10 Tactics You Must Use in Your Content Marketing Strategy

Social media marketing is still cool but there is a new kid on the block. The name…”content marketing“

So when you think about it, what drives traffic on the social web are two key things. Great content in all its multi-media glory and the social networks that distribute it at high velocity. The better the content and the larger and more engaged the social networks, the more visible  your brand  becomes. That creates brand awareness, inquiries, leads and sales.

It’s about being ubiquitous.

You’ve also probably heard about content marketing a million times over but how much effort do you really put into yours? Are you using every method that you should? Check out these top 10 tactics you “must” use in your content marketing strategy and get inspired…

1. Blogging

If you don’t have a blog, or if it’s pretty non-existent then you need to start changing your priorities. A blog will not only increase your SEO, but it will give your brand more authority, create better customer relationships and drive more traffic to your website. So what have you got to lose? Don’t just rely on your own blog either – search around for influential bloggers that you can guest post for, to help get more eyeballs on your content.

Put it into action:

• Find out what your audience wants to read
• Create interesting, shareable content on a weekly basis
• Guest post on influential bloggers websites

2. E-Books

Fear not, an e-book doesn’t have to be a lengthy novel. It’s the perfect way to provide your visitors with interesting content to read. It’s also great for gaining more email contacts as you can offer the e-book as an incentive to sign up.  Make sure each page is useful and hire a designer to ensure it looks visually awesome. Keep sentences short and use bullet points to help with the flow of the book. Stats and reputable quotes are also a great way to back up your statements with facts.

Put it into action

• Make it visually appealing
• Add statistics, numbers and quotes
• Offer it as a free incentive for customers to sign up to your emails

3. Video

Did you know Video is the most engaging way to connect with your audience? According to Forrester Research, a 1 minute video is worth 1.8 billion words. That’s because a video is so easy to digest and it’s much more memorable than text. The best type of video you can create for your business is an explainer video and these tend to come in the flavour of animated, or screen recorded. If you want to create a video then you need to think about your customers. Think about what problems they face, and how you go about solving those problems – and use that as the basis for your story.

Put it into action

• Showcase the best parts of your product in an explainer video
• Think about the problems your customers face and show how you solve those problems.

4. Infographics

Infographics are all about statistics and numbers and are the perfect way to get the point across quickly. If designed well, they look great and people on the web seem to love them. When it comes to creating your infographic, you need to think about telling a story. Make sure you do plenty of research to find the right stats and the right story that you want to tell. A great tip would be to conduct a survey so that you get the latest and most up to date facts possible. Here is an example of a post with an infographic included.

If you need some more inspiration, check out Visual.ly for a website full of creative infographics.

Put it into action:

• Tell the story using powerful design and statistics
• Conduct surveys to get the latest facts
• Share it on blogs, social media and communities

5. Slideshare presentations

SlideShare is an awesome way to show off the content you create – with 60 million global users, it’s actually the world’s largest content marketing platform. As you might expect from the SlideShare brand name, the service is commonly used to exhibit presentations, which users can click through slide-by-slide. But that’s just scratching the surface; you can also upload and share infographics, documents, PDFs, webinars, and even videos. It’s a great way to distribute your content, raise brand awareness and establish your business as a leading authority in your field.

Put it into action:

• Make sure you share all your content on SlideShare
• Monitor your SlideShare account for comments – your content can tap into SlideShare’s huge audience and create valuable opportunities for your business!

6. Social media

Social Media is the perfect way to show off your personality, and your content. You need to be strategic with your posts, switching it up for different social platforms. Discussions are great for social media and a really engaging way to connect with your audience. On Google+ and Linkedin, you can join communities and groups that are relevant to your customers and start discussions.

Twitter is slightly different because you’ve only got 140 characters to play with, but organised chats such as ‘#contentchat’ really help bring awareness to your brand. The idea is that you all hashtag the same topic, while asking or answering any questions related to the topic of the chat. When it comes to Facebook, think about injecting your personality and post plenty of fun images to get those likes, shares and comments up.

Put it into action:

• Create discussions – ask  your audience questions
• Be yourself – show off your personality
• Partner up with industry experts to create an engaging online chat

7. Email marketing

Never underestimate the power of email marketing. If people have signed up to your emails then chances are they want to hear from you. But, be sure to provide your contacts with useful content, rather than just a barrage of sales spiel. There’s plenty of different types of content that you can email your customers including; competitions, blog posts, e-books, event invites and exclusives.

In order to build your contact list, think about implementing plenty of sign up tabs on your website. Make sure you give your customers an incentive to sign up and follow through in order to build up customer confidence.

Put it in action:

• Send your email list useful, shareable content
• Don’t constantly hard sell to your customers
• Put sign up forms visible on your website with examples as to why they should sign up

8. PR

The essence of PR is to create brand awareness, so content marketing fits perfectly within this ideal. Creating a press release is a great way to attract attention to the latest goings-on in your company. It really depends on your industry as to what your press release could be about, but think about any awards you’ve won, new partnerships, or charity events. And if all else fails, try and think outside the box. Don’t be disheartened if it doesn’t get picked up by any publications because any unique content on the web that relates back to you is always great for SEO.

Put it in action:

• Create press releases that people will want to read
• Post your press releases on blogs, PR websites and send to publications
• Think outside the box.

9. Webinars

Hosting a webinar can be great for content marketing. Think about inviting industry experts, clients or potential customers to join in with the webinar and start a discussion. You can talk about your products, answer FAQ’s, give industry insight, or even ask your clients to talk about why they decided to work with you. Don’t expect to see any jaw-dropping results while you’re recording. The secret to a successful webinar is to create great content, record it, and then post it on your social channels in order to reach a large audience.

Put it in action:

• Invite your clients, potential customers and industry experts to join in with the webinar
• Plan before you record with everything you want to discuss
• Once you’ve finished, share it on your social channels and blog.

10. Testimonials

Testimonials have been around for nearly as long as business itself…but they remain a valuable tool to establish confidence and trust. Customer success stories are a powerful way to build empathy with potential customers, and convince them that your service is more than worth their time and money. Once you’ve worked with a few people, ask them to to rate your service and then you can start to feature those testimonials on your website. Even if you get negative feedback, you can always learn from it and improve on things in the future.

Put it into action:

• Approach a few of your key clients and see if they’d be willing to write a testimonial for you.
• Position your testimonials prominently, and make sure they’re easily visible to your users
• Don’t ignore negative feedback – learn from it!

So there you have it, 10 content marketing methods that you need to be using. With so many tools readily available on the web, there has never been a better time to get creating interesting, shareable content! Good luck and if you can think of anymore – let me know!

Guest author: Sarah Quinn is the copywriter over at www.wyzowl.com

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