What really is Content Marketing?
The phrase “content marketing” was totally unknown to an average marketing person 10 year ago. Now, no one can really survive without it online. If you want a strong web presence, you need content marketing. It quite simply answers the question: ‘But how will anyone find your site?’
Content marketing means people can find your content, then they’ll end up on your site.
So, how does content marketing work? Simply put, it’s a technique where content is utilized to influence consumer behavior and it eventually leads to purchases. The trick is, since content marketing is delivering relevant information, it’s more serious than a sales pitch. It’s education. It’s making people stop, think, ponder, engage…hopefully even buy.
Successful content marketing means:
- Step #1 – Having a plan. (The more detailed the better.)
- Step #2 – Creating relevant content. (Hopefully every day!)
- Step #3 – Talented writing. (Sorry, no typos of unprofessional trash.)
- Step #4 – Digital marketing skills. (Yep, gotta get that content out there.)
- Step #5 – Data Analysis. (Need to understand your traffic.)
- Step #6 – Patience & Endurance. (Staying power is needed to refine & perfect your strategy.)
Sure, content management is a big task. That’s why more and more companies look for outside support. Tossing this onto the plate of an otherwise busy employee can push them over the edge.
#Guilty…I haven’t even started
You are not alone. In a recent poll, over 70% of marketers revealed they lack a consistent or integrated content strategy. The good news is, content marketing does not need to be as challenging as learning Chinese. There are actually hundreds of businesses and tools that support and guide you.
Here are a few tools that we’ve found helpful to launch content creators forward:
How Content Creation Relates
- Skyword. This content production system allows companies to optimize the management of writers, employ a SEO scorecard to optimize content and more. Skyword automates everything from content creation to measurement and analytics. Their mission is “Skyword offers the tools to make content marketing a sustainable business process.” Since its beginning in 2010, Skyword has continued to grow year-to-year and shows no signs of slowing down.
- Contently. This is a one-stop content marketing company creates, optimizes and distributes content for businesses. They work with high-quality freelance writers, manage all copywriting assignments and specialize in a variety of media.
- Scripted. If you are just starting out, your company can subcontract writing projects to a team through this online platform. They handle blog posts, social content, product descriptions and pretty much any type of content you need to support your corporate strategy.
- Trendspottr. As one of the hottest content marketing companies today, Trendspottr uses real-time data to identify trending information across social media platforms before these topics become popular. They pride themselves on their expertise in content marketing and assert that they can assist companies to, “Discover and share the right content at the right time with the right audience.”
Search Engine Optimization Help
Search Engine Optimizing (SEO) is an essential component of content marketing. (And this goes beyond a basic knowledge of Yoast everyone.) Although companies try to craft copy that prioritizes their company, brand or products on search engines, most organizations are better served to obtain SEO guidance from business that specialize in this area. After all, you want your company to pop to the top of every search. And a huge part of SEO if you long-term efforts in the arena.
Understanding Traffic Sources
If you have an in-house content writing marketing team, you will still require the support and expertise to analyze the accomplishments of your programs. That’s where web analytic content marketing tools can help. This type of analytics is all about gathering meaningful insights from your content marketing programs for future success.
- Google Analytics. As the most well-known analytic tool, Google Analytics is a free service that generates detailed statistics regarding the visitors to a website. It is said to be the most widely used website statistics service. Google’s web analytics tool allows companies to customize reports, measure the impact of social media and mobile on website traffic, and measure conversion rates.
- Woopra. Using real-time data, Woopra provides detailed individual visitor data within milliseconds and provides businesses with the tools to analyze and measure that data in real time. Woopra even helps brands tracks visitors across multiple devices.
- Webtrends has been around for over 20 years, Webtrends provides web, social and mobile analytics and other software solutions related to digital marketing. They focus on enhancing the consumer experience so that the content translates into a high level of conversions for your business.
- Curata. This simple platform has the key advantage of allowing businesses to drill down on specific content to truly understand what worked, what didn’t work and (most importantly) why. This type of insight helps businesses make informed decisions on content. Other features include supply chain tools, organization calendars and advanced analytical programs.
Content Marketing: A Permanent Part of the Online World
There is no doubt that content marketing is here to stay. It will influence brand strategy, product development and information distribution far into the future. The industry is expected to grow to more than $32 billion by 2018 and will become one of the fastest-growing areas in high tech. Wowzers!
An effective content marketing program must be adaptable and always changing to meet the needs of customers and the consumer climate. If you’d like a hand with content marketing, get in touch with a member of our team. We’ll show you how we’re helping clients capture their audiences.
