Therefore, your business needs content; it’s as simple as that. But the word ‘content’ is thrown around so much today that it can get lost in translation a little bit. It’s more involved than your business may realise, but it’s also infinitely powerful if done right.
So, how do you nail your content marketing program? With these 5 steps!
As I mentioned, the word ‘content’ is so commonplace today that it has paradoxically become misunderstood or underappreciated. It’s NOT pumping out tonnes of the same stuff and hoping for the best.
That’s how your competitors do it, right? (Or it should be!).
While Content may be King, I always teach in my classes that Engagement is Queen, and it’s so true. Your audience has a very limited attention span, which means that “throwing enough mud at a wall and hoping some sticks” just isn’t going to cut it. In fact, if you spam them this way, they will lose interest in you, and that’s completely counter-productive.
As a quick example:
- Instead of a daily newsletter all about your business, find out what questions they’re asking your customer service team, and answer them.
- Instead of random photos of scenery, do a how-to video to offer your audience more value from your products after purchase.
- If your industry or product is dry, don’t just accept it. Try something different like a PodCast or 20-second tips and interesting facts.
Obviously, everyone’s situation is different, but one thing that does unite is that progress can be made when you think outside of the box; your audience will appreciate the freshness too.
While Content may be King, I always teach in my classes that Engagement is Queen, and it’s so true.
Content Marketing is how you give your content a ‘spine’. By this, I mean it’s the way that you aim, strategise, coordinate, distribute and evaluate your overall approach to content.
Doing this sets up your business to be effective in this area, rather than hoping for the best.
Here are the five ways to help you do content marketing right.
A content marketing plan is an absolute must! Businesses that don’t start here at square one are already setting themselves up for failure, as this is how you become your competitor (the one that throws mud at the wall and hopes something sticks).
A content marketing plan asks the essential questions, such as:
- What’s the initial concept?
- Who is this for?
- Why are you creating this?
- Why would a customer care?
- How will you create it?
- What form will it take?
- When will it be created?
- How will your audience find it?
And so on.
Consistency and strategy lead to better control and coordination of a comprehensive approach, and will contribute to your campaign’s overall success.
This can’t be reiterated more. Businesses need to understand the true value that a professional, high-quality copywriter can offer them (hint: it’s a lot!)
Firstly, we write for a career, so that daily practise makes the right writer amazing at this. Don’t get your team to wing it and hope for the best, as your audience can spot the difference. There’s nothing more disengaging than content that is unpolished, unfocused and boring. It can damage your business’ image and ruin your chances of raising brand awareness (I’ve seen it so many times).
A high-quality copywriter can turn even the most mundane topic into something your customers actually want to download and spend time reading (eg: I’ve written an interesting booklet on barcodes once!).
A freelance writer also keeps your costs low, because you can use us as often as you need without hiring us internally. As a new campaign is created, you simply call your trusted writer, brief them and watch the content creation begin without delay, while you focus on your next project. Simple.
Plus, once you find a writer you like, they’ll get to know your business really well, and the whole process becomes so efficient. I work with clients now who just drop me an email saying: “I need another eBook for a new topic. You know our customers, strategy and products. Go for it.”
Just remember, you get what you paid for.
This is definitely true. Sure, there are ‘copywriters’ out there offering absolutely rock-bottom prices, but know that people overseas just can’t deliver the standards your Australian customers demand, and you’ll end up having to hire a quality writer anyway. Save yourself the trouble.
Another underrated source of content topics and ideas come from internal sources! So often, I see the marketing team scratching their heads wondering what to do next, when all they need to do is reach out to different departments and ask what the customer is asking them daily.
For example, your sales and customer service team have a wealth of insight into your customer that they would be happy to share. Even your more internal service-based departments, such as legal, medical, admin or finance often have a lot of ideas that you may have not considered.
Perhaps open the floor once a month at a meeting or offer incentives for the best idea of the week.
Content is all about your audience; if it doesn’t offer value and engage them, then it’s a waste of your resources.
So, open up the comments section and monitor their reactions. Have Google Analytics and the back end of your social media set up to monitor their responses. Watch your Google and Facebook star ratings, and so on.
Feedback keeps your finger on the pulse of what your audience is searching for.
I had a client once who approached me, wondering why his 8-minute videos weren’t working with his audience. I logged into the back of his YouTube channel, into the statistics section and saw that people were watching up until around the 1-minute mark before leaving, so I rewrote his scripts to all be under a minute, with a punchy hook and call to action. Suddenly, his engagement went through the roof.
Perhaps do a focus group or offer a prize to customers for doing your 2-minute survey about a recent piece of content.
If you want to be successful, feedback ‘from the horse’s mouth’ is important.
Ok, this step also gets forgotten or ignored a lot. But it’s crucial if you want to stay relevant and on-target.
As you experiment with different approaches to content marketing, you must monitor the success of each campaign and update your plan regularly. I’m not suggesting a full offsite meeting every few months! No, but perhaps you need to tweak your objectives, or your audience, or your media based on recent findings.
For example, you may have tried using Facebook, and found that LinkedIn was your more effective platform. Or, you may find that blogs are good, but recording them as a PodCast is a better way to extend your reach as your customers are too busy to read.
Whatever it is, don’t lose the valuable lessons your business learns from each campaign, as that insight is worth its weight in gold. Update your content marketing plan so you’re not starting from square one each time.
That insight is worth its weight in gold.
At Melotti Media, we understand that high quality copywriting is essential for business success, but it is easier said than done. You’re time poor and spread thin, and writing isn’t your expertise. So, focus on what really matters, while we take care of all of your copywriting and marketing needs!
If you need further clarification about content, or if you need a quality copywriter to get the results you need, contact me now at chris@melottimedia.com.au. Or leave a comment, below.
I can sharpen your words to achieve your goals, today!
Christopher Melotti
Melotti Media Copywriting and Marketing Solutions
www.melottimedia.com.au
Click here to view the Copywriting FAQ page for all you need to know
