No one said content marketing would be easy. In fact, it’s an unrelenting, moving target that demands you stay on your toes every step of the way. But rest assured that finding your content ‘groove’ is far from impossible as long as you stay hip to trends and away from the hype. The good news is, we’ve got just what you need to stay up to speed on what’s working and what’s not. Here’s your weekly dose of content crack!
Image Credit: valuablecontent.co.uk
How to Find the Path to Useful Content That Works
It can be a hassle to find content that truly works. What we mean by ‘works,’ is content that helps you achieve your marketing goal. In this blog, three key activities are noted as helping to find a sure path to content that works: listen, talk, and research. By listening to leaders in the industry who are experts on the type of content you seek to master, talking to customers to find out their challenges, and researching answers by any means necessary, you’re more likely to find and create content that works for your goals.
Listen to the industry experts. They know their industry better than you, so why wouldn’t you take that knowledge and write around it? Talk to your customers about their fears, write about them and watch your open and click-through rates soar. Whether it’s poorly written email subject lines or missed opportunities on social media, find that something that frightens your audience and equip them with the tools to emerge triumphant. More than anything never stop researching for that perfect combination that works every time.
Many thanks to Susan Ganeshan for this great piece. Follow her @nbrandanalytics.
13 Authority Hacks That Give You Instant Expert Status Online
Struggling to assert authority as a blogger can be a struggle for even the most seasoned professional. Honestly, there is no set path to becoming an ‘authority.’ It’s up to you, the writer, to take a stance, proudly declare your beliefs, and back them up with irrefutable facts. Surround yourself with important people in your industry. The power of association gives you instant expert status online. Create your own branded framework for the way you deliver your message. Whether it’s a trademark opening or sign-off, come up with something that sets you a part from the rest of the pack. Something your followers can identify as uniquely you.
To truly be an authority online, you must showcase your expertise offline and meet face to face with your followers. This lets people know you’re more than words on a screen; you’re a real person with a real voice. Lastly, possibly the most important authority hack, write a bold manifesto that places your concept at center stage.
After you’re done reading these authority hacks, go visit the author’s website, JasonGracia.com.
From Vague to Valuable: Putting Buyer Personas to Work
If your company hasn’t invested time and resources in creating buyer personas (archetypes that represent your most common customers), you’re light years behind the curve. But chances are, you’ve already taken the time to do so and haven’t gotten much use out of them thus far. Understand that you’re not alone. Finding the practical, everyday value in personas is easier said than done.
Try using your personas to solve segmentation problems. Personas already establish a division between your customers. Take that division and attach other segmentation variables to it and you’ll begin to get a more holistic picture. Another way to add value to buyer personas is by using them to map your content strategy. Not all personas feed on the same type of content. Marketers may require coaching webinars, whereas CEOs may want industry-specific case studies.
Read the rest of Jeffrey Russo’s blog (@JeffreyRusso) to discover other useful ways to take buyer personas from vague to valuable.
Why You Need to Conduct a Full Audit for Successful Content Marketing
There is no such thing as a ‘quick’ content audit. In fact, even suggesting such a thing is enough to make a real content marketer write an entire blog post to disprove it. Which is how this blog came about. The fact is content marketing, as a whole, is no walk in the park. It requires you to lay real ground work before you can consider launching a strategy that will drive all of your marketing efforts.
You can’t afford to miss a step in the content audit journey. Before you start down this path, take the time to read this blog, because it provides an in-depth overview of content audit must-haves and other important considerations.
Kudos to Anthony Gaenzle (@anthonygaenzle) for writing this and LinkedIn content marketing groups for providing the motivation!
These are the 6 Steps I Use for Great Content Marketing
You may have already established an approach to content marketing. But if you’re like most content marketers, you will never stop hunting for a better way to achieve greatness. Chances are, you’ve come across multiple companies and marketers who all claim to have found the holy grail of content marketing. The quickest way to separate the real from the pretenders is to cancel out the over-complex solutions. This blog outlines 6 simple steps to take the complexity out of creating great content marketing.
You can thank Jay Baer (@jaybaer) for continuously delivering hype-free content strategies.
