SEO

It would be cliché to suggest that the digital marketing landscape is becoming increasingly complex. Marketing and advertising have always been faced with the often-complex problem of knowing what will resonate with potential customers. Digital marketers face the same problem but unlike “traditional” marketing we have access to unprecedented levels of data about our intended audience. Learning as we go, we’re often able to craft content (blogs, articles, images, graphics) that users find valuable. Understanding that value is a nuanced and completely subjective concept, we try to gather and analyse multiple data sets before we ever put pen to paper.

What is contemporary content marketing?

Traditional marketing—think of a television commercial, for example—is based on the concept of interruption. A commercial diverts the viewer’s attention and interrupts them from viewing the “valuable” television program they were watching. Content marketing, in contrast, is based on the idea that trust is garnered through a genuine attempt to offer something that the reader or viewer will want to read, view, watch, or best yet—share.  Content marketing talks “to” them rather than “at” audience.  Depending on the product or service, thoughtful content marketing will help move a potential prospect through the digital funnel towards purchase and beyond towards becoming an advocate.

Unlike traditional advertising, content marketing is a persuasive soft sell and seeks to help the buyer make an informed decision. Sometimes, as digital marketers we attempt to create social proof of a product or service’s benefit through relying on the endorsement of key opinion leaders, or “influencers” in a particular industry. Think about it, it is far more effective if someone you trust endorses that new widget or gadget. This type of content, a kind of digital word-of-mouth, is as traditional as traditional gets—it’s just been given a new lease via content marketing.

Traditional Marketing vs Content Marketing

Let’s explore an example: If you’re in the floral business, getting a certain amount of walk-in traffic to your business would be expected if your business is centrally located in town. If you want to reach more customers, you might take out an ad in the local paper and maybe send out some direct mail postcards. Perhaps you decide to exhibit in the annual bridal show and home show. But how do you attract customers outside of these moments?  How do you provide value for the user, even when they are not looking for your services? How will you keep them engaged and your business top-of-mind between purchases?

This could take a variety of forms:

1. Beautiful images on your social media of recent work
2. A bi-weekly blog with articles on relevant content such as “Best Flower Arrangements for a Winter Wedding” or “Easy, DIY Flower Arrangements for Your Next Dinner Party.”
3. A weekly newsletter with a DIY home décor activity
4. A monthly contest to encourage social media engagement
5. A monthly donation of flowers to an important local cause

Content like this provides your audience with something they see value in and ensures you’re in front of them long before they are at the point of purchase. And, importantly, it provides an opportunity to build a connection to your brand.

You can’t go wrong creating content of various kinds that your customers see value in. If they see value, likely so will Google. If your content can be the answer to a searched question, you will likely rank higher in search results. Again, it’s about creating something that your customers see value in before you ever ask for the sale.

The beauty of it all?

Your content will sell for you while you’re asleep. It works even when you’re not.

Getting started!

When it comes to producing content, it can be a daunting task. You might have no idea where or how to get started. Remember: quality content, produced frequently will have the greatest effect on your business. To start, explore the topics that resonate with your prospective audience, consider why your audience works with you, what pain points to address or problems you solve, be creative, take a different approach, and have fun.

Today, we are more connected and more engaged than ever with digital media. Creating a space for your customer (and potential customer) to interact with your brand and develop trust at their own pace, will have lasting effects on your business. It is critical to continue to provide this opportunity, even after the sale is complete. Creating opportunity to further the dialogue with your customers will help lead to long-lasting brand loyalty and repeat business.

And if you are to take one thing away from this article…remember: providing something of value takes time and effort but can yield huge returns!

Part Three: Creating A Content Campaign

Successfully navigating the world of digital marketing requires a strategy, a map if you will. You need to know where you are (point A) and where you want to go (point B, and possibly points C, D, and E too). These points on the map are your goals – the reasons you’re taking this journey and the places you want to go.

And once you know where you are and where you want to go, a content campaign that involves content development, search engine optimization, and social dissemination, will plot your best route to get there.

In part one and part two of our series on digital presence analyses, we explored how to perform a SWOT analysis on your brand and how to develop consumer personas. In part three, we’ll explore how to use both tools to develop and execute a content campaign that will raise your brand awareness and revitalize your business.

So, how do you create a content campaign? 

Creating A Content Campaign

A content campaign combines social media, content, and SEO to create a unified digital strategy that will leverage identified personas, as well as the information collected in a DPA, to outline actionable items that will support a common goal.

Often underrated, content is the backbone of every marketing strategy as it provides material that can be shared through social, and that will be crawled and ranked by search engines like Google – positioning your company in front of your audience.

But what does a content plan look like?

The answer? It’s different for every company, as a content campaign should be completely unique to each brand – assessing needs and providing creative branded solutions to achieve those goals.

Let’s explore an example:

Should a footwear company wish to market a new shoe each month, monthly content campaign’s could be created to reach the audience who is most likely to be interested in that specific ‘shoe of the month.’

This could include targeted:

• Blog posts about the features of the shoe
• Email broadcasts promoting the shoe of the month
• Social posts to share blog content about the shoe
• Video teasers that showcase the shoe
• Keyword optimization for the shoe name and features
• Targeted PPC and SPPC ads for the shoe
• Print materials that show imagery of the shoe, and more.

And as each of these marketing materials would adapt each month, as the target market shifts, new content would be developed with the audience in mind.

Example:

January Featured Shoe: Women’s Pink Breast Cancer Running Shoe – Brand X 

Target Audience: Women who support breast cancer research and women’s charities, are athletic, like the colour pink, like yoga and exercising, are between the ages of 18-38, etc.

VS. 

February Featured Shoe: Water Resistant Hiking Shoe – Brand Y

Target Audience: Men and women, ages 25-59, who are athletic and enjoy exercising, hiking, rock climbing, swimming, camping, etc.

While some characteristics, such as athleticism and a love of exercising are constant, the other characteristics may shift each month, demanding that the advertising and content campaign remain agile and follow a strategy that can speak to those unique and more specific niche audiences.

Therefore, the content campaign, in this case, would need to project a plan that runs months into the future, including what materials will be developed and shared on the month-to-month basis.

Content Development & Social Sharing

Content should tell a story, explain a concept, and persuade readers to take action. In other words, content should always aim to educate, inspire, entertain, and convince. However, without the right strategy and tools, content can fall flat and cause potential customers to look elsewhere for information.

Content campaigns require consistency between the content being created and the content being shared, and it is always best to create content that you can own and have control over. Owning quality content will increase your SEO, position your brand as a Key Opinion Leader in your industry, and help you to connect with your audience in a more authentic way.

However, in addition to sharing content that is branded and unique, you can also share content that has been curated by other sources.

For example, if you own a boutique that sells accessories, and you’ve recently begun selling a new line of scarves that you want to create a campaign around, you could share articles, published by other writers, which discuss:

• How to wear a scarf
• What to wear a scarf with
• Why scarves are the best accessories
• The specific brand you’re selling, and more.

Though this content is not native to your brand, curated content can fill in the gaps between the unique content you’ve crafted and will keep your audience engaged on a more regular basis. Leveraging programs like HootSuite, you’ll be able to schedule these posts months in advance, saving you time and the stress of having to remember to post frequently.

For tips on social media success, check out our article “Why Social Media Works”.

Search Engine Optimization

Your SEO ranking and performance is dependent on the content that exists on your website. To improve your ranking, it is important to analyze the following items before embarking on a content campaign:

• Is your current content relevant and valuable?
• Is your current website user-friendly?
• Do you create content that is sharable (Ex: blog)?
• Has your content been optimized using proper keywords, meta descriptions, etc.?

Within a content campaign, it is critical to consider the rules of SEO, as well as to optimize content so that your material will impact your visibility to potential customers. Through Google Analytics, you may also track the success of your campaign, monitoring increases in views, time spent on page, conversions, and other measurable results.

For more insights into the value of SEO, check out our blog ‘Conversion Rate Optimization & What It Can Do For You.’

Leveraging A Digital Presence Analysis: A Checklist

So, while this all may seem overwhelming, we’ve compiled a checklist, in the most simplified way we could, to remind you of the steps covered in our three-part series:

• Perform a SWOT analysis
• Develop personas
• Brainstorm
• Create a content calendar
• Write content
• Optimize content
• Create a social sharing promotional plan
• Publish the content
• Share the content
• Measure your campaign success

Should you require support in navigating your digital presence analysis or content campaign, be sure to reach out to us at 905-836-4442. 

Our professional team of content, social media, and SEO specialists can provide you with solutions that will increase your brand recognition and overall marketing success.