1291 words – 5 1/2 minutes
1. Advertise
I know this is a very obvious one. A Paid search, particularly on social media platforms continues to prove they are all excellent ways of attracting visitors. It’s an important link in the chain of building your brand and driving traffic to your website. Choose paid strategies to suit your audience goals.
More traffic to your site might result in more sales but you’ll need to target someone who is in the “early research” phase of shopping with keywords they immediately think of. You can target that keyword with a content piece like a checklist.
Content marketing is all about getting in front of the customer early and making a good impression as part of your paid search strategies. Competition for these search terms can be fierce and expensive – but will reap the rewards.
2. Get Social
If you are going to spend time producing great content you want more than to hope people find it. A proactive plan using social media channels that promote your content is what helps you get in front of the right audience at the right time.
4 Keys to unlock your promotion plan are Social Media Content Planning, Great Social Content, A Consistent Brand Image and Measuring Success with Analytics.
Twitter is ideal for short, snappy (and tempting) links.
Google+ promotion helps your site show up in personalised search results.
Pinterest is a click through link to your website with a great graphic/image
Instagram gives you space to share information and a dedicated link to your website in the bio.
Both are great for daily traction.
Facebook is the click link or lead generating window for your website, group or activity with a targeted audience.
Linkedin is the place to share the story, include the image and provide a direct link to your website.
BONUS TIP
By answering these four question you can make the most of your social media marketing.
- What are you hoping to achieve from social media marketing?
- Who is your target audience?
- Where does your target audience hang out and how do they use social media?
- What message are you sending to your audience with social media marketing?
3. Write Scroll Stopping Headlines
Headlines are one of the most important parts of your content.
Without a compelling headline, even the most comprehensive blog post will go unread. By mastering the art of headline writing you will set your content apart from generalised material. In journalism we are taught to catch the eye with a statement that sparks intrigue, not just interest. 80% of readers don’t go past the first paragraph of copy so whether it’s an email, ebook or webinar invite, headline need to powerful, attractive and enticing – compelling the reader to lean in.
Use these
- Numbers and lists
- Reasons
- Ways
- Tips
- Tricks
- Secrets
- Ideas
- Techniques
- Strategies
- Facts
- Methods
- Statistics
17 D’s to Headline Heaven.
Define : what the article is about
Demonstrate: the value of the content and what the reader will get
Distrust: use cynicism to your advantage, humans want to understand manipulation and deception in order to avoid it.
Deconstruct: Break down the learnings into a step by step guide. The How To, Best Ways, Build your own Blog.
Disneyland: Get your reader excited about the blog. Fantasy, Myths and Magic. The one thing you always wanted to know about women.
Don’ts: This is all about the mistakes and missing out. Don’t buy a house without asking these questions.
Dreams: Understand your readers dream and pain points, wishes and fears. Use the solution in your headline.
Direct: Speak to your reader in 2nd person, You, You’ll, You’ve. Include an enticing invitation to help them solve their issue.
Draw In: the curious reader with a little bit of controversy. Why Men Should Be Scared Right Now. It spells out a different opinion to main stream thought leaders.
Difference: POD. Point of Difference. Putting effort into the element that is the most important may take up 80% of the time you spend creating your content. Using different structures and brainstorm strong adjectives and verbs. Pack a punch into the 5-7 words you have that capture their attention.
Darkness: Words are powerful and violent wording continues to fascinate our ever growing desensitisation. Using words like Kill, Bleeding, War and Fear strike at the very finality of resolving a difficult situation. Whilst Surprising, Huge and Shocking attract attention in the hope of finding out something new.
Did You Know?: Ask the questions and then invite them to discover the answer.
Digits: Facts, figures and statistics are a great draw card in any headline – whilst they are subjective to the research you present, many take on face value that whether there is a majority in a percentage or a equality tug of war, numbers give the reader a basis on which to make their own judgement.
Deadlines: Announcing a countdown or d-day gives a sense of urgency. ’24 hours to go before the country decides.’ Time stamping is a way to create momentum.
Design: All blogs come with an aligned image that has strong visual cues as to the topic. It introduces the article. Images are insanely powerful and with metadata (key words and phrases similar to headline) google with boost the content.
Deliver: Make sure your content delivers what your headline promises. Rich and Value content can not be underestimated. Building trust, authority and connection takes time.
Discernment: Using a headline generating website tool will offer up hundreds of them but it starts with knowing your keywords. Think carefully about your headline before you hit “publish.”
4. Mix It Up
No Magic Formula, But there is data you can use.
There is no magic formula for content marketing. Success is personally determined by its creator. Whether it’s clicks, comments or direct communication it’s important to know that it might be that crucial piece of information that helps someone understand themselves, their relationships, business or the world.
For this reason, varying the length and format of your content will attract different kinds of readers. Including shorter, news-based blog posts with a notice on how long it takes to read is very popular. It helps them determine if they have the time to read it and if it fits within their bounds they will dive in and consume.
LENGTH & FORMAT:
Long form content refers to articles of around 1,200 words or longer. Many readers want articles that are packed with rich and valuable learnings – and publishers need to deliver. The goal of long form content is to increase user engagement – so by creating longer, more in-depth content that provides lots of value to an audience your reader spends more time with you. It has been shown to be a successful content strategy; one that results in tripling the average time on website.
In long form content, it’s important to include the journey and further reading links by reviewing your content and linking words to other articles, products or information that is relevant and relatable to the topic. Again, increasing user engagement.
Long-form content can also have a positive impact on a page’s rank in the SERPs. The top-ranked content is around 2,450 words with Blog Site Medium structuring their content based on the data they’ve collected from their audience over the years. They’ve determined the perfect blog post takes seven minutes to read, that equates to 1,600 words!
Content length can also be determined by the subject matter.
- Gadgets 181 words
- Web News 329 words
- Gossip 183 words
- Health 666 words
- Marketing 1085 words
- Finance 1225 words
- Politics 425 words
- Personal Development tops the list with an 1470 words
Accompanying content with a Video, infographics and data-driven pieces will give the maximum impact.
So I’ll be updating this blog with more ways to get your content in front of your customer. I have 16 other headings on my list, so be sure to drop back.
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