There is an argument for the argument that content marketing is becoming the new SEO. With the rise of social commerce, influencer marketing, and user-generated content, it’s become increasingly difficult to rank in Google’s search results.
This is because Google is now prioritizing content that is shared and engaged with, rather than just content with keyword-rich titles. So, if you want your content to be seen by more people, you need to make sure it’s high quality and shareworthy.
To help you get started, we’ve compiled a list of 15 actionable tips for content marketing success. These tips are designed to help you create quality content that will drive traffic and lead to conversions. However, before we list them, lets look a little more at what makes content marketing so important.
Benefits of content marketing
When done correctly, content marketing can be an extremely effective way to reach your target audience and achieve your business goals. Here are some of the key benefits of content marketing:
1. Helps you build a better relationship with your target audience
The whole point of content marketing is to provide value to your target audience, and in doing so, you are effectively building a relationship with them. If your content is helpful and informative, they will begin to see you as a trusted source of information – which is crucial if you want to turn them into customers or clients.
2. Increases brand awareness and reach
If people are regularly reading your content and sharing it with their social networks, your brand is going to get a lot more exposure. This can only be a good thing, as it will help you to attract new customers and clients.
3. Drives traffic to your website
Every piece of content you create is another opportunity to drive traffic back to your website. If people enjoy your content, they’ll want to find out more about you and your business – so make sure you include links back to your site.
4. Increasing credibility and authority
By producing high-quality, informative content, you’ll start to establish yourself and your business as an expert in your field. People will begin to see you as a credible source of information, and this can only be good for business.
5. Increases your sales and revenue
Good content can ultimately lead to increased sales and revenue for your business. By providing useful, relevant information to your target audience, you’ll build trust and rapport – two essential ingredients for making a sale.
15 Actionable content marketing tips
Longer Headlines
A BuzzSumo Study about writing ideal headlines found that longer headlines are strongly correlated with high levels of social sharing. This means that not only will more people click on your article, but more people will also share it. So, instead of writing headlines that are just a few words long, try to make them at least six words.
- According to Backlinko, longer headlines (14-17 words) generate an average 76% more shares than shorter headlines.
- HubSpot found that headlines with eight to 12 words got the most Facebook likes and Twitter shares.
This means that if you want more people to share your articles, you should write longer headlines. Additionally, headlines that include emotional words tend to perform really well. They found that “positive superlatives” like “awesome” or “best” increased click-through rates by 13 percent. While these may seem like filler words, they actually help to make your headline more clickable.
Pillar content
Ordinarily, pillar content is much longer than other blog posts (we’re talking 3,000 words or more). This is because it covers a topic in-depth and provides readers with everything they need to know about that topic. You can argue that short posts are much more suitable for driving visibility than pillar content purely because they’re easier to produce and, as a result, can be churned out at a higher frequency; however, the truth is that if you want to rank for certain keywords, you need to produce pillar content.
Pillar content is great for a number of reasons:
- Not only does it provide readers with valuable information, but it also demonstrates to search engines that you’re an expert on a particular topic. This, in turn, will help you rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs) for the keywords you’re targeting.
- Pillar content can range from in-depth blog posts and guides to comprehensive 7-10 minute weekly YouTube videos and whitepapers. These content provide you with an opportunity to really dive deep on a topic and show off your expertise as well as provide value to your audience.
- Pillar content is also extremely flexible as you can repurpose it in a number of ways. For example, you can turn a blog post into a series of tweets or create an infographic from a whitepaper. Not only will this help you get more mileage out of your pillar content, but it will also make it easier for people to consume and share.
Brands like Ahref’s and Backlinko have made a killing with their pillar content strategy and there’s no reason you can’t do the same.
Mix up content:
The great thing about content is that it is extremely versatile and there are a number of different ways you can mix it up to keep things interesting. For example, you could alternate between blog posts, infographics, videos, etc. This will not only help to break up the monotony but it will also ensure that your audience is always seeing something new and fresh.
Additionally, you can also use different content formats to target different audience segments. For example, if you have a business-to-business (B2B) audience, you may want to focus on producing white papers and eBooks. However, if you have a business-to-consumer (B2C) audience, you may want to focus on creating more visual content like videos and infographics.
Even within one type of content, you can have numerous variations:
- Blog posts can come in many different forms, such as how-to guides, tips and tricks, lists, etc.
- In social media, you can share photos, videos, quotes, infographics, etc.
- Even something as simple as an email newsletter can be delivered in many different ways, such as a traditional text-based format or a more visually appealing HTML format.
Even different variations of the same content can serve to build up your following by appeasing them at different stages of interest and appeal. For example, your long-form content on YouTube might not be appealing to new viewers because they do not watch the whole video but YouTube shorts of the same content might catch their attention. This might interest them enough to end up watching the full video.
Include native content with social shares
Social media is all about sharing, so it only makes sense to include content that can be easily shared across platforms. However, these platforms really don’t like content that sends users away from the site. This is understandable, of course, as they want to keep users engaged on their site for as long as possible. Any content that sends users off their site is immediately buried and your lucky if you ever get to see it again.
One way to get around this is to create what’s called “native content.” This is content that can be easily consumed and shared without ever having to leave the social media platform. For example, if you’re a clothing retailer, you could post fashion tips or style inspiration directly on Pinterest or Instagram. If you’re a food blogger, you could post recipe videos on Facebook or Snapchat.
You can still make posts with links away from the site, but posting these links with a little bit of original content, according to Backlinko, allows the algorithms on social media platforms to see that you are posting original content and producing genuine engagement with the post content itself. This keeps your content alive and in circulation.
Power posts:
A power post is content that you produce with the intention to make it go viral, i.e., content that is so good, it gets picked up and shared by other people on social media. This could be a blog post, an infographic, or even just a really great tweet.
According to Backlinko, 1.3% of the articles published are responsible for 50% of social media shares.
Creating power posts is all about creating content that is share-worthy. This means thinking about what kinds of things people want to share with their social media followers.
Some ideas for creating power posts:
- Create an infographic that is both informative and visually appealing like a “meme.”
- Write a blog post that is truly helpful and provides value to the reader like a “how to” blog or video.
- Share a personal story that is relatable and inspiring like YouTube short or Instagram reel about a personal struggle or an achievement.
- Create a video that is funny, entertaining, or both like “doodle” or a “Reaction” video.
Padlock posts
Padlock posts are those that are designed to generate engagement and get people talking. The key with padlock posts is to get people engaged and talking, without coming across as offensive. It could be a post that asks a question, or one that is controversial, or even a follow-up post in a series, but is reserved for users who are email subscribers.
They are the kinds of posts that make people stop scrolling and take notice.
Here are some ideas for creating padlock posts:
Asking a question that gets people thinking like, “Which _____ are you?” or “What would you do in this situation?”
- Making a bold statement or taking a stand on something controversial.
- Asking for people’s opinions on a hot topic or current event.
- Starting a conversation with a follow-up post to a previous one, like asking for people’s thoughts on a particular issue.
You can even have images or questions that are like click-bait without being obvious like , “You won’t believe what this person did!”
The key to creating successful padlock posts is to make sure that they are interesting and engaging, while also staying on brand. You want people to remember your company or product, even if they don’t agree with your opinion!
Match the 3Cs of content
One of the main aims of content marketing is to provide users content that is meaningful and valuable to them and Google’s main aim is to provide the most relevant search results for any search query. Both these requirements point to the same thing – content that is high-value and matches search intent. This leads us to the 3 C’s of search intent:
Content Type: The type of content that you create must be in line with the search intent. For example, if you are tailoring content for a specific keyword or phrase, you need to make sure that the content type is appropriate for that keyword. If someone is searching for “How to make a cake” they are not looking for an article, they are looking for a recipe or a video. This seems like an obvious point but you would be surprised at how many people get it wrong
Content Format: The format of your content also needs to match the search intent. If someone is looking for a recipe, they don’t want to see a video or an article, they want to see a list of ingredients and instructions. On the other hand, if someone is looking for a how-to guide, they are most likely going to want to see a video or an article that walks them through the steps.
Content Angle: The angle of your content also needs to match the search intent. If someone is looking for a recipe to make lemonade, they are looking for something easy and quick, whereas if someone is looking for a recipe to make a cake, they are most likely looking for something that is more involved.
Tackle competitor’s best performing content:
Once you have a good understanding of what content is already out there and what is performing well, you can start to create content that is even better. This means looking at the competition’s best performing content and seeing how you can improve upon it. This could mean making your content more comprehensive, adding more graphics or videos, or writing from a different perspective. Whatever it is, make sure that your content is better than what is already out there.
Maybe this is taking the easy road, but if you can improve upon what is already popular, chances are your content will be successful as well. Another way is to take a different angle than what has been done before. This could mean creating content for the same topic from a new perspective, or taking on a controversial stance that no one has tackled before.
Whatever route you choose, make sure that your content is original, interesting, and engaging. This is what will ultimately draw people to your site and keep them coming back for more.
Create content hubs
Content hubs are a great way to keep your audience engaged and coming back for more. A content hub is essentially a collection of all your related content in one place. This could be a page on your website, or even a separate website altogether. The key is to make it easy for people to find and navigate.
Some elements you may want to include in your content hub are:
- A search bar: This will allow people to quickly and easily find the content they’re looking for.
- An index: This is a great way to help people find what they’re looking for if they’re not quite sure where to start.
- Categories: This will help you organize your content and make it easier for people to find what they’re interested in.
- Featured content: This is a great way to showcase your best and most popular content.
- Recent activity: This is a great way to keep people updated on what’s new with your business or website.
Design shareable images
Shareable images are basically just pictures that you can share or you can quite, or just those that are as simple as grab your attention. They could be attractive visuals, or high-quality definition, or even just a funny image. But ultimately, if it’s not compelling or eye-catching, people aren’t going to want to share it.
Generally, brands tend to post custom images for their blog posts or their social media shares. The key to making shareable images is to make them easily digestible. People should be able to understand what the image is trying to say without having to read too much or look too closely. For example, an image of a person’s face with a big smile is going to be more shareable than an image of a person’s face with a small smile.
Compelling meta descriptions
Meta descriptions are also important for shareability. A meta description for your website is the brief description that appears beneath your website’s URL in search results. This is your chance to tell potential readers what your website is all about and why they should visit it.
Even if Google does not use the meta description tag to understand the content on your page, if you can write a meta description that accurately reflects the content of your website and compels people to click on it, you’re more likely to get clicks and traffic. So, take the time to write a good meta description for each of your website’s pages.
Generally, your meta description tag should have the following:
- Bait: What the user is looking for.
- Juice: A hint to the details that can be expected.
- Hook: A compelling call to action
Optimize around untapped keywords
Most keyword research tools provide some insight into which keywords your competitors are targeting. This can give you a good starting point for your own keyword research. However, all these tools provide the same set of keywords to everybody. How do you tap into keywords no has noticed yet?
Well, you have to do some detective work.
Here’s one method that works well:
Step 1: Go through your Google Search Console account and check the queries that you rank for but don’t get clicks. These are the keywords you should be targeting.
Step 2: Find the pages on your website that rank for these keywords.
Step 3: Analyze the content of these pages and look for gaps. These are the topics you should be writing about.
This is just one method you can use to find untapped keywords. With a little creativity, you can come up with your own methods to find hidden gems.
PBC Introduction
Most people underestimate the significance of a good introduction. Its not just a bunch of superfluous words to make your article look longer. A good introduction can do two things; first, it can give the reader a broad overview of the topic so they know what to expect in the rest of the article. Second, it can introduce the main points of your article so the reader knows what to look for.
A lot of people think that introductions are just a way to pad out an article, but a PBC introduction can be essential to a good article. It works mostly the same way as writing meta descriptions that we described earlier:
- Preview: This is quick way to introduce what the user can expect from the article or what value they can gleam from the article.
- Benefits: This is what the user will get out of reading your article. They should be enticed by these benefits. Curiosity: End with a cliffhanger or something that will make them want to know more; this will keep them reading.
- Call-to-action: A CTA could be anything from asking a question to telling the user what you want them to do next.
Experiment with different forms of social media posts
Patience, consistency, and relentless effort is needed until you find a style that works for you, and make sure to test how different types of posts perform. Find a style and format that allows you to deliver value to your audience while still staying within the character limit.
When writing social media posts, it’s important to remember your audience. Write in a way that is relatable and easy to understand. Use images, infographics, and videos to break up text and make your posts more visually appealing. Try to be as concise as possible, and always leave a call-to-action at the end of your posts.
- Adding cuts to your videos makes your video much more viewable and professional. Most beginners tend to shoot their video in one or two takes. However, this is a mistake. If you want to improve the quality of your video, you need to start editing it.
- Cuts also help with the flow of your video. By cutting out the dead space and only keeping the most important footage, you can keep your viewers engaged throughout the entire video. Try to cut every 5-10 seconds to keep your video moving along.
- If you want to make your video even more engaging, try adding some b-roll footage. B-roll is additional footage that you can add to your video to supplement the main shot. This could be anything from shots of the environment to close-ups of objects or people.
Repurpose and update content.
Out with the old and in with the new might seem like a popular adage; however, it might not be completely true for content. You should always have relevant and up-to-date content but old content is still relevant today; all they need is a little updating and ramping up in visuals. Not all of your viewers will have seen all of your content, and those who have may not have seen it in a while. By taking old content and giving it a fresh spin, you can reach new viewers while still providing value to your loyal fans.
There are a few different ways that you can go about giving your old content new life. If you have an evergreen piece that doesn’t need much updating, consider recording a new introduction or adding updated graphics. If you have an older blog post, update the information and add new visuals. You can even create brand new content by turning old blog posts into infographics, videos or podcasts.
Conclusion
Content will always be the life and soul of your branding and marketing efforts. By understanding how to market your content, you can ensure that your target audience will see the value in what you have to say.
When it comes to marketing your content, there are a number of strategies you can use to get the most out of your efforts. By using a combination of SEO, social media, and email marketing, coupled with stellar content, you can reach a wider audience and ensure that your content is seen by those who are most interested in what you have to say.
All of the tips mentioned here in this article are applied by us here at Pixel Street. Our team of experts knows how to get your content in front of the right people, and we can help you create a marketing strategy that will get results
