4 Ways to Beat Your Competition with the Power of Content Marketing
Content marketing allows business owners a number of tools as they attempt to get the word out about their businesses and attract the customers they need. It’s not surprising then that content marketing is enjoying a boom of sorts. One of its greatest benefits is that it allows business owners a leg up in a highly-competitive market. They accomplish this by showing themselves knowledgeable in their fields and dedicated to their customers. As a result, when customers are interested in their particular product or service, brand recognition allows them a higher possibility of making a sale. However, not every content marketing attempt will yield results. Business owners must learn to carefully present themselves to the buying public. Here are 5 ways to use content marketing to your advantage:
Research – This is what Data Sauce calls the most important step. Creating content that potential customers will find valuable always begin with quality research. You want to come across as an authority in your field. This means that you must appear all-knowledgeable about your topic. If there are clear gaps in your knowledge, your customers will not trust you as much as you need them to.
However, research also means researching your competition. You must keep tabs of those companies that exist in your field and are vying for the same customers. If you aren’t the most important company in your field, then this advice becomes even truer. Your content marketing must sail above that of your competition. Researching them means keeping tabs on their social media accounts so as to understand what they do and how they do it. In particular, you want to take note of their most successful social media posts. This will help you to understand which topics resonate the most with their customers and what will work with yours. In addition to this, there are a number of tools you can use to find out how well your competitors keywords perform with customers. You can in turn take this keyword information and use it to boost your own posts.
Stand Out – You must be visible. It doesn’t matter the quality of the content you are sharing if no one can see it. Your content must gain the attention of your target audience. It isn’t enough to just be a content marketer. In a crowded market where your competition has had more time to entrench itself, you are going to find it more difficult to carve out an audience for yourself. This is why it is important to differentiate yourself from other business owners using content to market themselves. For example, if your competition is utilizing infographics, you can find that it is easy to get some attention by creating instructional videos.
In addition to this, you may find it valuable to use different keywords or to target a specific demographic of which your competition is completely unaware or simply ignorant. You must also go to your would-be customers. Find out their preferred social media platforms of choice and build connections with them. Lastly, post frequently to get your name out there as much as possible. A company must never allow its brand to fall into obscurity, even for a few days. Considering the complexity of this task, it is understandable why many companies will require the aid of a freelance worker.
Use High-Quality Content – “Quality” is far from a buzzword thrown loosely around. The quality of your content is a good predictor of whether or not your target customers will engage with your brand. High quality content helps you to market yourself and as Stephane Kasriel, CEO of Upwork states, the ability to market yourself is a valuable skill. Therefore, content marketing requires the use of high-quality content that your would-be customers will find valuable. You must remember that your chosen demographic must believe that the content you produce is valuable in some way. When viewed or read, they must think that it educates them and even more importantly, prepares them with making better decisions when they are ready to purchase. This is why Inder Guglani, CEO of guru.com, pushes a heuristic approach to content creation where competency is key.
Apart from this, quality content is routinely shared and linked providing the business owner with valuable SEO points and enviable PR. Once people realize that your social media platforms or website consistently puts out quality content, they’ll keep coming back for more. For content to be considered “high quality,” it must check three boxes: (i) it must be original. No one wants content that has been copied and shared a thousand times; (ii) it must be actionable. Share a resource or step-by-step instructions that will allow them to take some sort of action after viewing your content; (iii) it must be digestible. Your information should be easy to understand and technical jargon kept to a minimum. Confusing your visitors will only serve to alienate them.
Create Trendy Content – There just isn’t any way to win many fans with old content. As a content marketer you will discover that while some topics draw a steady stream of interest, for the most part interest in the vast majority of topics burn brightly for a while but then soon enough cease to summon onlookers. If content is the bait, it must be trendy. You have to learn to capture the wave of interest when it is upon you. Many times, would-be customers will seek you out for your view of a trending topic and it is your duty to provide them with one. This can be accomplished by searching for keywords that are currently popular. Many sites geared towards SEO professionals and content marketers stock frequently-updated lists of hot keywords. Many times a list is free or partially free. In addition to this, you must stay on top of trends and news, specifically ones that apply towards your industry.
Focusing on content marketing will yield results you never thought possible. Apart from this, providing your customers with quality content is a rewarding act that can bring you much fulfillment. With the rules of proper content marketing clearly outlined, there is no reason why any business owner should shy away from it.
