In the world of Search Engine Optimization (SEO), content is king and engagement is queen. But all too often, webmasters overlook the importance of publishing rich-quality content. Instead they circulate poorly written articles that are narrowly focused on the attainment of high search engine rankings, and that is where the boat gets missed. 
Why is Content the King?
Your corporate website is the representation of your establishment, and visitors delve into your website content with the hopes of finding information about the products/services they are searching for. It is therefore essential for webmasters to build their websites using the correct facts and information, so that their company is able to gain the authority and trust that is required in the niche market. Also, for the search engines to trust your website, it is important to build content that is optimized for search engine bots to easily crawl. SEO friendly content ensures that your web pages have all the necessary keywords in the required quantity and prominence that demonstrate the relevance and importance of your website.
What is Content Marketing?
A commonly held belief is that content marketing only entails blog posting. Blogs that are updated regularly with high-quality content can serve as a strong backbone of a content marketing strategy, but they are certainly not the only type of content that you can create for content marketing campaigns. Here are just 4 content marketing strategies you may wish to experiment with; other than blogging of course.
- Enewsletters- Enewsletters help you stay competitive! Consider creating multiple newsletters if your audience has varied interests. It could also be advantageous to give your subscribers the option of receiving their newsletters daily, weekly, or monthly. However, remember to ensure that your enewsletter is mobile friendly. More and more people are reading their emails on mobile devices and if they cannot open it, the email will be spammed.
- Case Studies -Case studies are useful for consumers to effectively evaluate a brand. Each case study should focus on success stories. As well, add visual elements, such as videos and photos, to make your stories come to life.
- Videos – Did you know? A video is the most engaging way to connect with your audience? According to recent study done by Forrester Research, a 1 minute video is worth 1.8 billion words. That’s because a video is so easy to digest and it’s much more memorable than text. The best type of video you can create for your business is a descriptive video.
- Infographics – Infographics are all about statistics and numbers and are the perfect way to get your argument across, quickly. If designed well, they look captivating and people on the web seem to enjoy reading and sharing them. When it comes to creating your infographic, you need to think about telling a story. Make sure you do plenty of research to find the right stats and the right story that you want to tell
Debunking SEO & Content Marketing Myths:
- Standing on the shoulders of giants – Obsession with what the big competitors are doing often leads businesses into the trap of copying their competitors’ marketing strategies without any indication that these plans will work. Yes, it is important to know what your competitors are doing, but it is as important, if not more, to be authentic rather than an imitator.
- Blogging – The word “Blog” is portrayed as an amateurish monster that has the power to make a business and their online presence look unprofessional. But what better way is there than creating a corporate blog for sharing relevant, interesting, engaging, and resourceful information with your customers and using blog pages as the first step in the conversion process.
- Freebies – It’s a well known fact that businesses don’t enjoy giving out freebies. “We’ve got to make money, and if we give advice out for free, what use is it, right?” Wrong. Free giveaways generate more engagement and buzz. And there are ways to use your freebies as a logical step in that conversion process – with the aim to bring in more customers.
- Outsourcing – Many businesses have the mindset that it’s best to outsource your content to the lowest bidder. Even though one copywriter may be less expensive than the other candidates, chances are the quality of their work will be lower, and you won’t get the results and engagement you need. Finding great writers is not easy, but they are often worth their price tag.
- Content Marketing is Digital – Content marketing has a long history. Businessmen and women have been marketing with content for hundreds of years without feeling the need to come up with a cliché to describe it. Content marketing strategies that have been used long before the web was in existence include: conferences, industry reports, lectures, seminars, white papers, magazines, guides, and the like.
If you’re going to create engaging and rich content for your target audience, you need a hook. Hooks enable your audience to build a relationship with your content each time it’s published and viewed. A twist to a familiar topic is what makes your content appealing to look at, but a hook is what gets people to talk about it and share with their friends.
As a content marketing strategy, your goal is to not just hook your readers into your marketing pond. You must present the bait to them as well (i.e., giveaway, discount etc). This is where understanding your market needs, wants, characteristics, habits and preferences comes in handy. You must do your research to get this information before you develop that hook.
Important Tip of the Day: It pays off to stand out from the rest, especially in markets that are full of competing businesses that offer similar products or services.
About iRISEmedia:
iRISEmedia.com is a digital media agency and SEO company, specializing in Social Media and internet marketing. Our team helps clients increase their reach and profitability by developing and implementing customized and targeted online and social media marketing strategies. We service clients in Toronto, Ontario, the GTA and throughout Canada as well as globally.
