant manner to keep pace with latest algorithms.
5. Audience engagement
Regularly monitor and respond to comments on your blog posts, social media posts, and videos. Answer questions, address concerns, and thank your audience for their feedback. Ask your audience for their opinions and preferences through surveys and polls. This not only engages them but also provides valuable insights for future content creation.
You can also go interactive. Host live question-and-answer sessions on social media or through webinars to interact directly with your audience and address their queries.
How to measure content marketing?
The only way to tell if your content is making a difference is by analyzing relevant data. There are countless tools for doing this, including Google Analytics, which offers insights into your audience demographic and how they’re interacting with your page. If you’re looking for something with more power, then look into dedicated web analytical tools like SEMrush.
To beat your competition and become a dominant force within your industry, you’ll have to start creating exceptional content that answers user intent and has clear benefits to readers. Use the given below checklist to measure the success of your content marketing campaigns.
- Track the number of views or impressions your content receives across different platforms.
- Determine how many people took a desired action, such as signing up for a newsletter, making a purchase, or downloading a resource.
- Analyze which channels or websites are driving the most traffic to your content.
- Monitor your website traffic. If you notice a steady increase in visitors over time, it’s a positive sign that your content is resonating with your audience.
- Keep an eye on metrics like likes, shares, comments, and retweets on your social media posts. Higher engagement shows that your content is capturing the attention and interest of your audience. If you post an informative video on Facebook and it receives 100 likes, 50 shares, and 20 comments, it means your content is resonating with your audience, and they find it valuable enough to engage with and share it with others.
- Pay attention to comments, reviews, and direct feedback from your audience. Positive feedback and testimonials indicate that your content is providing value and building trust with your customers.
Conclusion
If you had came so far, then you know had consumed a lot knowledge regarding how to do content marketing for your business, various approaches, how to measure it and many more related things. We hope that this step by step guide will help you for your successful business.
Remember, quality content is the key. So, the next time you create something online, think about how you can make it fun, informative, and enjoyable. Remember to be creative, use facts and figures to enhance your content’s credibility, and continually refine your content strategy based on audience feedback and analytics. As mentioned earlier, it is a continuous process that needs to be refined as per latest changes.