Effective Inbound Marketing Tips

A lot of businesses getting their feet wet in content marketing get a blog going, and then say "Now what?" While blogging is a great way to attract leads and customers, there is still a world of content out there that is waiting to be explored. This is where a content creation company thrives, helping small and medium-sized businesses branch out into other forms of content marketing.

However, you don't have to hire content creation companies to get in on this. Many of the more advanced forms of content marketing are still quite do-able for a company that's creative and dedicated.

So, here are some ideas for more content you can produce that will gain you more attention, without breaking your Internet marketing budget.

Great Ideas For Inbound Marketing Straight From The Content Creation Companies

Slideshows:

Do you have ideas to express that involve a lot of charts and graphs? Rather than writing a blog, do a slideshow instead! Websites like Slideshare allow you to upload slideshows for free, with links to and from your main website. Popular Slideshare presentations also can rank highly on Google on their own, giving you another route to SERP success. They also are extremely popular among business owners.

A good slideshow presentation can communicate a huge amount of information, and visitors can go through it at their own pace. Just remember that, as with all content marketing, content is the key word. These need to be substantial and information-heavy, not just fluff put into graphs to make it look impressive.

Podcasts:

Podcasts may be seen as "last generation" technology, but they're still extremely popular. Thousands of sites are still producing them, and a large number of people worldwide both listen to them and take action such as sharing them or buying products advertised.

The best thing about podcasts is that the technology is practically ubiquitous at this point. Any MP3 or other media player can play them, as can any Internet-connected computer. Much like radio in the offline world, they're among the most democratic of the content types. Anyone can enjoy them.

Plus, all you need to make them is a computer with any sort of microphone and sound editing software. Try Audacity if you need free, easy-to-use audio software.

Video:

A lot of businesses look at video as being something that can only be effectively handled by content creation companies. While it's true that advanced videos with actual acting or animation probably will have to be produced by an outside company, that doesn't mean you're locked out of video.

As an alternative to blogging, try vlogging instead! (Yes, that's a word. Really.) Vlogs have been growing in popularity in the last few years, and are easy to produce on any computer with a webcam. Fundamentally, all you have to do is record yourself giving a spoken presentation, so it requires very little post-production and editing. If you do need video software, here's a nice list of some of the best free packages at TechSupportAlert.

Even slightly more ambitious productions are entirely possible if you have a decent handheld digital video recorder. Try filming your production process and editing it into a short documentary about how your business does its stuff.

Don't Forget To Share!

The other thing that content creation companies understand is how well any of the above forms of content marketing work in combination with social media. No matter what kind of content you have, make sure it's easy for visitors to share it on their favorite social websites. Vlogs and slideshows are especially good for social sharing.

No matter the size of your business or your budget, there are brand new content marketing opportunities waiting for you. Don't be content with simply blogging; branch out and attract more followers with a variety of content!

What are your favorite tricks for doing great content marketing on the cheap?   

Believe it or not, one of the single best advertising and PR investments your company can make is simply hiring a good content writer.

After all, we're living in an age of information. Whether it's “right” or not, the online public expects a steady stream of information about the companies they're interested in. You have to write blog posts about your thoughts on the industry and your upcoming products. You have to make Facebook posts with pictures of your latest event, Twitter announcements of new promotions, and more. It's enough to drive one to distraction.

Fundamentally, you have to work harder to attract online customers than in just about any other area of marketing. You have to be putting out new content constantly.

And that's why a good content writer really can be your business's best friend.

Why You Need a Quality Content Writer

• Good content brings good leads.

  It's easy to forget in all the numbers and statistics of SEO, but at the end of the day, you have to be putting out content writing that people want to read. Blog writing that is going unread and uncommented-upon isn't doing you much good at all. Maybe it's attracting eyeballs, but they're bouncing away almost immediately. (Now there's an odd mental image...)

• Content writers understand different markets.

  Good content writing is very much an art, and a difficult skill to learn. It's not just a matter of stringing words together in a grammatically correct fashion; it's about picking the right words to appeal to specific audiences or markets. A piece of rhetoric aimed at Boomers, for example, would fall utterly flat if sent to Millennials, because of differences in how the different generations view the world. It takes years of practice to begin to master this process, but this is where great content writers excel.

• They probably understand SEO nearly as well as you do.

  Professional content writers have to be well-versed in the theories of SEO, or they're not going to get much work. Concepts like keywords, viral marketing, search page rankings, and social sharing are part of the business. Further, they also understand how to integrate these into content without distracting from the ideas and messages being pushed. Fundamentally, good SEO should be invisible to your visitors, like sleight-of-hand, and a content writer knows how to do this.

• They know how to write for different mediums.

  A blog post is not a Facebook update is not a Tweet. Copy on your landing pages is going to look totally different from copy on a newsletter. Every medium you could use for your message has its own attributes and focus, and a good content writer knows these differences and can make sure that you stay on-message while still adjusting your content to fit the format.

• Content writers come cheap.

  There's no reason to beat around the bush here. It's not even necessary to hire a writer full-time to work in your office, although that's certainly one option, especially if you want to be hands-on. However, freelancers abound, and there are dozens of brokering services such as Zerys and Textbroker which have stables full of hungry writers looking for their next big opportunity. With rates generally well under 5c a word (at least for all but the most technical subjects), they can be easily afforded by virtually any business.

Content Writers: Smart, Productive, and Inexpensive

A good content writer is your ticket to more visitors, more leads, and higher-quality content all around. They get your message out to the people you want to see it, writing to specific markets as needed, and save you from having to do it yourself. Considering how cheap good writers come these days, there just aren't many good reasons why you wouldn't want to hire one.

How have you used a content writer to increase your leads or communicate more effectively?