Effective content marketing: writing for the success of your business

If you vaguely pay attention to what is going on in the world of digital marketing, you should have heard of the term content marketing or content strategy. While strategic content is nothing new, few people understand what content marketing is, never mind what it entails to effectively develop and execute a content marketing campaign.

Let’s set the record straight

Writing or starting a company blog is not content marketing. Writing about company culture is not content marketing. Content marketing is not selling your company’s services or products in an article or blog post.

Content marketing is the well-researched and strategic application of information that aims to serve a public need and generate profitable activity towards your business.

There isn’t a single way of applying content marketing, instead it can only be executed by means of trial and error. By providing the public with valuable information about an area of your expertise, you are portraying yourself as an expert in your field and increasing the chances of companies approaching you for business. It also serves as a useful SEO vehicle that expands your digital footprint.

First things first

You need to identify the goal posts. As with anything to do with strategy, you need to identify your goals first and then work backwards from there. You also need to realise that the goal posts are going to move as you go along. By trial and error you’ll learn what works, what doesn’t and what you need to change. Often your main objectives will shift as you go along and learn what is possible.

Research, research, research

Put the long hours in before you start writing. Know what is being said, who is saying what and what is not being said. You have to know your market and what is going on or you’ll just look stupid.

• Identify a gap and aim to fill it.
• If you don’t put the miles in here, your content won’t have the legs later.
• Look for a niche, a specialised group you can write specifically for.

Decide on your tactics

Once you know what needs to be said, you need to decide how you are going to say it.

• Your delivery is vital to the success of your efforts.
• Make sure your content always has a clear objective at all times.
• If you don’t effectively communicate your message, you’ll just slide into the realm of insignificance.

Learn from your mistakes

Once you have published your content, you need to assess how it performed.

• Did it produce the goals you are after? Depending on your objectives, you’ll have a variety of results you can measure and then you can adjust your approach accordingly.

Repeat

Do it all again, just with the added wisdom you’ve obtained. Life is difficult, but nothing worth having is easily gained.

Want ensure that your content gets found? Depending on where you are publishing your article you can work closely with an SEO professional to ensure that the on-page technical elements have been taken care of to optimise your article’s visibility. What’s the point of great content if no one can find it?