1. Recycle Your Content
There are copious amounts of good content around you waiting to be used. Longer articles can be condensed into blogs. Blogs can be expanded into articles. Find where your customers have given feedback and turn it into testimonials. Turn copy into a video or infographic or vice versa, turn an infographic into copy. Be sure to use the content you have to its fullest extent.
2. Automate and Track
Once you have written that perfect blog, composed a compelling video, or designed the most beautiful infographic, it should be placed into a marketing automation system. As potential customers react and raise their hands, you know those leads are being followed up on. With these repetitive tasks handled by software, you can concentrate on content creation and not lead follow-up.
3. Don’t Be Self-Centered
In the broadcast era of marketing, brands preferred means of communication went something like this: “We are the best! Look at everything we do. How can you not love us and want to spend your money with us?” This brand-centric approach no longer works. Customers need to know how exactly you can help them. Customer value must be the first item on the agenda of your content.
4. Tell Customers What to Do
Compelling content leads to action. When that time comes make sure your customers know exactly what to do. You must create a clear call-to-action. Think of your content as a highway ushering traffic seamlessly to its desired destination. Hint: “Click Here” gets the highest percentage of clicks.
5. Don’t Be a Bore
Compel, confound, incite, enrage, but whatever you do, do NOT bore. Attack with stronger verbs and nouns rather than flowery, lilting adjectives. Vary your sentence length and structure. Add just enough conceit to ensure your reader is engaged. Boring content leads to absolutely nothing, while exciting content leads to leads.
6. Have Conversations
You have something to say, but so does your audience. Don’t make your content a one-sided conversation. Allow people to talk back and offer opinions and critiques. It’s only when you converse with people and allow them to speak that you build relationships. Allow for a comment section on all your content.
7. Give Your Content Authority
Too many times companies outsource their content to freelancers with no expertise in the desired subject matter. The result is generally fluff content that carries no authority. Customers will see right through the fluff, and you will be the one that suffers. If you are gonna outsource, make sure you hire someone with some expertise.
Content Marketing is a means to an end. It is not an overnight marketing miracle that magically grows revenue for your company. If you don’t take the time to do it right, then you are wasting your time. Done well and with consistency, there is no better way to build your company’s reputation and customer base.
Follow up with the conversation on Twitter with @randallreilly.
