The way we look at content marketing is changing very rapidly, in fact – the term itself ‘content marketing’ was coined only as far as two years back, but the professional marketers already knew what it means to produce and sell your best content.
In recent weeks I have noticed a very upsetting trend, a lot of the niche specific content that gets produced now is getting locked down with precautions such as social locking, having to download specific types of files to get the content we want, or content that is protected by a login box. All this for the sake of generating money.
That is not the route to take in the year 2015, and transparency should be one of the biggest priorities. The customer knows what he wants, and if you make him dig deeper than necessary, he will simply find a better alternative, even if it costs him money. Here are some tips to keep your content marketing strategy alive and kicking.
1. Collaboration
It may not apply to you if you’re a single editor for your blog, but it’s still something worth considering. Collaborating with your working peers is essential when it comes to publishing the best content possible, not only is everyone on the same page about the niche that you work in, all of you might have different experiences and takes on particular problems and how to approach them.
Luckily we’ve got a nice post on collaborative writing tools already written, check it out and let your team know that you’d like to write a post or two together as a team, and see how much more content rich it turns out. A strategy worth looking into.
2. Engage Your Design
If you want to get ahead of the curve, start to invest some time into designing your content with design in mind.
This includes:
- Well-timed popups
- Special offers only through content pages
- Subscription methods
- Other special offers
reward your readers with special offers, this will increase your signup rates, as well as the total number of subscribers you’re going to have, giving you the leverage
3. Start Collecting Emails
Relying on traditional methods such as social media and feed services are no longer as valuable as they used to be. Use every chance you get to collect your readers email addresses, and then make sure to deliver content to them at least once every week.
If you want to experiment with this, we recommend checking out Sumo tools for collecting emails, free and very convenient to use.
4. Invest in Big Pieces of Content
Yes, the traditional 700-1000 word articles still work, and will work for as long as search exists, but there is undeniable evidence that long-form content can outperform even the most sufficiently crafted short-form content out there. This research article on BuzzSumo has more on that.
Try it out, see how you can amplify your current content with more insights, advice and other resourceful resources. See what the industry is talking about, add the latest to your current content and see how it can help to accelerate your growth rate.
5. Visual Content is Worth Investing Into
There are those who like to watch their content in video format, or listen to audio podcasts, majority of content readers still prefer to read their content for better and more concise understanding, but visual content is also another major hit that is worth looking into.
Plain, boring text is passé; visual is in. Science reports that we respond to visual stimulation much better then optical. In the case of reading, our brain decodes visual information 60,000X faster than text.
This Forbes article is also agreeing that visual content is going to see new emerging trends in the year 2015.
Content Marketing Strategy in 2015
It will vary depending on our budgets, and our ability to share the content we want to. One of the most compelling articles that I recently read was from Buffer’s David Fallarme, who shared his four frameworks on how to approach content marketing in any year, and they’re some of the best techniques that you can currently find, at no cost to you.
How do you plan to tackle your content in the coming year, and what are some of your own insights that you would like to share with us?
Photo by FL
The digital marketing landscape is ripe with opportunities to differentiate and expand businesses with insightful data.
A list of tips to help you get back to basics and focus on creating quality content that achieves your overarching objectives.
1. Don’t Shoot For The Moon
2. Measure Your Performance
3. Remember The Human Component
4. Avoid Distractions
5. Make Your Content Fun