Content marketing is a booming activity right now, with thousands of websites and blogs posting tens of thousands of pieces of new content daily. This competitive market of ideas can challenge a business/website owner seeking novel content to attract and retain customers. This task is complicated by rapid changes in Google policies that affect how customers find you. Staying visible to potential customers’ searches, and bringing them back repeatedly can be critical to staying afloat.
How, then, do you remain creative, with dozens of posts to generate monthly, or even weekly? Consider these choice tips on keeping your content fresh and compelling.
1. Re-analyze your blog.
You doubtless have identified niche topics that reliably interest your target audience. Re-examine some past posts for potential tweaks. For example, say your auto industry site features critiques of new car models: What about enlightening readers on current traffic control issues (for example, the “move over law,” or expanding traffic camera usage), emissions regulations, or insurance purchasing hints? This is stuff they can use daily, – that can diversify your content.
2. Hang with the right crowd.
Join forums on related topics, interest/advocacy groups, communities, and Facebook page. Everyone there is a potential customer/reader. You can get a sense of their thinking, their wish lists, and pet peeves – and thereby obtain great potential content ideas – by reading their posts and discussions
3. Syndicate!
Stay on top of your game by staying abreast of breaking industry news. Tools such as Feedly offer you a way to conveniently store the latest updates from your niche news sources – all in one feed-syncing location. Reread some of these news stories, but with your audience in mind. What is causing buzz and garnering comments? Can you address similar topics from another perspective? Can you dissect and analyze the pros/cons of arguments you find in the current news? There’s your next content piece!
4. Customer feedback.
Your enterprise survives and – we hope – thrives, because you solve customer problems, and meet their needs. This makes customer feedback absolutely vital. It reflects the problems your customers/readers face. Dig back into past emails and suggestions for inspiration (if no online form for such communication exists, set one up NOW). Maybe a customer took delivery of your specialized paint but expressed uncertainty regarding prepping their surfaces. Rule of thumb: a problem one customer articulates probably indicates that others (less vocal) would benefit from an article elucidating that issue. Exploit the “squeaky wheels” among your readers/clients to guide you to widely useful topics.
5. Boots on the ground.
When did you last consult the people actually producing your product – perhaps through a brainstorming session? Take full advantage of your employees’ experience and insights regarding customer interests. They are a goldmine for new content ideas,
In fact, you can find inspiration all over – just keep your customers’ needs in mind as you scan your business landscape, and you will be well supplied with fresh content.
Quality Assurance: 5 Point Checklist for Your Social Media Posts
Your social media engagement traffic, engagement, and exposure are critical to your success. Thus, you need to score home runs with every piece of content.
It is dishearteningly easy to for users to UN-subscribe, un-like, or un-follow, your feed, especially given the perpetual email bombardment with endless streams of content. Users can thus be super selective regarding what appears in their updates and inboxes.
1. Do your posts contain a call to action (CTA)?
Customer engagement will not occur magically, especially when you post infrequently. You have to drive engagement. CTAs grab readers’ attention, pull them in, and propel your content’s spread across the web. Craft your CTAs to be requested rather than commands, discreet pushes towards participating in your social media strategy.
2. Are you exploiting the power of pictures?
Of course, not every situation calls for images (no need to reply to your mentions on Twitter with a picture). Images, however, are fun, powerful inducements to engagement, and increase your chances of going viral! Most top social media outlets – increasingly – facilitate image sharing. Even Twitter has enhanced its image previews and visibility. Even if you are not a Photoshop power user, and the prospect of creating your own images intimidates you, awesome tools like Canva.com can lower the skill barrier.
3. Is this the right moment to update?
Yes, you may be located in the US, but where on the globe is your audience? Does it make sense to post when your audience is probably snoring? Fortunately, most social media networks and tools like Buffer offer scheduling options to permit posting when your audience is most likely to be online and reviewing their news feeds. Check the substantial online research for guidance.
4. Did you proofread? Oops…too late now!!
Sadly, way too many social media posts are ignored or even mocked for their careless grammar, obvious misspellings, and punctuation errors. For example, we at WEBSITE work with many copywriters and bloggers, and if posts contain even minuscule errors, our audience notices instantly. Such slip-ups discourage social media engagement and detract from your exposure and your credibility.
5. Are you providing value to your core audience?
Know the folks who follow you and frequently engage with your brand, and post accordingly. If you deal in kitchen wares, you can guess that they are unlikely to engage with celebrity gossip! Yes, general interest posts will be widely read, but not necessarily compelling to readers who keep in contact with your business, who are likely to convert to future customers. Keep these people’s needs foremost when composing your next social media update.
Your social media posts will benefit from reviewing these elements, and so will your business!