Startup Guides > 9 Ways of Making Content More Effective

What is content marketing? Content marketing is a method of providing information of value that convinces an audience you are a trusted expert on your topic of mutual interest, and puts you top-of-mind when it is time they make a purchase decision. The model fits every industry you can think of, including yours.

Content marketing helps in generating more leads, sales, and business. It also helps improve conversions and effectively establish your brand.

Maybe these stats will help convince you.

• 80% of American Internet users interact with blogs and social media.
• 70% of people would rather learn about a company through articles than through ads.
• 90% of consumers find custom content useful.
• 62% less costly than traditional marketing.


But, you need a good strategy. Here are nine steps you can follow for great results.

1. Target Your Audience.
When marketing with content, the goal is usually to preserve your current customer base and reel in new consumers. Knowing how to connect with these intended audiences is the foundation of an effective content strategy.

The best approach is to view your audience as people, rather than statistics. What are they interested in learning? What are they specifically searching for online? What problems do they have? Answering these questions is the first step to success.

2. Create Value Added Content.
To expand the reach of your products or services, the content you deploy must be interesting and relevant. The information should strike a chord with readers emotionally, intellectually, and/or in terms of practicality.

3. Focus on Content Integrity
Consumers are smart and can differentiate solid information from spam. The latter can hurt your business. Consumers will avoid spammy material, whereas they will hold your company in high esteem if you prove to be authentic.

4. Define the Message of Your Content
Your content marketing strategy should be just one layer of your overall marketing campaign, which can include traditional marketing such as print, television commercials and ads on social media. Everything under the umbrella of your campaign should be synchronized.

The content pieces you put out should never contradict any other brand messaging, or your main objective. Rather, each promotional aspect should strengthen the other by reaffirming your company's overarching purpose.

5. Be Consistent
When creating your content strategy, be sure to decide on the frequency of your content and stick to it. Your readers, once engaged, will expect to receive information from you on a steady basis. If this doesn't occur, they will disengage.

Being consistent is the hallmark of a successful business in general. Everything from the quality of your products to the production of your content should be reliable. This will give you credibility needed to position your brand as an industry authority.

6. Use the Right Medium
The best channels to utilize tie back to your audience. If your services are geared toward senior citizens, a hard copy e-nwsletter might be their preferred medium. If you are focused on a younger crowd, social media may be best.

Promoting your content on social sites like Twitter can make it go viral. If the content is what readers are looking for, they won't hesitate to share.

And speaking of promotion, don't forget online marketing sites. You can visit 40billion.com which is a 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, 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 and promote crowdfunders and their campaigns/projects.

7. Plan, Plan And Plan
To be consistent, you will need a long-term editorial calendar. Once you establish the frequency of your efforts, determine the topics you want to tackle as far ahead as possible. This gives your subject matter experts time to gather information.

One should bear in mind, though, that it is impossible to fully predict the future. You may have to change a topic at the last minute based on a current event. Trends might change in a way not forecasted. Be prepared, yet flexible.

8. Leverage SEO
A solid content marketing strategy geared toward the right audience is pointless if it doesn't reach this audience. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is one of the best free ways to get valuable prospects to your web pages.

SEO involves incorporating keywords that consumers search for into your material. This way, your content will show up in search engine results and reach the computer/tablet/smartphone screens of your target audience.

9. Continue Collecting Data
Intelligence gathering doesn't stop when you identify your audience. The world keeps evolving, and so should your business. Keeping abreast of trends and stats ensures that your content is relevant at all times.

Additionally, it's important to track what the competition is doing. After all, they could be rounding up your customers. To measure content metrics, you can use programs like Google Analytics. Use online tools to see what competitors are up to.

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