As opportunities for marketing on the web develop, multiply and become more sophisticated, the greater the requirement to stand back and ensure the right amount of thought and planning goes into managing the content you are publishing online.
It’s no longer enough just to have a website, a few scattered directory listings and a couple of social media accounts which get the odd update or posting when you “have time” or have a bright idea for an article or want to promote an event or offer.
The key to success is to think of a single web based canvass populated by multiple, interlinked tools and opportunities – rather than a number of separate things that just happen to take place online.
Here are my 6 top tips for creating great content that gets found, read, acted on and shared.
- Choose and tailor your content (what you write about and share) with your target audience in mind. It’s about what they want to know, read about and share – not what you want to tell them.
- Choose your tools (website, blog, social media … ) with a clear purpose in mind. Are they the best ones to help you achieve what you want to achieve? Are they a match for your tone and style?
- In terms of social media, find out where your audience gathers (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Ecademy …) and connect with them there in a way that is appropriate and engaging. If you hate the very thought of all this but growing numbers of your customers are increasingly using social media sites, then you’re likely to miss out over the longer term – because your competitors will be active there for sure.
- Plan your content. As well as topics and themes, what proportion are you going to originate yourself and how much will be sourced elsewhere and shared? What are those sources, how and how often will you tap into them?
- How will you write and re-purpose a key topic? For example, a serious “expert voice” article for your website (or as guest writer for someone else) vs a chatty personal opinion piece for your blog (or someone else’s) vs a series of Twitter tips. Can you link this to a book review on LinkedIn, or ask or answer questions or contribute to a “group” discussion?
- Take time to understand how to maximise the effectiveness of key word phrases to appeal to your audience and also search engines – from meta tags and browser titles to body copy, headlines, and linking text.
And finally … New tips and techniques emerge all the time but in this era of “conversational marketing” always remember to keep to the basic principles of good communication and build your content strategy around listening, engaging, and sharing.
