Startup Guides > Content Marketing Made Easier With These 5 Tricks

Everyone's buzzing about content marketing these days, and for good reason. While advertising isn't dead by any means, the digital age has spawned a brave new era for today's marketer. Selling no longer works like it used to. But informing, educating, and even entertaining, does work.

That's what content marketing is all about: Providing information of value that convinces an audience you are a trusted expert on your topic of interest, and puts you top-of-mind when it is time for them to make a purchase decision.

The following 5 strategies will help you navigate the process a little easier. The key is breaking the process down into 5 progressive steps - Plan, Produce, Publish, Promote and Prove.

1) PLAN

You need to put a plan together.


The first step is deciding what content formats make sense for your audience. Try the following strategies:

* Blogging - for increasing website traffic.
* Infographics - for social sharing.
* Articles - for educating consumers and increasing awareness.
* E-books, whitepapers and other digital works - for generating leads.
* Social Media - for creating engagement.
* Video - for generating "viral" traffic.

2) PRODUCE

Now is the time to create the content. Here's the trick:

Everybody in your organization wants to help, and you need those topical experts on your side. Reality comes in a little differently though. People have jobs to do and can find it hard to devote time to content writing and creation.

Designate a content marketing champion within your organization. This individual owns the content process and has at least part, if not all, of their focus on content. They should also be well versed in SEO, social strategy, and engaging copywriting.

3) PUBLISH

Content needs a home. Your website is the obvious answer. But there are additional right answers too.

Your blog will live on your website to hopefully drive loads of referral and social traffic. WordPress has one of the best blog publishing platforms. Post e-books and infographics, but create a landing page for each, so that prospects offer their contact information before downloading and can be converted into leads.

Also, consider publishing content exclusively on social media. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram all make it easy for you to publish freely and reach an audience.

4) PROMOTE

Here is where the wheels can come off your proverbial content bus. You have planned, produced and published great content, but you still need exposure for it. The mantra "If we build it they will come" does not work for content marketing. You must promote your content to get additional new eyeballs on it - not the same old eyeballs that happen to be on your website.

Again, designate someone in charge of social media and use that marketing channel to drive more traffic and leads. Engage in public discussions, make everything easy to share, and keep conversations going.

For easier social media promotion, try automated online marketing sites. You can visit 40Billion.com which is the fastest-growing network of entrepreneurs and crowdfunders. They specialize in promotion of small businesses by broadcasting and promoting to its large network of several million users across the most popular social networking sites for small businesses - including Twitter, LinkedIn, 40Billion, Google and even Facebook. Innovative services like tweet ads and promoted company listings were created for small entrepreneurs to tap into a growing, active network online without spending thousands on pay-per-click ads or traditional advertising. They also offer crowdfunding promotion to promote crowdfunders and their projects.

5) PROVE

Be ready to demonstrate that your investment into content marketing produces ROI (return on investment). Analytics are essential. Use your preferred analytics platform (e.g., Google Analytics) to monitor website traffic. Be sure to compare current results to results you saw prior to beginning your content marketing campaigns. Quantify how your content marketing efforts have increased traffic, engagement and sales.

Here is a list of metrics that can prove your content marketing works:

(1) Visitor/User Traffic
(2) Page views
(3) Time spent
(4) Search engine results page (SERP) rank
(5) Social activity
(6) Sign-ups or subscriptions
(7) Leads generated
(8) Opportunities created
(9) Sales made

CONCLUSION

Plan. Produce. Publish. Promote. Prove.

When putting together your first content marketing program, or when working to revive an existing one, divide your thinking into these five essential functions and don't leave any of them out. Together they make up the most critical elements that will make your content marketing program successful.

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