Think of recent interactions with a brand. Whether it be social media, website, or live chat support, almost all interactions contain some form of content. You might not realize it, but the content is everywhere!
Content is and always will be a crucial part of any business. According to HubSpot, 46 percent of a company’s budget is spent on content creation!
Yet, many marketers struggle with it. In fact, as per CMI, over 65 percent of people find creating content to be an immense challenge. And 60 percent of people find it hard to produce content consistently.
To make sure that your content game is strong, you need to take the right steps. Here is what you should do.
Have a consistent tone across mediums
Forbes reports that consistent brand presentation across channels can help boost revenue by 23 percent!
When it comes to your content marketing strategy, consistency refers to your brand voice and tone.
Having a consistent tone helps in building trust with your target audience, who are able to assess and understand the essence of your brand. In turn, this helps in building your brand identity.
Let’s take the example of LaCroix Sparkling Water. Regardless of what marketing collateral you see of the product, it always offers a pithy and punchy statement while illustrating a laid-back and informative tone.
While the idea seems simple enough, maintaining consistency in a brand is quite challenging when you are working in a big team. Here, every member must be well-versed in the personality, tone, and voice of the brand.
Hence, as a practice, begin by creating a brand persona and guide that you relay to all team members.
While the actual construction may vary according to medium, the essence must remain the same. For instance, your blogs might be much more verbose in their sentence construction, but the personality of the brand that comes out should be the same as in the case of your advertorials.
Post consistently
Whether it be social media or website blogs, you need to have a standard frequency you must maintain when it comes to your posting schedule. It may seem to be difficult for beginners but as time passes it will be easier for you. If you are on Instagram and finding it difficult to do all these tasks alone, then you may look for an Instagram bot to easily get all the work done for Instagram boosting.
This includes the date and frequency of your post.
Note that the right number will vary according to the platform. For instance, according to a study conducted by HubSpot, businesses should post thrice a week on their social media platforms. On the other hand, companies that post daily blogs feature high engagement.
Similarly, the ideal time for posting a blog is usually 11 am. And the time and date vary as per the different social media platforms. Here is a summary of the times that feature the highest traffic.
Use these insights to create a content schedule. If in doubt, always start with fewer posts and slowly build it up as you gain confidence in your content creation skills.
If you wish to leverage the power of the online world from the get-go, it is best to seek help from professionals. Make sure to select ones that operate within your area and niche. For example, if you operate in Colorado, you can avail content marketing services in Denver.
Have an intriguing hook at the start
The beginning of your piece of content will decide whether or not readers will bother reading the whole thing. Hence, take your time in developing the core hook of your blog post.
Here, researching your target audience will help. Know their demographics, interest, desires, and needs. This will allow you to create an ideal audience persona and create content that will best engage such a person.
Here are some ways you can engage your audience with your content:
- Use the art of storytelling at the start to set up your topic
- Quote statistics and relevant people to create an impact
- Pose questions and answer them later on so that readers know what to expect
- Be upfront in the introduction about why the topic matters
Here is an example of Buffer, which uses questions and active-voice to engage customers.
We don’t know about you, but we are enticed to click on the blogposts after reading the first few lines!
Step outside the box
Why is it that when people think of content, they only ever think of company blogs and guest blogging? Mind you; those are great platforms to start your content marketing journey at! But, it is essential to note that every marketer will be using the same tactics.
To stand out, you must diversify. Give your customers something extra via case studies, infographics, and webinars. As per Wyzowl, 87 percent of marketers report that videos help increase traffic to their website. Research by Edison reveals that 100 million Americans alone listen to podcasts.
These are all potential channels you can enter. Yes, the content you create for it will differ vastly from blog posts. But, it will also allow you to express your brand value and image in a way you never have before!
Sephora came up with an excellent campaign featuring a podcast called #LIPSTORIES. In this limited series, Girlboss Radio partnered with the brand to celebrate its line of lipsticks, and the inspirational women each were based on. Each episode focused on an influential figure telling their stories.
This allowed the brand to cultivate and promote its brand promise of empowering and connecting women.
You are ready!
Once you incorporate each of these four tactics, you will be able to successfully amp up your content game. Take your time and create a winning content marketing strategy. Implement it impeccably and analyze the results to see what works and what doesn’t for your specific niche.
Just remember one thing – don’t ever see any piece of content in isolation. Each piece is part of a much bigger picture – your brand identity. Piece by piece, build your identity to boost loyalty and resonance among your customers.
We are certain that soon your brand will also feature in the list of exceptional content marketing campaigns! Till then, keep trying!
