Content Marketing – Everything You Need to Know

Read practically EVERYTHING You Need To Know About Content Marketing & creating a Killer Content Marketing Strategy.

If you have landed here, chances that you want to read on Content Marketing or get the hang of creating an exceptional Strategy, are pretty high.

So, let’s get straight to the point.

If you are a business owner or a marketing learner, you’re about to know practically everything you want to (or should) know about Content Marketing. Even if you are a Marketing veteran, brushing up a little doesn’t hurt. 

Let’s get down to it.

This is how we’d define Content Marketing for beginners:

We manage the practices of providing your prospects with valuable Content consistently and strategically to attract, engage, and convert them under the umbrella term of Content Marketing. 

Sounds easy, right?

It might be easy as well (OR NOT), but by no means is the process as simple as it sounds – REALITY CHECK!

The foremost challenge that the Content Marketers face is none other than developing a sound strategy, especially when you have to create it from scratch. However, the list of challenges does not end here.

What more do they have to face in the process of being called a *Sain Content Marketer*?

Actually, A LOT more. 

Let’s cut to the chase and see why do we need to know everything about the Content Marketing in the first place:

Content Marketing-Trends

Let us make it a little interesting now. 

Here is what Google Trends tell us about the popularity of the topic of CONTENT MARKETING since 2004.

 

If the image has you wondering, the first peak appeared in August 2006. That peak has had no competition to date, but there was a long flat line – the like of which we have not seen ever since. If you would like it uttered in the simplest possible words, people showed literally no heed to the subject for a long, long time after the first peak.

The peaks after the flat zone have no match to the first one, but they do depict a continuous (slowing down and peaking up yet) non-stop interest in the subject. 

The fact that the second prominent peak after Aug 2006 appears on July 19 might fascinate you! Well, guess what! The interest has only been on the rise!

Also, you might have seen the trend on the rise each time after the word *Note*. The first note shows improvement in Google’s Geographical assignment applied on January 1, 2011. The second note declares the improvement in Google’s data collection system applied on January 1 2016.

Hence established, we have a very good reason to dig deeper into everything – Content Marketing, religiously.

Let’s start with the basics. Shall we?

Content Marketing – The Basics:

You might have a hard time believing that biting off more than they can chew is the demand for a Content Marketer’s profession. Right? 

As you read on, you’d see how that’s true.

But worry not for there is the perky side too. The side that keeps them energized and going until the goals are met. (And, we shall see to that side too, so cheer up already!)

To begin with, this list might help you see the bigger picture that Content Marketers have to see. These are some of the factors either causing a decline in results or demanding more effort on Content Marketer’s part for success.

Content Marketing challenges

1- Ever-increasing Competition

2- Fast-changing trends

3- Lack of audience-understanding and inaccurate targeting

4- Content Marketing goals & Strategy mismatch 

5- Lack of sufficient resources

6- Ambiguous goals

7- Inaccurate measuring and optimization of performance

8- Inconsistency in following the Content calendar

9- Curating Content that they want (or basing Content on assumptions) instead of focusing on what the audience wants

10- Trying to apply one businesses’ content strategy/theme on another

The list is long, and so it should be; after all, there is no such thing as a free lunch. 

However, it is not to disappoint you, especially if you are a beginner.

And speaking of disappointment, bear in mind – Challenges are not all that content marketers face day in day out. They have happy days too, as already mentioned!

The days when they look at the challenges in the eyes and compete them. The days when they win the challenges. For those days, rewards are Content Marketing benefits.

Those benefits of Content Marketing are the point of another discussion, in detail. For the sake of this post, however (and the beginners whom we do not want to disappoint), let us get to a brief pep talk.

Benefits of Content Marketing:

 

The benefits you draw out of content marketing are somewhat synonyms to achieving some of the goals you have set for the process. We have slightly covered the benefits of Content Marketing in this blog post. Here is another brief list:

1- Brand awareness

2- Brand positioning

3- Builds a relationship with prospects

4- Develops rapport

5- Brings high-quality traffic

6- Engages prospects

7- Nurtures leads

8- Gives a high conversion rate

9- High credibility and excellent receptions impact your Search Engine ranking

10- Variety of valuable Content on multiple channels results in multiple touchpoints and point of sales

11- Your efforts educate your audience

12- Content Marketing benefits each kind of business & industry irrespective of the size and other aspects

13- Social traffic & engagement further brings you Social Proof 

And the list goes on…

Alright, now since we are talking about EVERYTHING ABOUT CONTENT MARKETING, let’s switch gears. Here’s another exciting turn:

The importance of Content-Length in Content Marketing

While we discussed the trends of the subject – Content Marketing – there is an interesting aspect that could use your attention.

A blog is undoubtedly an important and the most prominent type of Content. The question of factors to impact it’s ranking, however, is a somewhat perplexing one.

So, we scanned through the internet to know what different experts & Content marketing experts say about the appropriate length of a blog post. Here’s what we came down to:

1. The length of the Blog posts is definitely an important ranking factor for Google. Google usually has a thing for what we’d call a Never-ending blog post.
2. There is a thing called *ideal length of Content in your industry*. The self-explanatory expression suggests that for each industry, there is an ideal length range you can (somewhat) stick to, to ensure your ranking on the search engine.
3. However, the length is not to be confused with vagueness and filler content, just for the sake of adding to the length. 

Why?

Because gone are the days of Black Hat SEO. Now, the cunning Google takes a whole list of more than 200 factors into account. That includes the usefulness of the Content and the extent of the depth a post covers for a topic.

       4. That said, if your Content covers everything your reader wants to know about within 300 words, Google, by no means, intends to penalize you. 

Take Seth Godin, for example. You’d definitely see him ranking high even with those short master-scripts he creates.

      5. Similarly, say your industry suggests you stick between 2000-2500 words. However, your Content demands to be 4000 words long to meet your reader’s specific needs. 

What would you do? Let’s look into it:

 How To Solve The Length-Paradox?

 By the uniqueness of the Content Google needs, Google won’t be hard on you just for outgrowing your word count limit. 

So, in a nutshell, the length is an important ranking factor ONLY because long-form Content tends to cover all the relevant important aspects of your topic. Therefore, satisfying the needs of your target audience, feel free to break out of the length-barriers conveniently. 

We just talked about the length aspect of Content Marketing while briefly touching the connection with SEO. 

Let’s now get down to the details:

SEO & Content Marketing

The link

As a digital marketer, knowing everything about Content Marketing also calls for understanding the link between the two.

While we have an in-depth post available on that topic too, the link is not difficult to understand in a bird’s eye view.

SEO is to Content Marketing as the day is to night, or the sun is to the moon.

You see, each part of the pair is indispensable to the other one’s existence; the dependence is mutual. 

Put it another way:

SEO is needed for doing Content Marketing successfully. Without Content marketing, you don’t quite need SEO (much).

More explicitly, SEO prepares your Content to get to the top of SERPs. Without caring much about SEO, you shouldn’t expect to get there. However, without Content Marketing (or a variety of valuable content that meets the needs of your targets), your goals of SEO can’t be met either. 

What are those goals again?

Increasing visibility and boosting traffic.

So, they are the two pieces of a jig-saw puzzle that can’t make do without each other. And without each one of them, the puzzle won’t be complete. 

And this explanation should suffice unless you want to get down to the details of the link between SEO and Content Marketing.

Tips from Influencers

Understanding the link between SEO and Content Marketing, we got really very serious about knowing EVERYTHING CONTENT MARKETING. 

And this brought us to make a compilation of the SEO tips Content marketing Influences conveniently proclaim and manifest. Here’s what the key points are:

1- Joe Pulizzi advises to “view SEO and Content Marketing as partners, not either/or adversaries.”

2- Neil Patel endorses to “link other trustworthy sites to your’s.”

3- Brian Dean suggests “stealing your competitors Best Keywords.”

4- Michael Brenner proposes to “gain search authority with Volume, Value, and Variety.”

5- David Rowse recommends building your success on “Titles.”

Feel free to dive into the details, the reasons and the benefits of these tips of the influencers, here.

What is Content Marketing Strategy?

Seeing your continuous interest in Content Marketing (& everything about it) suggests something big. 

What is that?

It suggests that Content Marketing is the future of Marketing. Therefore, it is high time we incorporate the process to our businesses (or those of our clients) if we do not want success to be just a pie in the sky.

So, you really want to apply content marketing to your business?

Good, we are on the same page now.

What next?

Let us begin with CONTENT MARKETING STRATEGY – a foolproof Content Marketing Strategy that aligns with (and thus achieves) your business goals.

The term is self-explanatory, but for clarity’s sake, here is what a Content Marketing Strategy is:

“It is the plan that guides the transformation of your business goals from your mind or a piece of paper into reality.”

Look at it this way:

You want to convert the audience (want them to take a desirable step).

Would you follow your instincts? Market trends? What exactly?

If you are like us (and other practical Marketers you should look up to), Content Marketing strategy should be your guide. 

Your Content Marketing strategy would tell the exact way to produce and share content with the audience to provide value, ultimately converting them to your paid clients. 

Isn’t that precisely what you want?

The main aims of a killer content marketing strategy should be:

• to attract the prospects
• engage by educating or entertaining them
• inspire them (from the total coldness to the top heat level in the marketing funnel)

until they ultimately buy from you.

Content Strategy Vs. Content Marketing Strategy

Content Marketing is often confused with Content strategy. Despite many differences and mutual areas between them both, a straightforward point sets them apart (yet, together):

“Content Marketing Strategy is a part of Content Strategy.”

Here is a precise definition of Content Strategy by Hannah Smith at Distilled:

It is the high-level vision that guides future content development to deliver against a specific business objective.

Good job, Hannah, explaining the whole concept in just a sentence.

Content Marketing Strategy- The Trends

So, to briefly touch on the importance of a Content Marketing Strategy, here is what the Google trends are for the topic since 2004.

Comparing the trend of the Content Marketing Strategy with Content Marketing, you would see that the latter never the interest of Googlers since 2004 and is living its peak these days.

Such is the importance of this topic and hence, the importance of formulating a content marketing strategy.

However, before we dive into the topic of creating an effective content marketing strategy, there is one more important question left answered. 

Let us go that way first!

Why you need a Content Marketing Strategy in the first place?

The trends do show the importance of Content Marketing but do not explain why everyone is going bananas for a Content Marketing Strategy.

Here is why:

1. It guides you through the best possible route to the destination.
2. It protects you from going stray and avoids distractions of tempting yet irrelevant Content.
3. It saves you a lot of time brainstorming what to do next now and again, making you more productive.
4. It saves your precious dollars that you would otherwise spend on useless Content (that your prospects do not even want). It helps you increase your ROI with highly targeted efforts.
5. Gives your brand its identity that helps it achieve the goals.

In a nutshell, a content marketing strategy ensures your actions align with your goals and leads the way to achieve your goals faster and smarter than you would do without a well-defined content strategy.

Now, this sounds like the greatest thing since sliced bread? Doesn’t it?

If it does, welcome to the party of Marketers.

So, now that you are fully convinced that you need a Content Marketing Plan before you begin the process let us head straight from minor details to major milestone of the creation process.

The Process:

There are various aspects of the process you need to be aware of to slide through like a pro. 

Building team

The foremost challenge in the process of building killer content is how to create your Content?

Get it done from professionals, DIY it or build your own team?

 

Who creates your Content – an in-house team or an agency – depends on several factors we have discussed in our blog post. Outlined here are the top considerations for you to analyze your situation and decide the best appropriate option, accordingly:

Compare the knowledge, expertise & creativity of an in-house team boasts Vs. an agency. 

While a content marketing agency would have built the required expertise and creativity over time (working with a huge number of clients), they can’t beat the in-house employees in the knowledge of your business ideology, vision, goals, and whatnot.

Compare the ease and effectiveness of communication.

Following a multi-stepped protocol, communication with an agency becomes quite labored. On the other hand, the in-house team doesn’t have any such downside.

Compare the knowledge of Industry & Technology and experience with the tools

The limited exposure of an in-house team combined with their limited resources might render it a less feasible option for you. This is particularly true if you require a content marketing plan, using knowledge & experience with technology and tools to refine the results. 

Compare the time each team can dedicate to your company

An in-house team dedicates all the time you hire them for, to your company. An agency has to deal with several clients all at the same time.

Compare the overall Services Vs. the associated Costs

Having compared all the pros and cons of both the options and the services included in the package, you are at the right point to see which is a better, cost-effective option for you.

Why Pick an agency? Why Pick the in-house team?

Why you pick a marketing agency is because you want an exceptionally experienced and knowledgeable team to work on your company’s progression. Here’s what why do you prefer a marketing agency: 

1. An agency is a house to the masters of all trades they deal in.
2. Dealing with an agency saves you the trouble of getting a script written to posting a blog or creating a video to promote any of the Content with your audience.
    
3. The ideas of an agency are fresh yet tried, tested, and proven for delivering results.
4. Like your business is your expertise, content production is theirs.
5. And with all those benefits, the cost associated with hiring an agency often makes an agency the most inexpensive option you could get.

Should you want to dig further into the subject, this post is your go-to option.

Important considerations while building an in-house team

If you decide to build your Content marketing team, here are the important considerations to help you make the right choices:

1. Keep an eye on the industry to see what works for others? However, don’t follow suit. The hiring requirements for a video focused business would differ from the one needing less of it.
2. If you are on a budget, hire only for the positions that you can’t make do without. Some positions could initially be filled-in with multi-skilled professionals.
3. Referrers often save you the tedious hiring process yet produce great results.
4. Make sure to check your options for their knowledge and experience before hiring.
5. You can still consider if out-sourcing to an agency or freelancers is a better option for you.

Content Marketing Teams of Big Names

Keeping an eye on the industry calls for looking up to influencers and their content marketing teams. Here’s what the teams of top 4 Content Marketing options look like:

1. Neil is the blog creator & podcast speaker of the team with an editor, a videographer, a few brainstormers, and an internal team to handle Social Media.
2. For Moz, the team consists of a marketing strategist, a content marketer, a video manager, and a blog manager, with some help from the in-house team.
3. HubSpot has a team consisting of a researcher, 4 content writers, 3 multimedia content creators, 2 podcast creators, 2 social media content creators, 2 video creators working together to produce their core content.
4. The Content Marketing team at Buffer consists of a blog writer, blog editor, loyalty marketer, community builder, PR marketer, funnel-bottom marketer, digital strategist, social media producer, and content director – one each.

Read the details here.

So, what roles does your team need?

If you have to start small and wondering what the core roles your team must-have are, these roles can save you big time:

1. Marketing Strategists to design the whole Content Marketing Strategy for you and overseeing the execution process.
2. Creatives like the writers, videographers, podcast producers, and production assistants to help give the finished-shape to the Content.
3. PR and other Promoters to reach out to your target audience, make your company known as well as position it as an authority in your niche.
4. Content Optimization Experts to audit your strategy and its execution and analyze where more efforts are needed, as well as for monitoring how different roles are coming together and how effective are the efforts.

When you have a content marketing team in place, what comes next is not a hard-to-guess step.

Building Content

You must be tired of hearing it now but, building Content follows this first critical step:

Creating A Content Marketing Strategy from Scratch

For building content, a content marketing strategy is in order. To create a killer content marketing strategy from scratch here’s all you need to do:

1. Understand the goals you want to achieve through the strategy.
2. Research the audience you’ll target with your Content.
3. Set Key Performance Indicators to check how successful your strategy is in meeting your goals.
4. Choose a good Content Management System to handle your Content.
5. Analyze and audit your Content.
6. Research the channels most valuable for your business, to create Content accordingly.
7. Shortlist the content type most popular with your target audience.
8. Create a Content Calendar.
9. Define team roles and determine the workflow.
10. Start creating the Content.
11. Publish the Content and promote it where your targets are.
12. Audit your efforts, measure results, and optimize to improve.

In case you haven’t noticed, strategy creation is an ongoing step. It doesn’t end at the first draft creation because you have to keep optimizing it according to your results.

Done that?

Congratulations! Been there, so we know not congratulating won’t be fair, especially when you were born to focus on your business (or are only a beginner)!

Optimizing Existing Content Marketing Strategy

If you are not new to content marketing, you need to revisit your Strategy at intervals. Here’s how to optimize your existing Content Marketing Strategy:

1. Re-evaluate your business goals. Whether you have been successful in meeting your goals or failed, you need to revise your goals.
2. Look into your current strategy to see how well it aligns with your business goals.
3. Identify the areas that need to be worked on to match your goals.
4. Re-evaluate the needs of your audience.
5. Keep an eye on industry trends.
6. Make a unified strategy using all the identified factors in mind.
   

Get used to our abrupt gears already! Because well, we have set out on the journey to look at Content Marketing from every angle, possible.

Types Of Keywords You Need To research

Keyword research is a must in executing your content marketing strategy. While you start digging into keywords, you need to know the following types:

1. Short-tail keywords consist of three or lesser words.
2. Long term keywords consist of more than three keywords.
3. Seasonal keywords are relevant only at a certain time.
4. Evergreen keywords are equally useful around the year for years in a go.

How To Research High-Value Keywords?

Here’s an account of how to do the keywords research:

1. Prepare an online or off-line source to log your data and record the result of each step.
2. Brainstorm content topics. Look for what people and your competitors are talking about, and the most popular keywords on your site.
3. Analyze your shortlisted keywords concerning their difficulty level, search volume, and cost per click, etc.
4. Optimize your Content with the shortlisted keywords to make the best out of your research.

Content Sprouting

Content Sprouting is another important factor that you plan while working on your Content Marketing Strategy. It is the process of creating a Seed content (the main Content) and repurposing and sharing it on different Digital Channels (sprouting).

Here are some benefits of Content sprouting:

1. It helps you increase your visibility.
2. Sprouting increases your traffic, increases the chances of leads and conversions.
3. It boosts your output with fewer efforts.
4. The process also lowers the amount of time you need to spend on your content creation process.

How to Create Content that delivers results?

Optimizing for Traffic

Creating Content always has some objectives behind it. Sometimes, it is done with the hidden objective of driving sales. Other times, you are only interested in driving useful traffic.

When attracting traffic is your ultimate goal, it is a serious one. How many leads you to draw and how many of them convert depends on the quality of traffic. So, not only are you interested in more traffic but its quality is (should be, if it isn’t already) also your genuine concern.

Here are some steps you can take to increase your organic traffic, both qualitatively and quantitatively:

Key steps:

• If one thing can drive organic traffic, SEO is what it is.
• SEO is born to drive high-quality traffic to your website, and it continues the mission with zeal in a variety of ways:
  • Keywords research. At this stage, however, make sure you pick the ones that have high relevance for and are highly searched by your target audience.
  • However, don’t stuff your content with the keywords. When you create content, focus on the quality more than anything.
  • With high-quality content, you can attract high-quality backlinks, which, in return, draw more traffic. Build more relationships strategically and guest blog more to get your name associated with other high authority names and attract their audience too.
  • Working in your niche should call on creating highly relevant content that your audience actually wants (If you are not sure what they want, asking them might help). This also creates more internal linking opportunities. Effectively done internal linking ensures that the visitors stay on your website for long, exploring one treasure that leads to another (and so on…).
• When you create your content marketing strategy, give Evergreen Content a good weightage. This ensures that your one-time effort draws results and traffic for years to come.
• Not utilizing social media to attract your perfect targets is like shooting your foot. Now, you wouldn’t want to do that. Would you? That, because most of your targets are already hanging out there.
  

Optimizing for Conversions

And now that you have your audience’s attention and have them on your page, you should want them to take your desired action too. That’s the word *Conversion* explained. But how do you know if they are taking the desired action? Here’s an (apparently) simple 3-step process that is worth all the efforts that the whole team of marketers puts in:

1. Well, first thing first, create (or optimize if already created) your Content, so it encourages them to convert.

• Make a strategy to get where you want to be.
• Execute.

2. Measure how successful your optimization efforts have been.

• Analyze and audit your efforts to see where you stand.
• Use tools to track multiple conversion metrics and success rates.

3. Based on your success rate, re-optimize to improve and convert better.

• Research and analyze your competitors to compare your success rate with them and pick their best strategy/efforts. 
• Modify and re-optimize your strategy
• Execute

What Metrics to measure? Key Performance Indicators:

You might wonder what metrics are the most useful in your niche?

The choice of your KPIs might actually be baffling for you. 

And you are not alone if that’s you. 

Because as relevant as this selection is, it is often too difficult, especially if you are not really a Marketer (or a remote relative). Since you don’t usually get a template or guidance looking at different businesses (even if they are close to what you do), it actually is confusing.

What KPIs you track depends on your business type and your unique goals or conversion metrics suitable for you.

However, as a content marketer, there are a few KPI you must track to see where you stand:

• Engagement
• Conversion
•  Spent Vs. ROI

For your unique objectives and strategy, you’d need different metrics to measure each of these KPIs.

List of Useful tools and resources for the Content Marketing Process:

If you are a content Marketer, either you use a considerable number of tools and resources on each step, or you are practically dead to your prospects. 

How so? 

Without such aids, you would be nowhere in the race with your competitors and thus nowhere to be found by your prospects.

If you are reading this, you most definitely don’t want that future. And we have gone all out because we don’t want that for you (or anyone for that matter).

So we created lists of highly useful tools and resources to help you through the process. The series aims at sharing the A-Z of the resources needed to win the race even if you are the new kid on the block.

1. The first list covers diverse resources, including:

The best literature guides for learning Content Marketing, including blog posts, case studies, guides, etc.– The footsteps in the digital word to follow (Influencers and big names) if you want to make the difference.

The fraud-proof platforms to hire freelancers from, for whatever tasks or projects, be it related to web development or designing or creating any sort of Content, etc.

2. The following post helps on the technical front of Content Marketing. Here’s what it includes:

Tools and platforms that can help with Content ideas generation or creating your Keywords lists.
The tools you need to collaborate and communicate with your team effectively.

3. Content Marketing is diverse. So is this list covering:

Tools you need to organize your Content and keep memos.
When you are working professionally (but this is not your profession), your writings must need revisions. The list covers some tools that can help you remove language errors to make your Content more effective and professional.
Visuals speak louder and convert faster than words. The list covers some platforms to get help to create the right visual impact.

4. And the process goes on; so does the list of tools to do it effectively, with:

You don’t always need to design the right kind of visuals. Sometimes, you can make use of the visuals others have already created for you. This post covers a list of resources that offer free and paid visuals.
When you have created everything and posted it, the work doesn’t end here. The post covers the list of resources that you need to increase your reach and spread your message more effectively.
There’s also a list of the tools that can automate your Content spreading and posting.
Given the magnitude of results Email automation brings, this needs a special mention. So, read on the list of email automation tools.
No strategy is complete without your competitor’s research. Get a sneak-peak into the tools that help you spy on your competitors effectively.
And once everything is done, time to measure your success rate. Read on the list of tools that help measure your conversions and returns.

5. Since your success rate, optimization efforts, future strategies, and so much depends on your web analytics, so much goes into it to bring so much out of it. For much the same reason, we didn’t find it fair not to dedicate a focused post to web analytics tools. 

Choose a tool or two at each step to have your Content Marketing done right.

Tips & Considerations:

The best thing you can do as a marketer (that you are trying to be here, even if you are not already!) is learning from other’s experiences (because you don’t have your own yet, remember?). 

The chances of not getting everything right when you follow tips and tricks throughout the whole process are close to none. So, read and make headway:

Tips For Creating High-Value Content

So, we dedicated our time and efforts to draw conclusions from our and other Content Marketer’s experiments. Here are 9 tried and tested tips for Content Marketers:

1. Your efforts would be fruitful when you’d dig deeper into your audience’s needs.
2. Your Content output should reflect your research findings.
3. Going unplanned is unruly; therefore, use a Content Marketing plan to get somewhere.
4. Your plan might be admirable. Using content Marketing tools would make it more so.
5. Appropriately use relevant, valuable keywords.
6. Use Email Marketing to provide value; resultantly, see a valuable increase in ROI.
7. Make your content fresh, unique, informative, and engaging. Work on creating value-adding evergreen Content and make it shareable.
8. Optimize your content length according to the platform and industry best practices.
9. Use and make the best out of CALLS TO ACTIONS.

Tips to Create High-Value Content Marketing Plan

 Also, here are some tips to help you create an incredible Content Market Plan:

1. Include all the channels in your Content marketing plan that are proven to drive results.
2. Explore and experiment with new options. If you or your competitors haven’t included YouTube in your strategy, it is high time to take the lead; base your decision on research about future prospects.
3. Keep room in your strategy to be adaptable, wherever applicable.
4. Your strategy can never produce utterly desirable results in the way it is created. Keep optimizing the strategy to modify results.
5. Your strategy should depict a consistent approach.
6. Respond to the feedback and engage your audience.
7. The content you produce should be optimized for mobile users.
8. Instead of creating more of new Content, recycle and reuse the old Content by repurposing it.
9. Keep your tone and brand voice consistent across all Social Media.

Common Mistakes to avoid

Knowing common mistakes is the best practice to avoid them. Here are some common Content Marketing mistakes that often take you down:

1. Not working around the topics that would interest the target audience.
2. Creating low-quality Content.
3. Creating the Content for the audience on one platform only.
4. A consistent decline in performance and not analyzing to improve it.
5. Having the potential to capture leads but not making efforts to capture them.

Content Marketing Myths you should know

While still in the learning stages, there are some common Content Marketing myths that you should be aware of (and look out for):

1. You can grow your business well without Content Marketing.
2. You should take every opportunity to advertise your business; waiting for the right time is too non-profitable, and dense.
3. You do not need professional help for the Content Marketing of your business.
4. You don’t have to (and shouldn’t) spend much on Content Marketing.
5.  If you don’t see results (almost) right away, you are doing it all wrong.

Content Marketing for Non-Marketers

Now, with this plethora of information, how do you decide what to pick and what not to? Which tips to follow and which to ignore for your unique business?

Here’s what we recommend you do:

Picture this:

You are an eCommerce business.

You have great products, and you are just starting out.

That also suggests that the bank side of your business is not very strong. For the same reason, you can’t really go to a marketing agency.

Does that mean you go without Content Marketing?

Ummm…Not if you are planning to grow your business.

And since we know you definitely are, that’s what we are trying to help you with.

So, ideally, you should not skip Content Marketing; Try skipping a Marketing agency, if you must.

3-steps process for Dummies

Here’s how we suggest you start Content Marketing for eCommerce business:

1. First, pick the most suitable mediums for your business. What platforms you choose depends on your business type and target audience. However, Email Marketing and Video Marketing are the trends of the future associated with high returns. Invest in them, mainly because they have produced fantastic results for other E-commerce businesses.
   
2. Your Customers need your services, but they don’t know if you are the one they need (not your competitors). To show them your worth, give them what they want – high quality, high-value content, give them the content that educates them, or informs them (in your niche and related to your services). Once you position yourself as an authority to them, they’ll come running to you, and you can convert them.
3. You have chosen the right platforms and mediums. Now you know exactly what they want.

What next? Know how to give it to them, so they take it the way it positively impacts them.

Give it to them in an interactive way; in a way, they are more likely to be involved and respond to. Go for Facebook live videos, surveys and quizzes, and social media contests with giveaways, so it reaches them, attracts, and ultimately converts them.

But first, do it on paper. Check; recheck; Re-evaluate.

Sounds good? Get the ball rolling!

And this goes for whatever business you are into. These are the basics principles to follow, especially if you are doing your Content marketing yourself or you are a beginner. 

Take them for 3 fail-proof tips (because they are) and watch yourself rock. 

Going Forward:

Being a marketer, you should be as concerned about your future as about the present. Here are the most important considerations from future-perspective:

Artificial Intelligence – the trend of the future. 

Everyone, including the top Content Marketers, is going crazy for AI, not just for the ease it offers but also because of profound results. 

So if you are a futuristic Content Marketer, that you should be prepared to incorporate AI in your process. Because if you do, you’d see yourself flying higher than your fellow marketers for sure. To begin with, here’s how to make AI your Content Marketing Ally:

1. Use Content Marketing assistants that make use of AI to get specific tasks done.
2. Engaging your followers & target audience is the latest popular trend in Content Marketing. For engaging them in the chatbox, chatbots-a massive application of AI- is a huge success.
3. Bots are now assisting writers by their very own, independent writing ventures.
4. AI bots have been created to help you personalize your Content and make it more relevant to your audience’s needs. 

Principles of Psychology – the art of bossing prospects

Nothing equals Marketing efforts that follow the golden principles of psychology. When you understand consumer psychology, you are in the right position to understand their needs and wants and know precisely how to initiate a relationship that ends with a conversion.

Therefore, Content Marketing also follows in the footsteps of Psychology. And when it does, the results are no less than breathtaking. Here are some psychological principles, understanding which can stand you on top of everyone else:

Reciprocity

When you favor someone, they are psychologically indebted to you until they return the favor. Content Marketers give high value to prospects. In return, prospects psychologically find themselves bound to buy their products or services.

Scarcity

When you paint the shortage or make a deal time-bound, the fear of missing out (FOMO) gets them on their feet. Marketers use this technique to drive more sales in a short time.

Social Proof

You are psychologically more inclined towards something more people are endorsing. Creating Social proof of your product or service by getting reviews and engagement of your prospects, followers, or users tempts others to do the same.

Commitment

Committing in public makes you responsible way more than committing in private. That because you wouldn’t want to explain to hundreds why you chickened out after committing. Apply this psychological principle to Content marketing to skyrocket the results. Leverage the power of Social media and get your followers to commit to a desirable action (a course completion in a decided duration and sharing their feedback, for instance).

Authority

You are more likely to be taken seriously as an established brand name compared to a down to earth service provider who is just as good. So, focus on your personal branding, establish yourself as an authority in your niche, position yourself as a reputable source to be looked up to when in need and see how quickly you can draw results.

Liking

You listen to, understand, and follow somebody you like, all so conveniently. Get your followers and potential clients to like you. This is how you’d quickly get your message across and win the game fast.   

The Tips and Suggestions of Experts

When it is about being futuristic, following in the influencers and expert’s footsteps is the best thing one can do. So, our interviews with 15 marketers reveal best-kept Content Marketing secrets all in one place and penned down tons of value in one roundup post.

We made sure to get the essence of years of their experience. So here’s what we asked them:

• Their top considerations while creating content marketing strategies, 
• Content marketing mistakes they committed in the execution process and learning outcomes
• DIY Content Marketing tips for small business owners with even small budgets.
• Their favorite trends from 2019 and predictions for 2020 and beyond.

So, you should already anticipate VALUE OVERLOADED!

Each of their tips, tricks, and advice covers a different, unique angle, giving you so much to ponder and learn from.

What next?

Based on these psychological principles, the introduction of Artificial Intelligence and experiences of Marketing Experts in different niches, cook up a fantastic recipe of the most-wanted success.

However, dreaming of overnight results is living in a fool’s paradise. Impatiently altering strategy in the name of optimization and experimentation is delusive contentment that only leads to destruction and damage.

Content Marketers don’t do that because they know none of these experiments is worth their time or money.

So, now that you know as much as it takes to get started, let’s do this!

 No time has ever been better for action than NOW.

On your way to getting the pen and paper, briefly stop by to share with us how and where you plan to begin.

Need more help with Marketing or Advertising? Let our experts be your guide to success.

Even if you don’t, we will cheer for you until you find yourself meeting your growth goals with Content Marketing.