4 Tips for Improving Your Content Marketing Strategy
For about a decade now, Google has emphasized the quality of the content on the websites it displays on its search result pages. The search engine giant says it wants the content to be complete, accurate, and helpful for the visitors it recommends it to. If you are like most businesses, you are already using content marketing to reach audiences and drive conversion, sales, and revenue. Creating content is not enough for your audience and search engines, so you should ensure that it is of the highest quality possible, and you have strategies that drive the results you are looking for.
Understand Your Audience First
Any changes or improvements to your marketing strategies, including content marketing, should always start with research. In this case, the research is to better understand your audience and their wants and needs. Doing so will help you create content that best aligns with what they are looking for, using formats and channels with the greatest impact.
Develop a Content Strategy
Many content marketers use a “shotgun” approach where they put out as much content as they can to see what works. While doing so can produce some results, they are typically not as good as they should be. Improving your content marketing strategies will require that you develop a content strategy.
A content strategy is a framework that includes the types of content you will create, the key messages or information you want the content to contain, and the platforms you will use to market and distribute that content. A comprehensive content strategy ensures your content creation and marketing efforts are purposeful, cohesive, and aligned with your goals.
When deciding on the types of content to create, consider the stages of a buyer’s journey. The content you create when someone is looking for information will differ significantly from the one you create when trying to convince them to convert or purchase something.
If you need help creating a content strategy or have a strategy you want to revamp, you can contact SEO professionals who will help with either. The SEOs from BoldSEO have extensive experience helping businesses like yours with their content marketing strategies.
Incorporate Video Content or Improve It
In recent years, the biggest shifts in content marketing have been the rise in the demand and preference for video content. One HubSpot study found that over half the millennials surveyed in a 2022 survey preferred video over any other type of content, including branded emails. This survey is just one of the many showing a shift in content preferences and where businesses should be pivoting.
If you are not creating video content for your business, website, or blog, consider doing so. If you already are, improve the quality of the videos you post to attract more viewers. You should also consider posting different types of videos. Popular options include how-tos, educational videos, behind-the-scenes, product unboxings, interviews, tutorials, and product demonstrations.
Getting your videos out there is easier than ever because there are numerous free and paid video hosting and streaming platforms. If you are not looking to spin up a bespoke solution, go with YouTube. YouTube is not only the biggest video streaming platform but also the second-largest search engine behind Google.
Repurpose Old Content
Things change all the time, and content that was new a while ago might be stale now. Instead of creating new content, take some time updating older content. Google favors fresh content highly, so you might get old content to rank on the first page after working on it.
Content marketing is a crucial pillar of any digital marketing strategy. You should develop strategies around it to ensure it is effective and produces the results you are looking for. There are many ways to do this, and the tips above are a great place to start.
