Content marketing is vital for every business. But why is it so important that a whole (large) part of marketing is dedicated only to content? Find out what content marketing is, what content to create and how to do it well. Along the way, find out what the longest sentence ever published is.
What is content marketing? Why is it so important? And why is it more than just textwriting?
With the help of content marketing, you create your digital identity, shape how the audience perceives you, and, of course - build lasting relationships with that audience.
As the proverb says- the only way to find your voice is to use it. You will find that voice with little effort and minimal cost, best by creating content.
And let's clarify why such a title... We often hear that "huh?" when we mention content marketing to our clients.
Well, if you need to learn what content marketing is, what it represents for you, and where to start - stay tuned.
And when we say content, most people think of the written word, and that's not entirely true.
Content comes in various formats, such as textual, visual, audio or video material. It is published to be valuable, relevant and helpful to the audience.
In content marketing, "content" refers to any information you create, submit, and publish. And which aims to attract, engage and retain the target audience.
The goal of content in content marketing is not direct sales but building long-term relationships with the same audience. (But, in the end – sales, too).
The content should respond to the audience's needs, providing them with knowledge, solutions, entertainment or inspiration.
We could say that content marketing is your digital personality.
If you think that everyone will be enthusiastic about your content marketing and what you have to say - they won't. Creating good content is not difficult, but it can be "a bit" complicated.
Yes - content marketing actually means content, but it's not just text, it also includes:
All of the above is a great way to convert your website visitors into customers.
But if you want to attract them, you need to understand them and provide them with the values they seek.
And that would mean - the content you create should be relevant to your audience, informative and interesting, and reflect your brand's message.
How does content convert visitors into customers? Here are some examples:
Depending on which marketer you follow (if you follow them at all), you will come across different information regarding storytelling and SEO.
Some say you should strictly adhere to the rules set by search engines (such as Google). Others say - if you have something smart to say, write or publish - do it.
Some will find your information valuable, and some will not. And that's right... And Google constantly monitors what you do, that is, what kind of content you publish.
So what is important? Storytelling is important - to continuously tell a good story. And in content marketing, when you combine a good story and SEO - that's it then.
The primary function of SEO is not only the visibility of your content but visibility at the right place at the right time.
And in SEO, it's all about keywords and using them wisely.
The most important thing is actually the story and how many benefits those who read get from what they read.
Of course, SEO is not just text with a few keywords; it also includes optimisation. Examples of effective SEO are:
1.Using relevant keywords
Good content involves researching and integrating keywords that your target audience uses, i.e. searches, into your web content, titles, meta descriptions and URLs.
Tools: Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, Moz Keyword Explorer
How to use: These tools allow keyword research with information on search volume, keyword competitiveness, and related terms.
2. Optimisation for mobile devices
Your website must be adapted for mobile devices and load quickly. The website must be responsive and display properly on different devices.
Tools: Lighthouse, GTmetrix, Pingdom
How to use: These tools analyse your website and show how mobile-friendly it is. It will show you how your site looks on mobile devices and give recommendations for improvement.
3.Improving page load speed
Improving website loading speed includes reducing the size of images, optimising codes, and reducing the number of HTTP requests.
Tools: PageSpeed Insights
How to use: This tool analyses the loading speed of your website and gives recommendations on how to optimise and speed it up.
4.Creating quality and relevant content
Post helpful content regularly. One that would answer questions, solve your audience's problems, respond to their needs, and support their interests.
Tools: Google Analytics, BuzzSumo
How to use: Google Analytics is a tool with which you will check the behaviour of users on your website, while BuzzSumo enables the analysis of popular content in your niche.
5.Building backlinks
Take every opportunity to build quality external links to your site to improve your web authority and ranking.
Tools: Ahrefs, Majestic, Moz
How to use: These tools provide detailed information about your site's backlinks and your competitors' sites. They are also useful for monitoring the status of your backlinks and detecting potentially harmful links.
Content marketing, as you can see from all of the examples above, is not a one-off thing, where you do something, achieve your goal, and - thank you, bye.
It is a continuous process of your business that requires monitoring, analysis, changes and improvements, and strategy adjustments.
Performance indicators of the (so-called Metrics) that you can (and should) regularly monitor in content marketing are:
Tracking and analysing data is essential because, at the end of the day, you need to know how your content "communicates" with your audience. Tools like Google Analytics, SEMrush, Ahrefs, and Moz can help you in this process by allowing you to:
In content marketing, they say the most important thing is to guess (or analyse well) the content your audience needs. Marketing experts also say it is not a product or a service that should be sold but an emotion.
Well, speaking of emotions - create content that evokes emotions that will encourage a purchase, contact, inquiry, subscription to the newsletter and the like.
Innovations in content marketing are constant, and we will not ignore the recently very popular artificial intelligence and machine learning tools.
And yes, tools of this kind greatly help content marketing. But only that - help!
A human, copywriter or marketer of any kind should be the one to have the final say.
If you're using AI-generated content, review it carefully - is it content you'd read yourself?
If not, you know what to do.
Most important about content marketing is that the content is easily understandable to laymen, and the text is simple and easy to read.
So - without too complicated words or too long sentences.
Unless you're chasing a Guinness World Record, then like Johnathan Coe, you'll write a sentence of 13,955 words in your novel The Rotter's Club.
*Fun fact - until recently, that "record" was held by James Joyce for a sentence of 4,391 words in his novel Ulysses.
It is more important to understand the audience and stay informed about their wants and needs. Knowing your audience's needs allows you to constantly adjust your content marketing and create content.
Write and publish new content, revise old content, replace outdated content with new information...
Some studies show that the average person forgets what they've seen or read in six months.
What would this mean in content marketing - feel free to revise content (e.g. blogs) older than 6 months and publish it as "new".
And if you're online and have a website and social media, but you're not actually on the digital scene i.e. you're not doing content marketing - you are nowhere.
You are not creative? Have no ideas or don't know where to start? Contact us for content marketing solutions that will be adapted to your needs.
If you need advice, contact us, and we will help you make your content interesting, readable and well-positioned.