Content marketing provides the best opportunity for marketers to boost their results by producing a diverse set of content, which is both relevant and useful for readers. Helpful content that can deliver precisely what the audience wants helps build a robust online presence, build an authentic reputation, and grow a loyal community.
With over 84% of the total marketers investing heavily into their content marketing strategies, 2021 is the time to build a strong marketing plan focusing on content. Additionally, in 2020, 51% of the companies reported that their content marketing strategy is proving to be fruit-full for their business, and 46% deliver positive results.
However, a content marketing strategy is only as good as the practices that you use are. We have compiled a list of all the best practices and trends you need to employ this year to make your content efforts a success!
Image: iStock.
Don't try to sell too hard
Sounding like a salesperson is the number one turn down when it comes to content marketing. Nothing will kill a great piece of content like your salesperson tone. We understand that you are in the market to sell your products and services, but it certainly does not mean that you should hit your audience with a sales copy instead of a well-written piece of content.
Make sure that you include lots of relevant content in the piece and stay as subtle as you possibly can. Reading your article should be evident that you care more about the audience than you do about selling your product!
Include a CTA
We cannot stress enough the importance of including a CTA in each one of your articles, post, or even email. If you do not tell the audience what you want them to do, you will never get it done. Include a button or a link that shows the reader what you want them to do next.
Image: iStock.
Repurpose content for different channels
Not all socials channels are the same; neither is the audience that is present on it. However, creating a separate content strategy for each one can be quite time-consuming and require heaps of content to be generated.
This is why you should focus on generating content that can use across multiple networks with small tweaks. From one article that you post on your blog, you can create a small social media copy for Facebook, a short animation to go up on Instagram, and a great 'quote' tweet for Twitter.
All your socials will stay active, and you will direct traffic to your blog with links that you include in these posts. Use bit.ly or a similar link shortener to track how well your socials are doing.
Image: iStock.
Quality over quantity
In 2021, your focus should be on creating quality content instead of creating a truckload of content that has no meaningful information in them. Focus on updating your previous blog so that Google would consider ranking them and not dispose of them. If Google finds that these articles are outdated and are no longer useful for the audience, it will de-rank them. Similarly, Google now focuses on content that is relevant to repetitive content. Make sure that you are avoiding it!
Content marketing can be your one-way ticket to success, or it can bring you down like a rock. Using these best practices in 2021 will enable you to create waves is the only way forward for successful content marketing.
Read more of our digital marketing articles.
If you are looking to upskill, take the next step in your career, or simply learn the basics and start your path in this exciting field, have a look at our courses.