8 content marketing tips to be successful in 2018.
It is generally agreed that creating high-quality content is the most important thing you can do to increase your brand awareness and therefore your sales.
But high-quality content is an abstract concept. What works well for someone else may not have the same effect for you. So how do we ensure that our content marketing strategy is successful?
The following list of 8 content marketing tips will help you succeed in 2018. These tips are current, to the point and specific enough to work for your business. First, let's look at what is influenced by your content.
- Traffic (quality content is good for your SEO)
- Social media engagement
- Brand awareness
- Conversions
- Authority in your niche (are you seen as an expert or not?)
From email marketing to PPC and social media, it's your content that makes the difference between you and your competition, between success and failure.
What exactly do you need to do to ensure the success of your content marketing activities?
1. be informative.
Your readers should see you as an expert in your field. Don't beat around the bush, don't deviate from the topic and don't write without first asking yourself: What does my customer want?
Your reader expects information in response to their questions. The good news is that the fact that they are reading your content means that they are already interested in your service. Take this opportunity and give them a good reason to continue.
Good content gives you the opportunity to do this. Answer the customer's questions. Show them why you are the right person for the job.
2. go into the details.
In recent years, 300 word articles were fine. But today's modern user is an expert at finding the information they want. Although at first glance, short articles may seem to be what customers want, it turns out that
The following statistics show that this is not the case:
This statistic was compiled in 2017 and comes from the study: "Health benefits of meditation". The results were measured daily over 6 months.
Below is the average number of words for each position on the first page of the search engine:
| Words | Ranking |
| 2.300 | 1 |
| 2.350 | 2 |
| 1.970 | 3 |
| 1.800 | 4 |
| 1.750 | 5 |
| 1.730 | 6 |
| 1.600 | 7 |
The search engine placement or ranking achieved is a visible indicator of whether the content is valuable to readers or not. Here, the results clearly show that longer articles receive more views.
One possible reason for this is that they contain more information than shorter articles. So instead of searching and reading 3 different articles, users prefer to read one longer article.
However, please note that the use of mobile devices for internet research is increasing rapidly and mobile users generally prefer shorter articles. So it really depends on your target audience. But as a clear recommendation:
300 words in articles is not enough these days. We recommend sticking to over 1,000 words and keeping topics detailed yet easy to understand. Don't sacrifice quality for quantity and only write if you really have something "valuable" to say.
3. engage your readership:
Probably one of the most important changes in content marketing is the ever-increasing importance of interaction with your customers.
The exchange with your readers gives you the opportunity to engage with your customers and present your product or service based on specific customer needs. Another advantage is that your users give you feedback and thus the opportunity to constantly adapt your content marketing strategy and improve your service and product.
To connect effectively with your audience, you need to know each other. Demographics such as gender, age, marital status, language and financial status will help. Take note of your audience's hobbies, work and favorite pastimes. This will give you a good insight into who you are selling to.
Secondly, personalize. Today, social media has made this very easy, but also necessary. Every user wants to feel like your only and most important customer. Today, you simply have the opportunity to give them this feeling. A customer who feels respected will always prefer you over your competition.
Answer questions and reviews, whether positive or negative. This shows your prospective customers that you care about them and their problems. It builds a relationship of trust and gives you the opportunity to make positive changes to user ratings.
4. visualize your messages.
There are many other ways to create content besides text. Try videos, infographics, images and podcasts.
Let's face it, the information you write can probably be found on multiple websites in various forms. You need to be unique, you need to captivate your audience and you need to bring something new to the table if you want to increase your content marketing success.
Modern technology offers you the opportunity to do this. Not only is it becoming easier to create infographics or videos, but there are also new and creative ways to advertise them.
5 Keep your texts simple.
People's attention spans are getting shorter and shorter. Reading 3,000-word full-text articles is not always on the agenda, so stay relevant and write in a way that is easy to read.
Stick to your topic, don't write in a complicated way and keep your tone casual. Use tables, bullet points and lists to give your ideas a clear structure.
Look for ways to deliver your information simply and straightforwardly and remove all useless technical terms from your text.
6. promote your content.
Just writing is not enough. If you want to ensure the success of your content, you need at least the same amount of time to promote your content as you do to create it.
Some good ways to promote your new posts:
- Social media
- Newsletter
- Share links in the comments to related articles
- Send your content to a community (perhaps a Facebook group)
7. focus on benefits (of your customer).
This may not be true for everyone, especially not for technical fields like IT or engineering, but people are usually looking for a specific answer when they type a question into a search query. Let's take nutrition as an example.
Your article will be more successful if you talk about the benefits of eating fat versus carbs than if you just talk about the downsides of carbs alone. You need to find an alternative to help the user see the positive side of the service you are offering.
Without going too deep into the psychology and thought process behind it, users searching the key phrase above are likely looking for an excuse to eat more bacon for breakfast, not a reason to eat fewer bagels.
You need to inform, but you also need to give the customer what they want to hear if you want to be successful. So always focus on the positive effects.
8. write convincing headlines.
As already mentioned, attention spans are short and competition on the Internet is fierce. So, to put it simply, make sure you grab your customers' attention before your competition does.
Use convincing headlines for this. Your headlines must captivate your readers at first glance. Here are a few suggestions.
- Use numbers. The human brain sees numbers as proof that you have something of great value to say. Here are a few examples:
"Increase ROI by 50 %." "10 reasons to quit smoking." "Why you should invest €1,000 in shares."
Adding any number in a headline attracts the attention of your customers and makes the article appear more relevant.
- Create a sense of urgency. People today are used to finding solutions as quickly as possible. A sense of urgency in the title not only increases your click-through rate, but also the chance that the reader will read your article to the end:
"5 Movies You Need to Watch Now", "Why You Should Invest Your Money Right Now", "Get Your Computer Checked Now".
- Be precise, go into detail. This works well if you already know what your target group is looking for. Being specific sets your article apart from the majority of texts on the Internet:
"Step-by-step process to create a nutrition plan in 30 minutes", "2 questions to ask your clients when you meet them for the first time".
Bonus:** 8 questions you should ask yourself before publishing content:
- Does the content I write help to solve a problem?
- Is it entertaining?
- Are my grammar and spelling correct?
- Is my content logically structured?
- Is my content unique and original?
- Do I provide answers to user questions?
- Do the images or videos I use complete the content?
- Am I really relevant to my topic?
If you answer "yes" to all of the above questions, congratulations, your content is of high quality.
As promised, 8 content marketing tips for success in 2018. If you follow these tips, you'll be one step ahead of your competition.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any further questions on this topic.
