When people think about artificial intelligence (AI) today, they might think of computers that can speak to us like Alexa or Siri, or grand projects like self-driving cars. These are very exciting and attention-grabbing, but the reality of AI is actually thousands of tools and apps running quietly behind the scenes, making our lives more straightforward by automating simple tasks or making predictions.
This is true across every industry and business function, and particularly true in marketing, where leveraging AI to put products and services in front of potential customers has been standard practice for some time, even though we may not always realize it!
In business today, the term AI is used to describe software that is capable of learning and getting better at doing its job without input from humans. This means that while we’ve become used to using machines to help us with the heavy lifting, now they can start to help us with jobs that require thinking and decision-making, too.
A huge number of questions that would previously have needed human intervention to answer – such as “will this person be interested in my products?” or “what results will I get from this advertising campaign?” can now be answered by machines – if they are given the right data. And because machines can answer questions far more quickly than humans, they can easily chain together complex strings of queries to come up with predictions, such as who is most likely to buy your products and where the best places to advertise might be.
That’s the basic principle behind all business AI today – automating the processes of learning and decision-making in order to create knowledge (usually referred to as “insight”) that helps to improve performance. And marketing is one area where it’s certainly been put to good use!
Targeted marketing
The high-level use case for AI in marketing is that it improves ROI by making your marketing – often one of a company’s biggest expenses – more efficient. In the old days, before online advertising, businesses would pay huge amounts of money for TV, radio, or newspaper adverts, in the full knowledge that only a small number of the people who saw their ads would ever become customers. This was tremendously inefficient, but companies didn’t have any choice if they wanted to position themselves as market leaders.
In the online age, we’ve developed the ability to learn a great deal about who is or isn’t interested in our products and services. The first breakthroughs came thanks to the likes of Amazon with their recommendation engine technology and Google and Facebook with their targeted advertising platforms. Today, each of those platforms has been augmented with machine learning technology that allows them to become increasingly effective as they are fed more data on customers and their buying habits.
AI-driven content marketing
The rise in social media marketing and our growing appetite for online content has made content-based marketing the dominant form of marketing in many industries. AI lends a hand here by helping us work out what type of content our customers and potential customers are interested in and what the most efficient ways are to distribute our content to them. Advertising creatives have always strived to find formulas for creating adverts that will get people talking and sharing the message with their friends. Now, this can be done automatically using any number of AI-powered tools. For example, headline generation algorithms that monitor how successful they are and tweak their output to achieve better metrics, such as the open rate of emails, or the share rate of social media posts.
Taking this a step further, AI is developing the ability to take care of the entire content generation process itself, creating copy and images that it knows are likely to be well-received by its audience. A huge buzzword in this space will be personalization – where individual customers are served content that’s specifically tweaked to them, perhaps using information and reference points that the AI knows are relevant to them, intertwined with the overall marketing messages.
AI will also increasingly be useful for identifying what stage of the buying process a customer is at. If it detects that they are “shopping around” – comparing products and services that are available – it can serve content designed to differentiate your product or service from those of competitors. If it detects that they are ready to make a purchase, it can target them with promotions urging them to “act now” to take advantage of a limited-time offer.
A digital marketing agency called 123 Internet has embraced the ongoing industry developments by utilizing various AI-based technologies to improve service delivery. Scott Jones, CEO said:
“We’ve been using AI tools for a while now, in particular automatically checking website designs in hundreds of screen and browser types, this speeds up our design and development process”.
Their team also use an AI generated website audit which can be downloaded from their website and runs without human interaction.
Identifying micro-influencers
Influencers are another huge trend in marketing right now, and AI algorithms are already in use to make sure the personalities that are most likely to appeal to you are appearing in your search results and social feeds.
Increasingly, advertisers will also use AI to identify smaller influencers that are most likely to gel with their brands and audiences. This has led to the emergence of “micro-influencers” – typically everyday people, rather than celebrities, who have a specialist knowledge they’ve used to build a niche audience that cares about their opinion. AI enables companies to find the micro-influencers with the right audiences for them, across a large number of niches and audience segments. AI helps establish when it makes sense to pay 100 people $1,000 each to talk about their product, rather than pay $100,000 to Justin Bieber or a Kardashian. Once again, here it is about creating efficiency by following the data, rather than simply doing what a marketer thinks or feels is the best plan.
AI in CRM
Customer relationship management is an essential function for any marketer to master, as existing customers are often the most important source of a company’s revenue. Here, AI can be used to reduce the risk of customer “churn” – by identifying patterns of behaviour that are likely to lead to customers heading elsewhere. These customers can then be automatically targeted with personalized promotions or incentives to hopefully restore their loyalty. AI-augmented marketers are also increasingly turning to chatbot technology – powered by natural language processing. This can segment incoming customer inquiries, meaning those who require a quick response can be urgently catered to, to minimize dissatisfaction. AI-driven CRM will also allow businesses to more accurately forecast sales across all the markets where a company operates, meaning stock and resources can be more efficiently distributed. Additionally, it can be used to maintain the quality of data in the CRM system, identifying customer records where errors or duplicates are likely to exist.
The future of the marketer
If you work in marketing, you would be forgiven for worrying that we’re heading for a future where humans in your role will be redundant. You can take heart, though, from current predictions that state AI will end up creating more jobs than it destroys. It’s inevitable that your job will change, though. Marketers will spend less time on technical tasks such as forecasting or segmenting customers and more time on creative and strategic tasks. Those who are competent at working with technology, and identifying new technological solutions as they become available, will be hugely valuable to their companies and are likely to have a bright future!
Bernard Marr is an internationally best-selling author, popular keynote speaker, futurist, and a strategic business & technology advisor to governments and companies. He helps organisations improve their business performance, use data more intelligently, and understand the implications of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, blockchains, and the Internet of Things. Why don’t you connect with Bernard on Twitter (@bernardmarr), LinkedIn (https://uk.linkedin.com/in/bernardmarr) or instagram (bernard.marr)?
Content marketing is one of the most promising and stable careers available if you have a background as a writer. If you are a good communicator and have an instinct for online trends and strong creative abilities, you might be a strong candidate for a content marketer role.
A content creator knows how crucial online platforms are to building brand reputation, generating leads, and establishing an online presence. It can be a challenging but exciting career path that could lead you to a job as a creative director, marketing specialist, or senior copywriter. If you want to know how to become a content strategist and marketer, you’ll want to read this article.
What Is a Content Marketer?
A content marketer works with a content creator to plan their online strategies and editorial calendar. This planning may include writing emails or doing research, as well as making graphics, videos, and blog posts. As a strategist, you need to ensure that content is high quality, increases readership, and aligns with the brand’s goals.
Content Marketer Job Description
Content marketers are creative thinkers because their job involves conceptualizing unique and dynamic content to grab the interest of their target audience. Once they have an idea in mind, the work involves market research, search engine optimization (SEO), social media posts, and other web content.
Content marketers need to have strong writing and editorial skills because they are responsible for ensuring consistency in every piece of content. They monitor how the audience responds to content and make data-driven decisions on how to increase its online traction. Marketers also need good communication and leadership skills to articulate a campaign’s direction to the content team.
Content Marketer Salary and Job Outlook
A content marketer has a relatively average annual salary of $51,883, according to Payscale, and $60,842 according to Indeed. If you work an entry-level job, you can expect an average salary of around $42,000, but if you level up your skills, you can be promoted to a managerial or executive position and make a higher salary.
The US Bureau of Labour Statistics does not have a content marketers page. However, we can use its promotions, advertising, and marketing managers page for reference. Job openings in this category are projected to grow 6 percent from 2019 to 2029. Expertise in this line of work can get you a median pay of $141,490 per year, according to BLS.
Top Reasons to Become a Content Marketer in 2021
If you think your skillset lends itself well to a career in content marketing, there’s no better time to start working on your credentials. With social media and online platforms playing such an important role in our lives, many companies are interested in hiring content marketers in 2021. Read on for a list of reasons to become a content marketer.
Be part of a thriving industry. Content marketing is set to become a $412.88 billion industry with a growth rate of 16 percent. The future job market looks promising.
Plenty of career paths to pursue. Just because you chose to become a content marketer does not mean you are stuck with that job for life. Your skills are applicable to other interesting roles, such as editor, technical writer, marketing manager, copywriter, or social media manager.
In high demand across industries. In our Internet-reliant society, companies will always need content marketers. Whether your interest lies in sports, education, commerce, or politics, your sets of skills will always be in demand.
Plenty of educational pathways. Whether you’re just starting your career or vying for promotion, there are plenty of ways to learn industry-relevant skills. Online videos and articles, certificate programs, and bootcamps are just a few of the materials and courses you can use to upskill.
Content Marketer Job Requirements
Companies that hire content marketers look for people with experience as copywriters, bloggers, content managers, and social media managers. They want someone who is enthusiastic about keeping a finger on the pulse of their target audience. Below are some other job requirements that companies look for in candidates.
Bachelor’s degree. A Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, Marketing, Communication, or IT is preferred for this role, but some companies prefer candidates with equivalent job experience.
Writing and editing experience. Writing online content is very different from traditional print. Content marketers need to have excellent writing skills and be well versed in copywriting and content calendar creation.
Data analytics skills. When you are in charge of content, every decision should be data-driven. Knowledge of Google Analytics and social media analytics is a common job requirement.
SEO knowledge. Companies want someone who knows SEO best practices and can apply them when creating content.
» MORE:HR Interview Questions: Conflict Resolution, Team Management, and the Best Job Interview Answers
Types of Content Marketer Careers
‘Content marketer’ is a general term and not many job postings use it. Companies generally like to use more specific job titles that better reflect what the job entails. Here are some related job titles you may want to learn more about if you are considering a career in this industry.
Marketing Content Specialist
The primary role of a marketing content specialist is to create an editorial calendar and a content strategy for brands and products. These professionals are also tasked with writing and editing marketing content.
Content Marketing Coordinator
The primary responsibility of a content marketing coordinator is to conceptualize promotional content and improve rankings in Google and other search engines. They are also responsible for orchestrating content marketing efforts for future campaigns.
Technical Content Marketer
A technical content marketer should have the skills to turn technical data into more palatable information for the general audience through excellent writing. These professionals may rely on visual aids like infographics and charts.
Content Marketer Meaning: What Does a Content Marketer Do?
Content marketers are tasked with creating content calendars and implementing SEO techniques, among other responsibilities.
A content marketer plans and strategically schedules the posting of quality content to increase online presence and interaction. The work involves writing compelling content and doing research and analysis to determine the best type of content to post online. The marketer will decide what types of materials are appropriate, then plot them in an editorial calendar.
Plots an Editorial Calendar
An editorial calendar is a workflow schedule created by the content marketer to be followed by content creators. This schedule directs the team on the content they will make for the days, weeks, and months ahead.
Uses SEO Techniques
A content marketer knows effective SEO practices. They have a command of strategies like keyword research and title tag and meta description optimization and are constantly tracking post performance.
Monitors Data Analytics
An effective content marketer is familiar with basic concepts in data analytics and knows how to interpret relevant data. These professionals use tools to locate and track online trends to make decisions on content creation and plot an effective editorial calendar.
Essential Content Marketer Skills
To be an effective content marketer, you will need a specific set of skills that allows you to understand how the Internet interprets the content you put out online. The more advanced your skills become, the more job opportunities will be available to you, and the higher your salary will be. Here are some essential skills you need to master if you want to become a content marketer.
Writing and Editing
Advanced writing and editing skills are essential for content marketers. They must have a background in online writing or copywriting to design an effective content strategy and easily spot content revisions.
Technical skills
There is a wide range of tools out there that can make you more effective at your job. Content marketers use specific software for editing, researching trends, generating leads, and SEO optimization. Master these tools and you will become a very attractive candidate for any content marketer job.
Content Management
Having strong organization, management, and planning skills is essential for a successful career as a content marketer. Knowledge of content management applications can increase your value as a marketer because you will be better at automating processes and organizing digital content.
How Long Does It Take to Become a Content Marketer?
Most companies require at least one year of experience as a writer or editor when hiring a marketer. You will also need to take the time to learn technical skills such as SEO, data analysis, content management, lead generation, and research.
You can start your career as a content writer to gain experience while you acquire technical skills. About six months to one year of experience in content writing or copywriting will also serve to polish your editing skills. You can learn technical skills through bootcamps, online courses, or vocational schools.
» MORE:Best High Paying Entry Level Tech Jobs
Can a Coding Bootcamp Help Me Become a Content Marketer?
A coding bootcamp can help you develop the technical skills you need to become a content marketer. Many bootcamps offer classes in digital marketing, data science, and web development. The best data analytics bootcamps can help you better understand the analytical side of content marketing and allow you to execute digital strategies.
Learning technical skills in a bootcamp is an effective way to become a content marketer in just a few weeks. Bootcamps offer a hands-on learning experience to develop practical skills more quickly and for less money than traditional education methods.
Can I Become a Content Marketer From Home?
Yes, it is possible to learn everything you need to know to start your content marketer career from home. There are a lot of online resources you can read, or you can enroll in online courses. You can learn and polish every aspect of the job online, including writing, conceptualizing, and researching.
How to Become a Content Marketer: A Step-by-Step Guide
You don’t need a degree to work as a content marketer. What really counts is the skills and expertise you bring to the table.
Learning the basics of content marketing does not happen with just one course. You will need to understand various technical skills such as SEO, data analytics, and web development. You also need experience with various digital channels and content strategies. Combine all this knowledge with your writing and organizational skills and creativity, and you’ll be ready to get a job in content marketing.
Step 1: Improve Your Writing and Editing Skills
Even if you are already an experienced writer, there’s always room for improvement. As a content marketing expert, you constantly need to brush up on your grammar and vocabulary as well as improve your outlines and writing style.
Step 2: Learn Technical Skills
As a content strategist, you will be judged mainly by your ability to conceptualize and execute digital strategies. You should put all your effort into learning technical skills and the fastest way to do this is through short online courses or bootcamps.
Step 3: Create a Personal Blog or Website
A great way to combine everything you have learned is to create a web page or blog to practice your content marketing skills and interact with online audiences. A personal website will also allow you to market yourself and your services.
Best Schools and Education for a Content Marketer Career
Content marketing is all about making your content stand out. To do this, you need very specific skills, including writing, researching, team management, and SEO. You can acquire these skills in a number of ways. Below, we take a close look at some of the organizations and institutions you can attend to boost your content marketing skills.
Content Marketer Bootcamps
Bootcamps provide an intensive learning experience packed with hands-on training. Attending a bootcamp requires your full commitment, and getting into one may feel like applying for a job or a university.
A bootcamp will teach you technical skills, including strategy and editorial calendar creation, SEO, content planning, and data analysis. Part-time content marketing bootcamps can cost between $2,000 and $8,000 depending on the length of the course. Full-time programs generally cost around $10,000.
Vocational School
Vocational schools combine skills-intensive learning with lectures. There are not many vocational schools with content management-specific curricula, but you can easily find marketing management and digital marketing courses.
Vocational programs take around two years to complete, with an average annual tuition fee of about $11,000. You can use the credits you earn toward a four-year degree program at a university.
Community College
Community colleges have an environment similar to universities but with a more skills-centric learning style, similar to trade schools. They offer certificate courses and associate degrees, which you can finish in about two years.
The average tuition for community college is $3,400 for in-district students, but this figure is much higher for out-of-state students. To become a content marketer, you can take courses on marketing and sales, digital marketing, web design, or digital applications.
» MORE:How Much Does a UX Designer Make?
Content Marketer Degrees
There is no bachelor’s degree in content marketing specifically, but any four-year marketing or digital technology program will serve you well. Good majors for becoming a content marketer are multimedia marketing, marketing communication, transmedia communication, and marketing management.
The average cost of a four-year degree in the US is around $28,123. If you have a four-year degree, you have a better chance of getting a higher marketing position, such as a creative director or senior copywriter.
The Most Important Content Marketer Certificates
There are plenty of organizations that offer certificate programs covering different aspects of the job, from SEO to content marketing. Having one of these credentials in your resume can make you a more attractive candidate for a job marketer position. Below we take a look at some of the main certificate programs in the industry.
Content Marketing Course by HubSpot
This certification course, offered by a leader in the industry, will give you the foundation you need to become an effective content marketer. You will learn about good storytelling, generating ideas, promoting content, and building an SEO strategy as well as key concepts like repurposing and topic clusters.
This course is offered by another industry leader with plenty to teach. This is an on-demand instructor-led program where you’ll learn SEO essentials and receive a credential to enhance your resume.
How to Prepare for Your Content Marketer Job Interview
Content marketing jobs are skills-based, so aside from what they read on your resume, employers want to see a high level of communication skills and knowledge in the different areas the job entails. A job interview is a great place to show you have these skills and expertise. Below are some common questions you can practice to prepare for your next interview.
Content Marketer Job Interview Practice Questions
Why do you love writing?
What is your process when choosing which topics and formats to use?
What do you consider valuable content?
Has your work been criticized in the past? If so, how did you handle the criticism?
Should I Become a Content Marketer in 2021?
Starting your career as a content marketer in 2021 is a good idea. The content marketing industry is thriving and there is plenty of growth ahead, which means that you will always have plenty of job opportunities. In addition, acquiring the skills you need for this career is easy due to the many learning resources available and institutions that offer affordable technical skills training.
Content Marketer FAQ
Can You Become a Content Marketer Without a Degree?
As a content marketer, your educational background is not as important as your knowledge of the job, technical skills, and experience. This means that you can become a successful content marketer without a degree as long as you take the time to learn the trade and develop your skills.
Is It Hard to Become a Content Marketer?
Becoming a content marketer isn’t hard as long as you develop the basic skills required for the job. Bring your writing, data analysis, and SEO skills to a professional level, and you’ll be well on your way to becoming a successful content marketer.
Is Content Marketing a Good Career?
Content marketing is a promising career with a strong job outlook in the coming years. In addition, the technical skills you develop as a content marketer transfer well into many other jobs. You can use these skills to become a digital marketer, editor, marketing manager, copywriter, and social media manager.
Can I Get Hired As a Content Marketer Without Experience?
It’s unlikely that a company will hire you as a content marketer without a proven track record producing and managing online content. If you lack experience, you are better off applying to entry-level content writer positions and trying to accumulate experience.
Maia, from Bulacan, Philippines, started working with Career Karma in May 2021. She holds an Associate Degree in Computer System Design and Programming from the AMA Computer Learning Center in Nueva Ecija. A career freelance writer, her writing has also appeared online at Chestertons-Elite, Oldhoj, and X-Cart. Besides content writing, she also dabbles in graphic design and web design, using WordPress to create websites and the Adobe Suite for her graphic design projects. Her professional interests also include SEO.
B2B brands have the opportunity to leverage content marketing as a way of reaching their target audience and gaining new customers. But it’s not as simple as writing a few blog posts, posting them on your website and hoping for the best. A content marketing strategy is essential to generating those leads that turn into loyal consumers, educating your audience, building brand awareness and building credibility.
So do you have a content marketing strategy? If not, don’t worry—you’re not alone. According to the Content Marketing Institute and Marketing Profs, only 41% of survey respondents currently have a documented content marketing strategy in place.
If you’re interested in building an effective B2B content marketing strategy but you’re not quite sure where to get started, we can help. Below, we’ve created a guide to help you get started with your strategy as a B2B marketer and curate content that helps with lead generation, creating a loyal audience and building revenue.
B2B Content Marketing: What Makes It Unique?
Before you can get started with content marketing, it’s important to understand how it comes into play from a B2B perspective. B2B marketing derives from a strategy or content that is made specifically for a business. Typically, this refers to an organization that sells some type of product or service. In comparison, B2C marketing works for companies that are targeting individual consumers who are making purchases for themselves.
Goals for B2B marketing vs B2C marketing differ greatly, as HubSpot explained in this example:
In B2B marketing, customers want ROI and expertise. When it comes to B2C content, customers want deals and entertainment. That means the latter needs to be more fun, and the former needs to be more educational and logical.
If you’re a B2B company and you’re putting all of your focus on advertising, now’s a good time to consider adding creative content to your collateral. According to Demand Metric, 70% of people would prefer to learn about a company through content like a blog post or article in comparison to a typical advertisement.
Creating Your B2B Content Marketing Strategy: 10 Steps to Success
So maybe you’re on board with the idea of content marketing, but you’re not sure where to get started. Don’t fret—we’ve created a step-by-step guide to creating a B2B content marketing strategy and executing it properly:
1. Define Your Overall Goals
Your content marketing strategy should be built with purpose. Setting goals in the early stages can help you bring your business to life. We recommend following the SMART process when coming up with your goals:
Specific. Don’t be broad, hone in on exactly what it is you want to achieve.
Measurable. What does your business’ success mean to you, and how will this motivate you to move forward?
Achievable. Are there going to be blockades keeping you from achieving your goals, or are they truly attainable?
Relevant. Your goals should not only be realistic, but make sense regarding your business strategy.
Time-bound. How long is it going to take to achieve your goals, and does this timeline work for you?
Using these criteria as the blueprint to your content marketing strategy can make it easier to envision the bigger picture during the beginning stages of the process.
2. Understand Your Audience and Create Buyer Personas
Who are you creating content for? How are you going to resonate with your target audience? What does your potential buyer want to get out of visiting your website?
Getting to know the individuals who are paying close attention to you, your products and services all starts with creating a buyer persona. Essentially, a buyer persona is a fictional character created to represent a person who would be interested in your product.
This fictional representation is curated by market research and data collected about your customers in an effort to create as real of a person in this scenario as you possibly can. Individual buyer personas should include demographic information, job role, as well as specific goals and challenges this decision-maker faces. Creating buyer personas will give you a better idea of how to create your message and who you need to tailor it to.
3. Create a Brand Voice
Does your brand have a certain style that sets you apart from your competitors? Creating a distinct voice and tone will give you the leverage to stand out in your industry. Decide what your brand’s personality will be in written format, whether it’s educational and serious or humorous and relatable. Tone is something that offers more flexibility, as it can be used in content based on specific buyer personas. Think about it this way: Your tone isn’t going to be the same in a short blurb as it would be in a white paper.
4. Map Out the Customer Journey
Now that you’ve established a strong foundation for your brand in general, it’s time to think about how you’ll leverage your company to bring in customers through the sales funnel. This takes place after putting forth lead generation efforts; it’s where your potential customers start at the top and come out as loyal clients. Also known as a marketing funnel, this is where your customers start their journey with you and are welcomed to explore what your business has to offer. As they get to the middle, you nurture them and guide them toward the bottom where they can start the beginning stages of a sale.
The sales funnel isn’t a one-size-fits-all template. In fact, we put together a list of different examples to consider for your own business. Take a look and decide which makes the most sense for your content marketing strategy.
5. Understand What Your Competitors are Doing
While most of your focus should be on bringing customers in, you still need to pay attention to your competitors. With a strong understanding of what they’re doing, you can be better prepared to face them in your industry and learn how to provide potential customers with a better product or service. A simple way to do this is by benchmarking, which the American Productivity & Quality Centre defines as a way to measure your own key business metrics and practices and compare them to your competitors. This gives you an inside look at what’s working for them and what isn’t, which can give you the upper hand to better define the industry standard.
6. Brainstorm with Your Content Team
With the backend research in the palm of your hand, it’s time to get together with your team of content creators and assess the content types you want to move forward with. Brainstorming sessions can come in handy when it comes to collaboration among a content team, and this can involve keyword research, topic generation and choosing content format options.
7. Create a Content Strategy Blueprint
After brainstorming with the team of creators, it’s time to move forward with your specific content types. It’s important to be flexible throughout your strategy, however—down the line, you may find that a content audit and ROI shows one content format is producing better results for you than another, which can ultimately guide the future of your process. Having a flexible blueprint will keep you organized and prepared to navigate a different route if necessary.
Content types to consider include:
Blogs
Whitepapers
eBooks
Case studies
Infographics
Newsletters
Press releases
Webinars
Remember: Your content marketing plan can change over time; limiting yourself to only a few different content formats could hold you back from reaching your goals. Consider having these content types in rotation in a content calendar over a certain period of time if you want to explore the different opportunities of each option.
8. Execute Your Strategy and Start Creating Content
Now that your complete strategy is in writing, it’s time to bring your content marketing efforts to fruition. By now, you’re ready to take those content ideas and bring them to life. While content creation itself can be a strenuous task, it can also be considered the light at the end of the tunnel in terms of your content marketing strategy.
It’s where all of your hard work is put to the test: Did you properly educate your team on buyer personas? Was your keyword research and topic selection on point? All of these questions will be answered in the coming months after putting your content out there, but first, you need to put the pen to paper (or, fingertips to keyboard) and get to work!
9. Promote Your Content
Once your content is squeaky clean, keyword-targeted and ready for your target audience, it’s time to publish and promote. This can involve sending out an email blast, posting to social media, or creating targeted ads to get more eyes on your content. How you choose to promote your content should align with your specific goals of the strategy, but the more eyes on your work, the better!
10. Measure the ROI
Now, it’s time to see if your quality content performed as well as planned. The final stage of your content marketing strategy should involve a content performance check, or a content audit to measure the ROI and effectiveness of your content creation process.
In content marketing, ROI shows how much revenue was gained after executing your digital marketing plan in comparison to the amount of money that was spent during the strategy and creation phases. Measuring ROI over a lengthy period of time can be difficult, but it can be simplified by measuring metrics every couple of months to determine if you created engaging content that’s reaching your target audience. We recommend tracking metrics such as:
Website traffic.
CTA click-through rates.
Keyword rankings.
Conversion rates.
Shares on social media platforms.
How to Tell if Your Content Marketing Strategy is Working
Measuring your ROI comes in many different forms, as we detail above. But one of the most important aspects many tend to overlook is maintaining your content strategy over time, or choosing to take a different approach based on the outlook of your current plan in place. A content marketing strategy doesn’t have to be static—with so many different moving parts, there’s always an opportunity to play around with different plans until you find something that works for your business.
You might even reach a point where you don’t think you’re capable of creating a strategy that enables you to reach your goals. But there’s nothing wrong with that. Remember: Outsourcing content marketing is always an option as well. Content Marketing Institute’s research found that 50% of its survey respondents outsource at least some of their content marketing to an agency.
If you’re considering this route, make sure to find a content marketing company that will go above and beyond to get to know your brand. Get an understanding of what they have to offer, ask for samples of writing, video and animation and speak with the content creators themselves if possible. Oh, and don’t forget to browse their website for case studies, testimonials and success stories to seal the deal (hint hint, click the link!)
No matter how you approach your B2B content strategy, just remember to be open minded, take industry trends into consideration and be willing to play around with your process. Starting your strategy is only the beginning—over time, you’ll have the opportunity to experiment, improve your research methods and transform with the world of content marketing.
Chelsey Church is a senior writer and editor at Brafton. When she’s not turning her thoughts into copy, she’s enjoying a craft beer, playing with her dogs or listening to her favourite metal tunes. A Cleveland native, she’ll never let you forget that the Golden State Warriors blew a 3-1 lead.
Digital marketing has become a necessity for any business attempting to survive in this day and age. It’s been said that the most important thing is not the amount of money you spend on digital marketing but the way you spend it. What does this mean? Well, certain categories within digital marketing will give you more benefits than others, depending on your company’s size and goals.
Digital Marketing is constantly changing, but there are some foundational categories of digital marketing you need to have a strong grasp of to thrive in the digital ecosystem. To learn more about the top digital marketing disciplines and the software tools for digital marketing. we asked the experts and here’s what they shared.
Top Categories for Digital Marketing
If there is a universal truth in digital marketing, every marketing executive has their own ideas of how marketing should be done and even how many marketing categories there are. Working in such a rapidly evolving industry means that new marketing categories can crop up all the time.
Even in the past ten years, there has been a huge jump in how digital marketing is understood. However, like Kate Adams, SVP of Marketing at Boston, MA-based Validity, said, “while marketing categories aid in creating brand awareness, recognition and trust, what a lot of marketers don’t realize is that the success of their digital campaigns is highly contingent on the health of their data.”
To understand more about each category, let’s take a closer look at some of the most popular digital marketing categories.
SEO
For some marketers, SEO is the pillar of their campaigns. This is because SEO is applicable to the other digital marketing categories. For instance, you’d have to use relevant SEO keywords in your drip campaigns and content marketing to make them effective and engaging, which is why SEO and research are fundamental for digital marketing.
SEO Tools
“When it comes to doing SEO, our go-to tools would be SEMrush and Ahrefs. We find using SEMrush helpful as it allows us to quantify our website’s estimated reach and also determine our site’s domain and/or resource authority,” shares Maya Levi, Marketing Manager at Tel Aviv, Israel-based ReturnGO.
SEM
Search engine marketing (SEM) refers to the practice of leveraging paid advertising that appears on the search engine results pages (or SERPs). In search engine marketing, companies place bids on keywords that Google visitors might use when looking for certain products or services, which gives the company the opportunity for their ads to appear alongside results for those search queries.
SEM Tools
According to Christopher Moore Chief Marketing Officer at Mooresville, NC.-based Quiet Light, “The best tool for pay-per-click advertising is Google Ads Editor as it allows you to create and edit different ad campaigns across different Google accounts making it far easier to manage your various campaigns and edit ads as the campaign goes along to make them more SEO friendly.”
Content Marketing
Content can take many forms, from blog posts to voice instructions delivered through IoT devices. Since it can takes many forms, it is often seen as the lifeblood of marketing campaigns. Due to its flexibility, content marketing has a central and all-encompassing role in every marketing strategy and can be tailored to fit customer needs before, during and after the buying process.
Content Marketing Tools
There are many content tools out there to help improve your content marketing. They can help build, grammar, content suggestions and SEO best practices. Examples include Grammarly, Ink and Jarvis.ai. Most of these are artificial intelligence-based apps that helps marketers overcome writer’s block and create content more consistently across niches, and ensure SEO is baked-in to the process.
Email Marketing
Getting into inboxes and engaging recipients through email marketing has become more challenging than ever before, with inbox volume nearly doubling year-over-year. Email marketing tools can help simplify email marketing campaigns and provide crucial insights to help increase engagement and improve execution.
Email Marketing Tools
A good piece of advice is that you should always start with an ESP (email service provider) that fits your budget and your brand. “Flodesk is a great option for paid with no tiered plans, but if you want to start with free, MailerLite is another popular one with a generous amount of free subscribers before you need to upgrade your plan,” shares Abby Sherman, Director of Strategy at Minneapolis, MN.-based Snap Agency.
Data Analytics
Without data, marketing is nothing but guesswork. On the other hand, the inappropriate use of data can definitely cripple even the best-laid plans. “Marketing and sales teams waste up to 50% of their time dealing with data quality issues,” confesses Adams. “From duplicate records to outdated contact information. If companies aren’t reaching the right audience, their marketing efforts (and money) are going to waste,” she continued.
Data Analytics Tools
“To gather data and insights, we supplement our usage of SEMrush with Google Analytics (GA),” said Levi. “Google Analytics is easy to set up, and it allows us to stay on top of our social networking profiles and website’s performances. Through the data that we get from GA, we can resolve marketing roadblocks that we encounter along the way strategically,” she shared.
All in all, to make it easier for you to meet the demands of digital marketing, it’s best if you choose and invest in the right software that will make the research, execution, and optimization of these efforts much easier for you. Some of these helpful apps include CRM tools, automation software, and collaboration tools that, with the help of personalization and a human touch, will help you create relevant and effective marketing campaigns.
Not a single day goes by without my speaking to an early-stage entrepreneur who wants to discuss marketing and how to get quick results. So let’s just get this out of the way from the beginning: Marketing takes time.
There are some tactics you can use that will generate a return on investment (ROI) in the relatively short term, but achieving real long-lasting results takes time. Put simply, anything you achieve in the short term will go down as fast as it went up. You want to play the long game. This is true even if you’re tempted to try some things that are less organic but might look good on the surface, such as buying likes or followers. Don’t do that.
Instead, here are five reasons you should start generating content on your own company blog as soon as you can:
Search engine optimization (SEO) is very much a thing
I know that social media gets all the hype nowadays and no one is talking about search anymore, but they’re wrong not to. A quick glance at the numbers will show you that search drives just as much traffic as social does, at least for the time being.
Once you’re sold on the importance of search, now the question is how to leverage it. I am obviously oversimplifying here, but the more incoming links to your site, the better. How do you get people to link to you? Well, some SEO experts would tell you to buy links. I say listen to Google and produce good content people want to talk about and link to.
Getting social on social media
Let’s break down what social media means. The “media” part is obvious, but what about the “social” part? Are you engaging with people like you do offline or are you using Twitter as a glorified RSS feed or sales platform?
I once heard a speech from the guy who invented the “Like” button at Facebook. He explained that he wanted to give people the ability to express appreciation for someone else’s content. What did it do? We ruined it by begging for likes.
How about instead of asking me to follow you, giving me a reason to click “Like” or “Follow”? What’s the best reason to get someone to do that? Fill your feed with quality content, yours or someone else’s, and that’s how you increase your numbers across social media.
Public relations is not the same as content marketing
Let’s clear one thing up: When you or someone on your team writes an article about the industry on the company blog, that’s called content marketing. When a journalist writes about the company, that’s called public relations (PR).
So why does content help with PR? When you pitch a journalist, the first thing he or she is going to do is Google your name or the company’s name. When there is no footprint on the internet, that raises a red flag.
However, when he or she encounters all of your content, all of a sudden you are now a colleague, and not just a company pitching that journalist. Just like he or she produces content, you produce content.
Content changes the whole dynamic between you and journalists.
Your user acquisition can be much more frictionless
Whether you are running ads or acquiring users in another way, content makes the whole process that much easier.
It’s fairly straightforward. If I come across an ad for a company I’ve never heard of, I might click, I might not, but even if I do, it’s a very cold click, and converting me will be quite the challenge.
If, however, I see that ad and think to myself, “Oh, I know that company. I read their blog, listen to their podcast, or follow them on Twitter,” the chances of engaging me are significantly higher. Simply put, content elevates your brand.
Business development with a stranger is not as fun as with someone who trusts you
Finally, last but not least, content marketing helps with business development. Imagine going out to dinner with a potential customer and the person sits across from you with a look on his face that says, “What are you selling this time?”
Now contrast that with the look on his face that says, “I am loving your content. You clearly know your stuff, and I want to work with professionals. So how do we get started?”
That right there is the difference between cold business development and warm business development. That’s the difference between a company that produces valuable industry content and a company that only focuses on promoting itself.
So, the bottom line, in case it wasn’t clear? Stop reading this and start producing content of your own.
Today, content marketing is important because it can easily take a business to the next level. Especially when a business has to operate on a budget and grow exponentially, the reliance on content marketing is justifiable and for that, you have to learn how to Create a Content Marketing Strategy. Gone are the days when firms had to invest in conventional marketing tools such as pamphlets, flyers, television or ads. Now, content is king and it can easily expand the horizons of the business in a defined time. Here, in this feature, we will guide you through a few steps to grow your business through a content marketing strategy:
Carve a Plan
Before you sit back, grab a cup of coffee and invest in a certain strategy, you need to do a little bit of homework first. How do you want to expand your business? What are your business goals? Where do you wish to publish your content? What channels will be responsible for the distribution of your content? You need to answer each and every one of these questions before moving towards carving a certain strategy for your content.
Secondly, when you carve a content marketing strategy, you need to ensure that it is measurable. In simple words, if you can’t measure it, you won’t be able to manage it either. However, when you have a plan in place, you can achieve your marketing and business goals easily.
Always Work on Original Contents
Sharing an article or a retweet might work for a while but your target audience is always looking for something that will bring a change in their lives. This is where your brand can assume the opportunity and work with unique content to grab more attention. Remember, you can never make the most out of somebody else’s perspective.
So when you have an opinion of your own, it will stand out to the customers. For example, if a customer wants to learn about the Aluminum laser cut by ACT Laser and applications of laser cutting technology, they will only swoon over a website that has something unique to educate them about. So if your website provides them with an educational article about this topic, you will easily get more traffic on your platform.
Distribute Your Content
Now that you have carved a plan and have identified the targeted audience, it’s time for you to share your content. Bear in mind, your content is a means to finding ways to the hearts of more audience, so you better stick to your plan instead of making any changes. Create an engaging blog post for your website and keep updating it every month. This will improve the quality of your website and get it ranked at a higher position in the search engine.
Keep a Track of Results
This is probably the part, you’ve been waiting all this while. So did the content marketing strategy help you accomplish the goals you wanted to achieve? You can make sure of the Google Data Studio and the Google Analytics to keep a track of the results and see how everything has been done. This will enable you to keep on investing in content marketing because it is the most powerful marketing tool out there right now.
Traditionally, brands advertised in the mediums of the day, namely print (newspapers and magazines), television and radio. While those mediums are still used today, the digital marketplace has opened up a multitude of new digital marketing opportunities, including:
Pay-Per-Click (PPC)
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Social Media Marketing
Content Marketing
Email Marketing
Influencer Marketing
Mobile Marketing
Viral Marketing
In this article we are going to take a close look at the 8 most popular digital marketing mediums, and tell you how they can be used to your advantage.
Pay-Per-Click (PPC)
Pay-per-click (PPC) is a digital advertising model that is used to drive traffic to websites. An advertiser typically pays a search engine (Google Ads, Amazon Advertising, or Microsoft Advertising) when the ad is clicked. You have likely seen PPC in action when you search for something on Google.
In the image above you can see the first two results of a search for “CRM platform” are ads. In fact, the first four results are PPC ads.
Brands bid on a chosen keyword or search phrase, which then puts the ad into one of four ad spaces offered by Google, for example. The cost per click (CPC) is based on the quality score of the site and the competition of the chosen keyword. Brands typically use the tools provided by Google Ads to determine their keywords and the CPC.
Nate Tsang, founder and CEO at WallStreetZen, a stock market analysis service provider, said that pay-per-click marketing can be a very powerful digital marketing strategy when it is done by those who truly understand the practice. “You should only do this strategy if you are familiar with it or hire someone who is an expert in this field. Doing it on your own without the proper knowledge can be a waste of money,” said Tsang. “I have seen many brands waste thousands on pay-per-click campaigns because they are leading them to the wrong webpage or not being specific on what the visitor must do on the page. A successful PPC campaign must have a great and straightforward landing page so you can convert your visitors and not waste your budget.”
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the art, as it were, of optimizing a website so that when a potential customer searches via Google, or to a lesser degree, Bing or other search engines, the web page will show up at the top of the search engine results pages (SERP). If a brand sells monitor speakers for recording artists, and they have a local store in Cleveland, Ohio, then SEO could be used to bring the website up in the listings by using appropriate keywords throughout the website, in the titles of the pages, in the meta keyword and description tags, and in the various headers throughout the page or site.
This is not to say that the site or page should be keyword spammed, that is, stuffed with keywords without relevant content. Content is still king, and long gone are the days when black hat SEO tactics can be effectively used. Tactics today should include backlinks to the site from all of the brand’s social media presences, and web pages should include relevant content. Content can be created about the topic, as in our example, a page that discusses the various types of monitor speakers and their use, with links to the various monitor speakers the brand sells scattered throughout the page (this is Content Marketing, which we will also discuss). Keyword and Description meta tags are still used, but content relevance is more important today. Also, especially for localized businesses, having a Google business page, which puts a brand on Google Maps, as well as a Yelp business page, will help to pull a brand up to the top of the listings.
Below the PPC ads are the organic (non-paid) results, which also include the “People also ask” section, which features pages in which a specific question is answered by the content of the page (search engine gold — this tactic is heavily used by SEO marketers).
PHOTO: CMSWire
Often, SEO is done through a third-party company that specializes in SEO, rather than an in-house SEO team or the marketing department. SEO used to be fairly simple, but continual changes in Google’s algorithms have made it more of a precise practice that involves specialization.
Ian Sells is founder and CEO of RebateKey, an online rebate provider, and like many marketers we spoke with, SEO is at the top of his list, because if customers cannot find your website, no business can occur. With so many websites out there on every possible topic, it’s challenging to get on top of the search engine results pages. “Being on top of SERPs, that is, being on page one, gives you a lot more traffic since your site gets seen by more eyes. The advantage of this is, while it takes a lot more effort initially, once your site gains the momentum, you don’t have to spend so much on it, unlike in ads where you have to continuously spend,” explained Sells.
Social Media Marketing
As one would imagine, social media marketing is when brands use their social presences, such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or Twitter, among others, to target their customers. This is accomplished through targeted marketing ad campaigns, “like” campaigns, and posts offering special offers and discounts. Detailed demographic information about gender, ages, locations, times on the site, and more can be used to target specific demographics and groups of people.
“This is actually very powerful since a lot of people are on social media. We’re actually revamping our Instagram strategies as well as our Facebook strategies because we’re seeing the potential of the traffic they bring to our site,” said Sells. “The disadvantage of social media marketing is, sometimes, the engagement stays there. That’s totally useless, if your conversions happen on your site. So you have to make the effort to bring the traffic from your social media handles to your site.”
Content Marketing
We briefly discussed content marketing in the SEO section of this article, when we spoke about creating pages that do not directly sell products or services, but provide information and details about specific subjects that are related to the products or services a brand sells. By providing relevant content that appeals to a brand’s target audience, brands can attract customers to their website, and this content also helps improve SEO for the website.
“Content marketing is broad. In our case, we use several kinds of videos on YouTube, primarily informative ones,” said Sells. “These are helpful to increase awareness about your brand and help people who are interested to get to know your brand, product, or service even more. Sometimes, just a little explanation is enough to convince people to try your service.”
Brad Touesnard, founder and CEO of SpinupWP, a cloud-based server control panel designed for WordPress and he can attest that the right content can be a gamechanger. “We are in the server industry and our most popular blog post compares five of the top server providers. Our experts ran tests on each provider and we shared our results in our blog post. The blog post generated a lot of interest from industry professionals who were eager to see our data,” Touesnard said. “Currently this blog post generates 23.4% of the total search engine traffic to our site and ranks on the first place of Google’s search results for its primary keyword.”
Email Marketing
While many marketers might believe that email is a dying marketing channel, the opposite is true — email marketing is still one of the most effective channels a brand can use. This really shouldn’t be surprising, given the number of email users worldwide. According to a report from Statista, in 2020, approximately 306 billion emails were sent and received each day, with 3.9 billion people using email every day. That’s half the global population! Marketers should take note that according to the DMA Marketer Email Tracker, for every dollar that’s spent on email marketing, the average expected ROI is $42.
Unlike other marketing channels, marketing emails are only sent to those customers who have given permission for the brand to do so — which means they are actually interested in what brands are offering, unlike ads on social media where they do not have a choice but to see ads.
Typically, marketers use email marketing software which allows them to automate the process, send personalized emails, and often includes performance optimization and analytics functionality. By tracking key performance metrics, brands are able to determine which email marketing campaigns are effective, and which ones are not.
Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing is still relatively new, and relies on people who have gained a following on social media either for being entertaining, informative, or being an expert in their field. Influencers typically promote themselves through blogs, videos, and social media posts. Brands look for influencers that are connected to their customers in some way. Perhaps the influencer has a cooking show on YouTube, such as Sam the Cooking Guy. Not only does he sell his own line of cooking utensils and books, but he is sponsored by Catalina Offshore Products and Lars Remodeling and Design. In the case of Sam the Cooking Guy, these two brands recognized that Sam, who has 2.93 million YouTube subscribers, reaches many people who are likely to be interested in their products or services.
“Majority of the videos we have on YouTube by other people are not sponsored. A lot of sellers and buyers really enjoy our products. And to be honest, this is really more powerful than paid ones. People trust other people’s reviews. Videos from influencers or at least people with a following are also helpful. If influencers say your product or service is cool, people who are following them are more likely to try your product primarily because the influencer said so,” explained Sells.
Dave Herman, president of EZ Surety Bonds, told CMSWire that thanks to the constantly changing digital landscape, there are many different types of digital marketing to take advantage of, but not all of them are appropriate or effective for every business. “Influencer marketing is becoming increasingly popular these days as more and more people gain fame and recognition on social media platforms. This is why a lot of businesses are taking advantage of it. While it really helped many brands grow, not every business can get the growth they need from this type of marketing. It is also not as easy as most people think it is. You need to research the right influencer that will represent your brand and ensure that they get the engagement you need to market your products or services.”
Mobile Marketing
It makes sense for marketers to focus on mobile marketing, given the vast number of mobile users. A report on mobile usage from Statista indicated that in the third quarter of 2020, mobile devices accounted for 50.81% of global website traffic. With those kinds of statistics, it’s pretty obvious that mobile marketing can be used to reach millions of customers.
Seth Lytton is chief operating officer at The Detroit Bureau, an automotive industry news publication, thinks mobile is a big opportunity for marketers. “Millions use their phones every hour. Mobile marketing gives you access to millions at once, and many customers have their phones with them at multiple times during the day. You can accurately determine your audience with mobile marketing,” said Lytton.
That said, as Lytton explained, brands must be careful not to overuse mobile marketing, at the risk of losing their customers completely. “On the other hand, many find ads annoying on their phones,” said Lytton. “Some people go out of their way to avoid some advertisements by using ad blockers, and more still get so annoyed with advertisements that they may blacklist the company entirely.”
Viral Marketing
Viral marketing typically relies on social media networks, but unlike social media marketing, the marketing is done by customers themselves, as they spread information on various social media networks about a product, service, or brand with other people. Marketing is thought to be “viral” when it reaches the point where it’s being shared by the general public, not just the brand’s target audience.
An example of viral marketing is memes, which may include funny text written above an image. Crazy Nate created a meme that features the character Nemo swimming in the ocean, next to a box of McDonald’s fries, with the words “Watching Finding Nemo; Why I Want McDonalds” superimposed on the image. McDonalds obviously had no part in the creation of this meme, but one can be fairly certain that they definitely do not mind that it went viral.
Brands such as Wendy’s, Dennies, and McDonalds will often create funny, light-hearted videos, Tweets, or memes themselves, and post them on social media such as Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and other sites. They will then be shared by people who found them to be humorous, and those they shared them with will also share them with others, causing the video or meme to go viral. Here is an example of a Tweet from Wendy’s roasting McDonalds:
Keep in mind that viral marketing is never a certainty — one cannot force something to go viral. Either it goes viral, or it doesn’t. Whatever the case, social listening should be used to monitor mentions of the brand on social media.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, there are many digital marketing strategies that are available to market a brand. Brands are able to take advantage of their social media presences, and use influencers to spread their message, or they can use the more traditional email marketing and content marketing techniques. PPC and SEO are still extremely useful marketing strategies, and mobile marketing has never played as large a role as it does today. Using a combination of these strategies, digital marketers are able to promote a brand’s products and services, and turn leads into customers.
“Get yourself an Ocean Galaxy Light” is the equivalent of tweeting “wow, this blew up, check out my Soundcloud”. But does it work?
Brands often ask the people marketing their content to make it “go viral”.
This, unsurprisingly, is no easy task – there’s a reason you don’t regularly see “Persil Non-Bio” trending on Twitter. However, brands have cottoned on to a new strategy that basically involves riding the coattails of something that’s already gone viral. That strategy is called “piggybacking”.
When a tweet goes viral, you’ll often see the original user tweets again, plugging whatever they want to plug (“wow this blew up! Check out my Soundcloud”). Now, though, you may see an advert for the kind of tat usually sold in a high street gadget shop, like star light projectors and slime.
Companies are approaching ordinary people on Twitter who just happen to have gone viral, and offering them cash or commission in exchange for the opportunity to piggyback their temporary Twitter fame. It always seems to be the same few companies, but what they offer to users in exchange for advertising space varies.
The legality of this practice is questionable, with online advertising regulations varying wildly across the world, but none of these tweets are marked as an advertisement. So are these viral tweeters actually getting paid? And if so, how much?
A huge star light projector, called Ocean Galaxy Light, is one of the products most frequently advertised using this method; @shaggavelli was offered £15 through Paypal to post two pre-written tweets about it. Vir Guards, which makes face masks, also offered £15. Standardized, an anime merchandise site, offered him a code through which he’d get a small commission. However, a month after his viral tweet, he’s yet to make any money from the link. “I’ve heard they sometimes give the person £5 first, then give commission, but personally I didn’t receive that treatment,” he said.
Some tweeters are offered promo work off the back of one viral tweet. Others do it more regularly. @engxl had already worked with brands when one messaged him about piggybacking off his tweet about an extremely magical old lady. Unlike others on Twitter, he was able to negotiate for more money and time limits.
Slime Clean is a gooey substance that you roll over a dusty keyboard or grimy car interior to pick up dirt. @enyxl was offered $20 (£15.50) to tweet about the product and leave the tweet up for 24 hours, but because he’d done promos with the Slime Clean representative before, “I asked him for $25 [£19.30], since I knew the tweet was gaining a lot of traction.” Slime Clean agreed and paid him through Paypal.
“If he wants it to be there for another 24 hours, it would be another $25,” @enyxl explained. “Galaxy Light approached me from their official Twitter account and asked what my price was to promote. Since I had already done one for $25, I asked for $30 [£23.15], and they paid me through Cash App. They never mentioned anything about recurring days, so I have an alarm set for when to delete the tweets unless I get compensated again.”
Pay-outs differ between users, with some getting more than others. @putinaspliff was also offered advertisements for Vir Guards and Ocean Galaxy Light for his viral tweet. But despite having around the same metrics as @shaggavelli when the ads went live, with roughly the same number of likes and retweets, he was offered substantially less by one of the brands. Why this was is hard to say, but it could simply be the brand testing just how little they can get away with paying.
Most users make a little money after firing off viral tweets – but those tweets aren’t specifically designed to appeal to advertisers. This is where the micro-influencer makes their entrance.
Unlike others I spoke to, @titanbaddie – real name, Sisa – is a pro. He regularly works with brands and has standards in place for the minimum he’ll accept. “My standard is $30 a tweet, but I’m adaptable depending on how big the brand is, and the expectations,” he says. “For example, I have brands that will pay me weekly fees to interact with their accounts, and those are normally brands that are trying to build online traction. Normally, when it’s a product, you’re paid per post, and normally when you [make] viral content they’ll reach out to you.”
Sisa explained that there’s a growing influencer culture in South Africa, where he’s getting work. At the moment it’s a new industry, and relatively unregulated, meaning influencers can make decent money if they work for it.
“I only recently started accepting promo offers from SA, because I just joined a promo team, but on some campaigns I’ve done before it can be anything from R250 (£11) a week to R2,000 (£95) for three posts, depending on how big the brand is and how long you work for them. I’ve been very lucky, in that I work with more international businesses and forums, so on an average week now I make about $200 (£154) from viral attachment tweets and paid posts.”
While there are clearly ways to make money from viral tweets, for the average joe who just happens to have blown up, it’s not going to be a big earner. As for the products themselves, I can’t find anyone who has actually tried them. Aside from one tweet from a parent whose kids enjoyed the Galaxy Lights, no one seems to be buying them. As for Slime Clean, the majority of tweets about it seem to be asking one question: how on earth are you supposed to clean the slime?
We know this – quality content that attracts lots of organic traffic takes time to write. And you don’t want to sit for hours writing a post that collects dust on your blog.
I surveyed professional content writers on LinkedIn to know how long they research and write a 1000-words blog post.
The result – 33% of writers use a staggering 6 to 8 hours.
Sadly, many blog posts do not get read because they fall for several content marketing mistakes. According to research by Ahrefs, 90.63% of pages get zero organic traffic from Google.
Your posts can be among the 9.37% of content that gets organic traffic from Google. To achieve this, you need to avoid the content marketing mistakes in this post, including those of 2012 and 2015. They are all capable of suffocating your blog posts among the millions of posts published daily.
In the early days of Google, it was easy to grab a keyword, write a post on it, and boom, the content ranks. The story is different in 2021. Many websites are competing for Google’s top spots by targeting keywords. Rather than join the crowd, use the topic cluster model.
The topic cluster approach has been around for a while. It was introduced and first tested by HubSpot in 2015. This approach requires the creation of pillar and cluster content.
Pillar content: Pillar content is detailed posts or pages on your website. These posts contain a broad range of keywords that you want to rank. An example is this Google Tag Manager guide.
Cluster content: Cluster content is posts or web pages that thoroughly discuss topics on the pillar page.
According to Anum Hussain, a former growth marketer at HubSpot, focusing on topics rather than keywords resulted in a better organic ranking.
HubSpot isn’t the only brand that benefits from adopting the topic cluster model. Ninja Outreach had a 40% increase in organic traffic a few months into an internal linking campaign similar to the topic cluster method. And yes, good ol’ Google wants you to implement this SEO strategy. According to Google Webmaster guidelines, your website should have a clear conceptual page hierarchy.
Keep the following in mind as you use the topic cluster model:
Your pillar page should link to all cluster content once
Your cluster pages should link once to the pillar page
Your cluster page could link to other cluster pages once (where the text fits naturally. Don’t force it!)
Cluster pages should cover only one subtopic in detail. Don’t discuss something else. Instead, create another cluster page
Write your cluster pages like regular blog posts while following SEO best practices
Content marketing mistake #2 – Zero voice search optimization
According to a PWC survey, 50% of respondents use voice search to buy or order an item.
The average voice search query contains 29 words
Pages using Schema Markup provide 36.4% of voice search results
40.7% of voice search answers are pulled from a Featured Snippet
Voice search result pages have an average of 2,312 words
Failing to optimize your pages for voice search is a content marketing mistake capable of reducing your organic traffic. There is a claim that websites using schema markup rank an average of four positions higher in the search engines than those without schema markup. Also, less than one-third of websites use schema markup. This offers massive SEO real estate for improving your organic traffic.
So, how do you optimize your website pages for voice search:
1. Find Long-tail keywords
Long-tail keywords are search terms of three or more words. You can find them with keyword research tools like Answer the Public or Long-tail Pro. For instance, after typing my seed keyword (voice search) in the Answer the Public search bar, it returned 321 results.
Questions – 55
Prepositions – 43
Comparisons – 23
Alphabeticals -192
Related – 8
This data has lots of questions like:
What is voice search?
What is voice search optimization?
What is voice search app?
What is voice search SEO?
Here’s why you should care about these long-tail keywords framed as questions.
According to a voice search SEO study by Brian Dean, many voice search queries are question-based
Since 40.7% of voice search answers are from featured snippets, it means you should answer questions that your audience is asking
So, how can you effectively use the long-tail keyword data?
Use them to form headings for your posts
Use them to answer questions in your Frequently Asked Questions pages/posts
Use them to create long-form content that satisfies your audience
2. Schema markup
We have discussed how schema markup can increase your organic ranking and traffic. If you don’t have trouble with coding, you can apply schema to your posts by following the Google schema markup guidelines.
But if you are not good with code, you can use a plugin like Rankmath, assuming you use WordPress as your content management system.
This is how a recipe blog post looks after schema markup implementation.
It is important to note that there are different types of schema markups and you should choose the one that applies to your page.
Content marketing mistake #3 – Lack of content promotion
You’ve sat down for hours to write and edit a post. You finish and hit the publish button.
Now you are waiting, hoping, and praying that your ideal audience searches for your target keyword and finds your blog post.
My friend, that is how blog posts stay within the confines of page 2 and beyond of search engine results. They don’t attract organic traffic from Google… even though they are well-written.
Many people now know the benefits of publishing blog posts. But only a few get the desired results because they care to promote what they write. Here are two ways of avoiding this content marketing mistake and putting your posts before your audience:
1. Find broken links
Broken links are links displaying a 404 error message and they are bad for SEO. Finding broken links is an easy way of attracting quality backlinks to your content and getting organic visitors to your website. You can use a tool like screaming frog to find broken links.
Writing guest posts is an efficient way of proving your authority to your target audience. It also adds the benefits of getting you at least one link to your website. Take the Jeff Bullas blog as an instance. This blog has 459 articles on just the B2C website alone.
And the B2C website get a tremendous amount of organic monthly traffic – 507,469
This amount of traffic means a lot. For instance, as people read any of Jeff’s 459 guest posts, they could view his website as well. As they check his website, they could subscribe and join his email list. If they love the content they receive from his list, they could buy any of his products or subscribe to a product or service via any of his affiliate links. This and other ways of content promotion is how a post can make you money through guest posting.
Content marketing mistake #4 – Publish, forget, and don’t update
Write it, promote it, then forget it.
Here’s the result of such a dreadful SEO effort – Google will send your content to the pile of posts resting on the other side of search results where no one reads them.
What if you update them. Any benefit? Of course.
According to Pamela Vaughan, HubSpot achieved the following after refreshing its old content:
Doubled their monthly leads
Had a 106% increase in organic traffic
This is why marketers like Neil Patel update and sometimes rewrite up to 90 of his articles monthly. But don’t go on a content updating spree yet. Before updating any content, ensure it has organic traffic potential. There is no point in updating an article that won’t get you the results you want.
So, how can you update an old post?
Use Google Search Console and Google Analytics to find posts with organic traffic potential
2. Read the posts you’ve identified and look out for the following:
Can the introduction be better?
Are there outdated stats and facts in the article?
Can you include videos in the article to better explain a concept and attract traffic through video optimization?
Can you change any image?
Can you tweak a section of the post to read better and sound more human?
Can you add more keywords to get found in search engines?
Once you’ve updated an article, the next step is to monitor your results with a free tool like Google Analytics.
Navigate to Behaviour >> Site Content >> All pages. This gives you an overview of your “before and after” organic traffic based on the selected timeline.
Content marketing mistake #5 – Poor user experience
Writing quality content is not good enough to attract organic traffic from Google. You need to provide users with an excellent experience on your website. From May 2021, Google will implement its page experience update.
This update will take the following into cognizance and impact your organic search rankings:
If you use WordPress, you can use a plugin like WP Smush to reduce your image size. A better alternative is reducing the image size with an online tool before uploading them to your website. When using videos on your content, copy the video link and embed it in your post.
3. Use a CDN
A CDN (Content Delivery Network) like Cloudflare helps speed up your site and quickly deliver content to your audience.
4. Eliminate Render-blocking CSS and Enable Browser Caching
If you don’t use WordPress, you’ll have to do this manually. For WordPress users, you can use a plugin like WP Rocket. WP Rocket also has other awesome functionalities that help speed your website.
Final thoughts
Writing quality content is great. But what’s the point if no one reads it?
The first page of Google search results accommodates only ten blog posts. And that’s when ads are excluded. Many website owners want to gain page one rankings because that could translate into revenue for their brand. You could be among such website owners if you care to avoid these content marketing mistakes.
So what’s your next step – take action and start implementing.
Guest author:Precious Oboidhe is a Copywriter and SEO Content Writer at Content Estate. You can learn more about Precious at contentestate.com and connect with him on LinkedIn.
As marketers, we’re always on the hunt for the latest and greatest content marketing tactic. Whether we’re switching from short-form to long-form content, diversifying our link portfolio or taking advantage of artificial intelligence, there’s always some new strategy to try.
But most of these tactics are fleeting.
And, in the content marketing world, long-term success is always the goal. I believe the secret to sustainable content marketing success can be distilled down to two factors.
• Content frequency
• Developing a library of quality content
By directing more of your energy toward these two aspects of content marketing, you won’t need to rely on trendy tactics or last-minute efforts.
Quick content marketing trends are often unsustainable.
Content marketing is an ever-changing field. Remember when we used to stuff our articles full of keywords in an attempt to rank? Thankfully, we don’t use this tactic anymore.
How about when we’d try our hardest to write a viral piece of content rather than focusing on creating high-quality content that produces lasting results?
Trying to leverage the next “quick fix” or marketing trend won’t usually transform your content strategy into a success. It can leave it struggling to reach goals or drive actual results.
In my opinion, the two secrets to content marketing success will always be to:
• Adhere to a content frequency that your audience comes to expect.
• Strategically build a content library of original and third-party content.
Content frequency leads to content consistency.
You’ve heard the phrase “timing is everything.”
That remains true even in the content marketing world.
Content marketing success is not only about choosing the right topic for the perfect audience on the best distribution channels — it’s also about creating a content schedule on which your audience can rely.
Publishing and distributing content on a specific schedule keeps your brand top of mind with your audience. This is likely due to a series of psychological principles, as Mark Zimmer explains on his blog. As potential customers get consistently exposed to your brand and content, your audience will begin to see your company as an authority on various industry topics.
For example, you know that your favourite TV show will air every Thursday at 8:00 p.m. You know the morning paper will arrive around 6:30 a.m. every morning. You can rely on a podcast series to publish the next episode every Monday at 12:00 p.m.
As we train our audiences to expect our content at a specific time, it becomes part of their daily routine. We’re all creatures of habit, and content marketers should use this to their advantage.
Determining the right frequency for your content strategy will take time and thorough experimentation. Don’t expect the content frequency and consistency to happen overnight.
I recommend matching your content to the day of the week — developing a consistent schedule to which your marketing team can easily adhere. Then, adjust based on your results as you see fit.
Building a content library allows you to maintain a consistent posting frequency.
To truly accommodate a consistent frequency, however, brands need to have a reliable library of content. Since many companies also do not have the resources necessary to develop solely original content, they often rely on relevant and engaging third-party content.
Using third-party content allows marketing teams to fill in the gaps throughout their content schedule when original, branded pieces are not available.
Additionally, if your brand plans to use B2B marketing channels like Twitter, you’ll need a wealth of content to share. Sending infrequent tweets on a random schedule won’t leverage the true power of these tools, which could leave your brand struggling to compete.
But finding quality third-party content can be a burden if you don’t have the right tools, so some brands choose to use third-party content curation engines like Vestorly, Curata and others to aid in building their content libraries.
But in order to share the right content at the right time to the right audience, brands need a substantial inventory of content to pull from.
That is where content curation comes into play. In order to curate content effectively, you should:
1. Find and follow trustworthy sources: Scouring the internet for compliant third-party content can be time-consuming and cumbersome. Instead of frantically searching for specific articles or videos, start by creating a list of reliable and compliant resources. These sources can range from thought leaders in a specific industry to research organizations. Content curation engine users can save these resources within the software and call upon them when looking for third-party content. You should also continuously trim and remove content sources that don’t meet your criteria.
2. Filter content by keywords: When curating content, you need a well-conceived set of editorial guidelines you can use to filter content. Creating a list of keywords and sentiments (positive or negative) will help you decide what content to reject and what content to use. By implementing this process, marketers will only capture content that meets their specific editorial criteria rather than sorting through all potential content.
By curating the right content and storing it in your content library, your brand can consistently meet your audience’s frequency demands with high-quality, authoritative content.
Conclusion
Skip the quick gimmicks and focus on long-term content marketing strategies by:
• Consistently adhering to a content frequency that your audience expects and your team can execute on.
• Building a robust library of top-quality original and third-party content to meet content frequency demands.
• Sharing the right content with the right audience at the right time by building a content curation strategy.
Remember, two important factors for content marketing success are frequency and building a content library. Without these two components, your strategy may struggle to produce results.
