It’s just not good enough to have a good content marketing strategy because with all the competition, you need to find a way to really stand out. Next, with social media marketing growing, bloggers are finding it very easy to get their content in front of people quickly with so much more ease. However, it’s NOT too difficult making the transition from a “good” to “great” content marketing strategy. Over the years, I’ve been able to experiment with different marketing strategies utilizing PPC, banners, email, and content marketing. It’s important you test and tweak along the way to ensure you get the highest conversion rates. For example, what good is a content marketing strategy if you’re NOT able to convert your readership to obtain your bottom line? If you have a content marketing strategy that is simply “good”, then implement these following changes to make it great.
Let’s jump right in and explore some of these options.
Be a Clear Leader
Many of you are probably wondering what I mean by this statement and the explanation is very simple. First, it’s important to observe who is responsible for your content because these will be the people who will be implementing your vision. Personally, I write my own content but sometimes I do hire writers to implement my vision into my content marketing strategies. I’m a great writer, but lack the conversion part so will work with people to make sure everything is done correctly before publishing. Next, as your business grows, you’ll have less time to write content so it’s important you’re a “great” leader, able to express your thoughts to the people you work with.
Here’s what you need to understand…
For you to make the jump from “good” to “great”, you have to be able to manage a team through strong leadership skills. You have to help them feel comfortable when working with you so you can communicate your thoughts openly. The more people are clear about your vision, the harder they can work at making it come true. Know what you want so you can share it with the people you work with and are responsible for creating epic content.
Know Your Objective
I can’t count the number of times I did a poor job simply because I didn’t know my objective. No matter how good of a writer you are, it won’t matter if you aren’t clear about what you want to achieve. Imagine how many times you’ve sat down to write content without doing any research and when you finished, the article lacked substance. If you’re NOT clear about your objective, you’re NOT going to take the necessary steps to create epic content. Here’s an example,
I wanted to publish a complete guide on guest blogging, making it epic with no other resources like the one I was about to create. However, I knew it had to be different and I needed to put a twist on it so it would stand out compared to others online. In the end, I did research for 2 months, skimming through all my competitors so I can add elements to my guide NOT available anywhere else. The guide is over 10,000+ words, but there’s nothing like it anywhere on the Internet. You can check it out here. Here’s the point…
I was clear about what I wanted to achieve and this allowed me to take the necessary actions to create something epic. If you want to transition from “good” to “great” content, then be clear about your objective so you have guidelines you can follow going forward.
Know Your Audience
Content can only be GREAT when you have people to critique once published. Think about how and why products are labelled as “awesome”, “epic”, “great”, etc. They are only labelled because experts within your niche have put their stamp of approval on your content. However, I’m NOT referring to getting experts involved because in the end, you’re writing for your audience. You’re writing for people who trust your expertise and want to learn from the content you provide. In this day and age, we have a solid system to designate our content as GREAT starting with…
- Visitors will leave comments
- They’ll share with others through social media
- They’ll link back to it or even reference it in their content
Here’s my point…
Before writing, you have to know your audience so you have a system in place to label your content. If you don’t know your audience, then you can’t guide your content writing, which leaves you with an empty room after publishing. Know your audience then write your content so people are around to give you credit and praise your expertise.
Always Provide Value
Think about the content you find useful and you’ll notice it’s always provided you with substance. If you want to make the transition from “good” to “great” content, then consider finding ways to improve your content before and after publishing. First, always write content keeping your audience in mind and some of the concerns they have in your niche. Next, make sure your content is the ONLY one people need to read to find a complete solution. For example, start by researching problems in your niche then offering a complete solution using text, videos, images, and infographics.
Google, over the last year, has put a lot of emphasis on the “freshness” update in their algorithm. Going forward, Google will reward websites that regularly update their content because it enhances the user search experience. You should take advantage of this change and always update your content so you stay ahead of the trend. The more you update your content, the higher engagement you’ll notice through your readership. Great content is NOT created in one day and it takes time to publish something of value so keep your content fresh while making it as relevant as possible. You’ll know you have great content simply by the reaction of others.