Traditional marketing is becoming less effective and it is only getting worse by the day. This is because this is now an era of choice with people wanting to have control with what they see. Instead of feeding your audience unwanted content, it is now more logical to give them ones they genuinely want in an approach called content marketing.
To put it simply, it is a strategy to attract and hook an audience with the informational value of your content. However, there is actually a lot more to it.
What is Content Marketing?
From the name itself, content marketing is a marketing strategy that is centered on content. You create blog posts, web series, and so much more that contain relevant and useful information that will make your audience voluntarily approach your brand.
It is also strongly strategic by knowing when and what to create and to whom it is targeted. You are giving answers and suggestions not just to anyone, but to those who specifically need them.
Creating quality content is about consistency, accuracy, and applicability. The value of what you make is relative to whoever receives it. What may be of value to the working class, may be the same for someone in a higher social status
In this aspect, content marketing is a mixture of content creation and strategic distribution. Knowing what to do and when to do it are essential key factors in the success of your strategy.
Content Marketing Goal: Lead Generation
When applying content marketing strategies, what should you be expecting? More customers? More sales? In the most general essence of content marketing, the goal is to create new, if not a lot, of leads.
Leads are not the same as customers or does it mean an increase in sales. However, it can lead to that, it’s just a matter of strategic approach. What leads are, are people who are showing interest in your product or service.
What differentiates a lead from an average person is that they are already leaning towards your product. This happens when they realized a problem and found a solution with the help of your content.
By acquiring leads, you know the people whom you should be concentrating your time on. Gone are the days of marketing to the general population. You now only have to convince the leads to progress to the next stage which is becoming a full fledged customer by making a purchase. So, the more leads you have, the more customers you can possibly gain.
Concept of Business Storytelling in Content Marketing
There are different ways to create content, but to apply content marketing, you should always implement the concept of business storytelling. This entails that the origins of your business should somehow be integrated into the content you are making. The question is why?
In order to appeal to your audience, your brand should reach out to them on a personal level. This is where the business storytelling gets in the picture. Every business should have a purpose: why it was established, how it aims to achieve its purpose, and what it is doing to get to that. Through this, you are connecting to your audience on how committed you are to helping them in their problem.
This may sound complicated, but as long as the content is in line with the problem the brand aims to address, that is already a step towards the business storytelling structure.
The Golden Circle of Content Marketing
To further understand business storytelling, it is important to know the golden circle. It is a three layer circle with why at its core, followed by how, and then with the outermost layer being the what. This represents the different aspects of your business story.
The Why
A crucial part of your business story revolves around the concept of why you are doing what you are doing. What urged you to start your business and brand? Why were you motivated to do so?
Every business has an origin and it should always be about trying to provide a solution for a certain problem. Take Toms Shoes for example, they say that they started their brand to provide affordable shoes and one of their motives is to deliver free footwear to those who can’t afford one.
Unless your business has a specific goal to address, then you are not going to create an effective story. As a result, you are not reaching out to your audience on a personal level and hooking them in.
So, always begin with the why. Find a purpose to your business. Search for a problem that you intend to address.
The How
After knowing your purpose as a business, the next thing is the how. How will this help your audience? Are they going to find solutions to their long running problem or will their way of life simply improve?
The how talks about the impact of your business to the problem at hand. Knowing the end goals and the capacity of your brand will help you make a better narrative to make your customers set realistic end results.
The What
For the last part, this is about what you are offering to address your why and how. This is the biggest aspect of your business story and thus, where you should be concentrating more. Knowing what you offer and the way you offer it is the most crucial part in making content.
It is the what that you are trying to sell, so when making your business story, this should be the highlight. What are your products? Your services? And everything in between?
How you deliver your what is what will get your audience hooked. This will keep them coming back for more as well as the most powerful detail that will convert your visitors to leads, and then leads to customers.
Elements of Content Marketing Storytelling
Creating great content involves knowing the elements of a good story. It should always have characters, conflict, and resolution. Having all three will result in content that answers a majority of the questions of your audience as well as will give your readers a sense of satisfaction.
Characters
For every content you are making, there should always be characters. Who the target audience are, the people you are talking about, and to whom the content is likely to help. Your characters can be yourself as you write in the first person point of view. This gives a confessional type of content and shares your experience with your readers.
Alternatively, you have the second person point of view wherein you are speaking to your audience. And for the third person point of view, this is more of what “he said” or “she said”, narrating what others have experienced just like a case study.
Knowing the characters in your content is important. Without them, you are unable to create specific content that will address specific concerns since your characters are a reflection of your buyer personas,
Conflict
Remember that what hooks your audience to your content is the capacity to learn. This makes it essential that a conflict should be integrated to whatever you are making. What are the problems? What are the challenges and hurdles that the content aims to solve?
The conflict is what creates a connection between the content and the reader. The more they relate to the conflict, the more they find themselves speaking to the content and creating an emotional connection.
Without conflict, there is no value to your content. You are not addressing any problems which means that it is not a necessity for any person to consume. Going back to the basics of content marketing, this is not just about creating content, but providing one that has value and of significant importance to an audience.
Resolution
Every good story ends with a resolution. A proper ending. How is the conflict resolved? This is the portion where the answers can be found. You can’t create content that mentions the problems of your audience but does not give them a solution to it.
While the conflict is what catches the attention of your audience and hooks them in, the resolution is what ultimately brings them closer to your brand and products. This is where you talk about how you are able to provide a solution to the underlying conflict.
Content Creation Framework for Content Marketing
Now that you have learned the key aspects and ingredients to great marketing content, the next step is to organize and find a systematic way to create one. A content creation framework entails that you list down content ideas, timelines and goals for each one of them, and if you are working with a team, who are the people responsible for each.
Content marketing is not just about creating one great article, it is about consistently providing content and growing the educational value of your brand. You are going to write and create a lot, and in that process, it is so easy to get lost.
Without a proper content framework, you are not able to know which articles go first, which ones are for specific audiences, and so on. It is also easy to get lost which ones you have written and what should come next to consistently hook a lead and then later turn them into a customer.
It is easy to spiral into a confusing abyss and before you know it, you have lost control on the flow of your marketing content. Going back to the basics, content marketing is a strategic distribution of content. It is knowing what and when to deliver something to a person to gain their interest and hook them. This ultimately means that a systematic approach with the help of a content creation framework is an essential aspect in the success of your content marketing strategy.
How To Create a Content Creation Framework for Content Marketing
Having an essential role in your content marketing success, a content creation framework should be made as concisely and accurately as possible. To leave no stone unturned, follow this 5-step method.
Conceptualizing Content
The first part of every content creation framework is coming up with the content that you are going to write. Topics should range from attracting your customer all the way to guiding them to make a purchase. Once you have thought about all the possible content you can write about, you are able to organize them in a systematic manner such as which ones should have priority over the other.
Also, laying out all the topics and content you can think of helps you realize which ones need more attention. Through this, you ensure that you are able to tackle all aspects that your audience are going to need.
Planning A Timeline
Knowing what to write or create is only half the battle, you are going to want to organize and strategize when to write them. By creating a timeline, you can deliver content in a systematic way. Begin with the articles that aim to help people understand that there is a problem before following it with something that introduces them to the solutions, and so on.
Planning your timeline also involves setting realistic deadlines to have a quantitative basis to the progress of your content marketing strategy. Always create content at a reasonable pace, especially that when things go too slow, it can ultimately lead to a failed campaign.
Creating A Workflow
If you are working with a team, having a workflow is essential. Who works on what. This is important to prevent a mixup. You don’t want people to accidentally work on the same content, nor have no one person doing the other.
A workflow ensures that you are able to stay on deadline by filtering out unexpected situations that could lead to delays. It keeps your personnel on schedule and make them efficient all throughout.
Reviewing and Editing Content
Content marketing pivots on the core concept of quality content, which makes it imperative that everything you create and provide is topnotch. With this being said, it should be reviewed and edited, not just once, but a couple of times.
It is a common instance that an article only appeals to one person, and that is no other than the author himself. They sometimes write based on their own taste and understanding. You wouldn’t want that, it would completely defeat the entire goal and purpose of the content marketing methodology.
Organizing and Storing Content
Content that is created is not short-lived. As a matter of fact, it could be timeless. It can be repeatedly used and distributed with minor revisions here and there. Therefore, you must have a system of organizing and storing content for future purposes.
Don’t reverse your progress. Prevent your business from going back to where it started just because you have to create new content for your customers. Minimize unnecessary costs and maintain efficiency throughout your entire content marketing campaign,
What is Long-Term Content Planning for Content Marketing?
It is common for businesses to set short-term goals. They want fast customers and immediate progress, and while this may be a positive outlook, consistency and quality is usually the question with these strategies.
When making your content marketing campaign always put priority on consistency. A long-term yet consistent strategy will always outweigh short-term efforts. By doing this, you are gaining quality attention from your audience which is going to have a much more significant and long lasting impact.
The concept of long-term content planning is building the interest of your audience through gradual content progression. You start with what will spark their interest, then followed by making them realize their problem, and so on. Instead of lasting for weeks, long-term content planning spans through more than a month.
It may take some time but genuine interest from your audience is going to have a much deeper impact on your brand. This results in loyalty and continued interest. Their attention does not end after making a purchase, but will come back for more in the future.
Improving Content Marketing Through Content Gap Analysis
If you are wondering what content gap analysis is, it is simply analyzing an existing content and finding what’s wrong with it for you to improve on. This could mean that you are improving your old content, or you are finding flaws from one that is written by someone else so that you can provide something original and much better into the market.
When looking at pre-existing content, there are always avenues to improve on. It can be written as perfectly as possible by the author and it can still further be revised. Remember that there is no perfect content, so you should never aim for one. Instead, learn to provide what your audience needs and wants. An article may not be generally perfect, but for the right people, it is everything they are going to need.
Content gap analysis starts with what’s lacking with the existing content. What is missing, incomplete, and in certain situations, what is wrong. That is the core and most fundamental assessment. However, you can extend beyond that.
You can take a look at its SEO ranking and how it stacks up, and learn how it could rank better. Gap analysis is not just about improving the content quality, but improving the content overall, allowing you to appeal to a wider audience and further make your content marketing strategy effective.
Structuring Your Content Marketing Blog Posts
Planning your content is half the battle. What you need to do now is to actually create it. Blog posts are going to be the easiest of them, but yet, there are a lot of things to keep in mind and to practice
Good blog post practices ensure that all your efforts in planning and developing your content doesn’t go to waste. Most articles have the quality, but because of how they are written, their audience don’t end up valuing the content. This is something that happens quite too often. Blog posts that are too lengthy, inconcise, far from the title, and so much more.
When creating your blog post, you have the introduction, body, and conclusion. The three most basic parts of any article, yet easily forgotten or disregarded. To gain the attention of your audience, the introduction should be informative yet brief. Don’t put that to waste by making the body scannable and easily understandable through subheadings. Then lastly, give your audience closure and peace of mind through a concise conclusion.
To further improve the effectiveness of your blog post, there are three general structures you can practice. In each of them, the idea is simple: keeping it concise, straight to the point, and scannable.
The List Post
The most common. You can find them in almost every blog and for good reasons. List posts are basically as straight to the point you can get. You make a list of the points you want to introduce and talk about, and that is it. An example title would be “10 Most Useful Applications of QR Codes”.
It is straightforward making it appealing for people who don’t necessarily have all the attention to read through a long article. It gives users the luxury to skim through and learn about the points which they are interested about.
Not only is it convenient and attractive to the reader, but for the writer as well. List posts are relatively easy to write. You don’t have to be a 5-star writer to create one. It only takes a little bit of research and your basic grasp of paragraph writing.
The Review or Recommendation Post
If what you are trying to say is not something that can be elaborated by specific points, you are going to write the review or recommendation post. Describe a certain product or service the way you see fit. Talk about features, things you liked, your complaints, and so much more.
This type of blog post allows for more creative freedom and content. As opposed to the list, you don’t have to stay in line with a certain topic or concentrate on only the positive or the negative side.
The most essential thing to remember is to keep subheadings and make everything concise. Most writers lose sight of the essence of why they are creating their content. They have so much to write that they don’t realize that they have created quite a long blog post that is already no longer appealing to an audience.
The How-To Post
Don’t forget about the How-to post, the most applicable structure if you want to give your audience a step-by-step guide. It is straight to the point and ensures that only the most important aspects of the teaching process are written, keeping your audience interested until the end.
Just like the list post, people have the luxury of getting a grasp of the content just by skimming through it. This makes it convenient for people with short attention spans or those ones who just want to review their knowledge about a certain process. It is so convenient that you end up appealing to a wide audience which is going to be the goal of your content in your content marketing strategy.
Content Marketing Organic Promotions
It is said that the success of your content doesn’t revolve around its quality, but more on how it is promoted. Something average, or even mediocre, can reach a much wider audience compared to one that has been heavily researched. The reason being, your content is only as good as how you can put it in front of an audience. With that being said, promoting it is as important. Here are just some organic ways how to.
SEO
To reach a much wider audience, your content should come up in search engines and they should rank high as well. This is where people are going to look for content so this will bring a much higher influx of traffic.
Search engine optimization can be done in different ways, depending on the search engine in question. Also, Google updates the algorithm it uses to rank its results, this means that strategies today may not function tomorrow.
It is a constant process of learning and adapting, and in most cases, you are going to want somebody who has the skills for it. It is going to be an investment, but definitely worth it as SEO can bring in more traffic relative to other organic ways.
Put in a little bit more effort and market your content by personally emailing your audience. The challenge here is gaining email contacts, but creating an email list is something that is acquired through different initiatives as your business progresses.
When doing email promotions, segment your audience. Learn which ones are bound to receive certain types of content to make it effective. Don’t overcompensate or mass distribute because you might end up becoming annoying instead of being helpful.
Emails are a great way to connect with your audience. It may be a little bit intrusive, but remember, the reason why you have their emails is because they somehow came to your business. This means that they have shown interest and that feeding them content is more of doing them a favor.
Social Media
With almost everybody having a social media account of some sort, it is important to promote your content in the social media pages of your business. The best part about this is that social media websites are designed to connect one person to another which creates a huge avenue of having your content being shared and reach a much wider audience.
Live Events and Webinars
Live events and webinars are strong avenues to promote your content. The question is, why? This is a place where people who have an interest for your business have gathered together. They have spent the time to get involved in your online event, which means that they are going to be interested in whatever else you have to give.
Podcasts
If you want to give more personality to your content, podcasts is the way to go. The main concept of podcasts is people talking about a certain topic. This makes it a great avenue to convert your written content into an interactive audio where people exchange ideas. You can then link your blog post for people who want to read instead.
Influencer Marketing
The dawn of social media has brought forth a new type of celebrity and they are the so-called influencers. Depending on the persona, they have their own specific fanbase and audience. You might want to capitalize on these people by associating your content with them. Just remember to search for an influencer who has a fanbase related to what you have to offer.
Word of Mouth
What may be the best form to spread the footprint of your content is through word of mouth. Create amazing blog posts that people are going to want to talk about. The more conversations that spark from it, the more people it reaches.
Word of mouth isn’t limited to people talking personally and physically. It can be through sharing in social media. With this being said, urge your audience to start conversations in whatever platform they prefer.
Content Syndication
Don’t limit yourself from publishing your content on your website. Remember, the more places you put it in, the more people it reaches. So, publish your blog posts on different websites that you can think of that allow for guest posting. Through this, you maximize the value of your content.
Content Repurposing
Your blog post might be great, but reading isn’t going to be everybody’s cup of tea. There are going to be ones that are going to appreciate something more visual. To get the best out of what you have researched and made, make it a habit to transform it into different materials to appeal to different audiences. That blog post about the benefits of a certain product, turn that into an infographic, video, or audio book.
Supplementing Content Marketing with Paid Marketing
If you have the money and want to give your content the little kick it needs to hastily reach a much wider audience, you can always invest in paid marketing strategies. The key here is to only acquire ones that are not intrusive to your audience. Here are some of your choices.
Google Ads
When you pay Google to display your blog post, what they do is put it on the first page of the search results. It’s like SEO but with immediate results. This is great because you are not forcing your content to your audience since they are already in the market for it. What you have to offer is simply given a front seat and on a silver platter.
With search engines being the primary source of content by a lot of people, it makes so much sense to put your blog post on the first page to easily be in front of a massive audience.
Social Media Ads
Another place where you can find your content being in front of a wide audience is social media, so it is logical to invest in ads on them as well. Just like Google Ads, they are not intrusive to the activities of your audience. They simply appear on the side, leaving it to the people to click on them.
The best thing about social media ads such as Facebook is that they integrate effective algorithms that ensure your content only appears to those who are likely to have interest in them. This ensures that you are not spending your marketing funds on people who are not looking for what you have to offer.
Paid Influencer Marketing
While influencers don’t have as much as a wider audience as paid ads, they do have a much more effective crowd. The fanbase of influencers are active people which means that when the influencer endorses something, it is likely going to have much bigger penetration to the receiving audience.
Measuring and Analyzing Content Marketing Success
It is important to be able to measure the progress and success rate of your content marketing strategy because this will ultimately tell you what to do next. This will allow you to see what needs improvement and the aspects that should be just maintained.
Measuring and analyzing can be approached in different ways, but here are the three core things that you should be tracking. These will give you a general idea on the effects of your content marketing campaign.
Traffic
Every website is going to allow you to keep track on your number of visitors. The more visits, the higher the likelihood of a person to find what they need and make a purchase, which is ultimately the goal of your campaign. Traffic reflects the success of your promotion.
This is one of the easiest things you can keep an eye on. To make things better, most platforms allow for a more comprehensive view of this type of data, making you see the rate of growth throughout a preferred time frame and so much more.
Engagement
While traffic allows you to see the number of people visiting your website, engagement is what gives you a better image of how your content is penetrating your visitors. Are they sharing your blog posts? Is it receiving likes and comments?
People who engage in your content are the ones that see value in it. This means that you are doing something right with your blog posts. You might be creating quality content, providing the right topics, and so much more. If you are on the other end of the spectrum with minimal to no engagement, then you know that your content is not impacting your audience. Engagement ultimately reflects the success of your content.
Lead Generation
As specified earlier, the most basic goal of content marketing is lead generation. You may be having growth in traffic and a lot of engagement, but when you are not generating leads, it means that you are doing something wrong. People may just be considering your website as a source of quality reference, but not seeing value in your brand and products.
Monitoring lead generation is through form completions, downloads, email subscriptions, or blog subscriptions. These will reflect how a person wants to stay connected with your brand and that they are interested with the things that you are offering. Once a visitor has given you their email, then you have a tight grip on their attention. The number of leads you make is a reflection on the overall success of your content marketing campaign.
In Conclusion
There are definitely quite a lot of things to remember and practice with content marketing, but it is going to be a worthwhile investment. It creates not just customers, but quality ones along with a strong and active audience who will spread the word about your business. Before you know it, you have effortlessly increased the footprint of your brand name. It is only the beginning that is hard, what follows is consistent and growing success.