Friday, August 24, 2012

Content Marketing Guidelines

Create good content is not easy, it is not surprising that many people want as quickly as possible to pass this stage. But we can not take over-hasty decisions: If the content is created correctly, will have to start from scratch. Many companies believe that they need company reports, but do not even realize what it was. The problem is that many companies have a list of "must" of content. They believe that since there is such a product, you need to prepare a thematic review, brochure, case, and possibly online seminar. However, this approach is hardly feasible. Need to optimize the production of content that matches the objectives, audience and capabilities.


Tip number 1. Always set goals in advance


Any unit of content to be created for a particular purpose. This goal determines the structure of the content and its theme. The simplest approach - is the binding of content to the particular stage of the buying cycle, or sales funnel.

Determine why each successive unit of content:

- The targets relating to the top of the sales funnel - to acquaint the audience with the brand, to give a general idea of ​​it, increase website traffic;

- The targets relating to the middle of the sales funnel - more acquaint the audience with the products and services of the company;

- The targets relating to the bottom of the sales funnel - to make sure that potential buyers prefer to have competitors.

Even the definition of common objectives (related to the top of the funnel) significantly improves planning and publishing content.

Tip number 2. Provide information to potential customers - do not try to sell them anything.


Advertising of products and attract visitors to the site - two different stages. You can get a lot more people in the sales funnel, if you tell them something new, and not going to immediately sell the product. At this stage, the potential buyer is too early to even think about the features of your proposal. Content must help him to understand the subject.  

Example: the American company for installation and maintenance of air conditioning has a blog which contain advice on cooling and dehumidifying air in residential and office buildings in the South.

The entries in this blog:

- Provide useful information to the reader;
- Focus on teaching the reader;
- Contain no direct advertising company;
- Help drive traffic through organic search.

"85% of the traffic on the site - one visit, of which 40% is organic search," - said the head of the company. Another example: the developer of platforms for e-commerce, publishing topical reviews of contextual advertising, social marketing, etc. Information about the services the company appears only on the very last page.

Tip number 3. Customize format


Do not use a template, choose the format most appropriate to the task. Several recommendations for formats:

- Video - ChannelAdvisor and Conditioned Air with video explains useful, but technically complex information that would be difficult to perceive in the format of thematic review (for example, air conditioning unit).

- E-books - realizing that many potential buyers do not have time on a 15-page article, ChannelAdvisor convert text into e-books with lots of illustrations and extension quotes. According Dilayzy Rivis, head of corporate communications ChannelAdvisor, it made the content of the company more efficient.

- References - a very effective form of content, but, according to comparative market analysis strategies, search engine marketing, it is used only 33% of marketers.

Tip number 4. Address the content "ideal customer"


Selecting target content, decide the theme. One way to do this - to put yourself in your ideal customer, that is the best potential buyer, and determine the information to be interesting to him. What questions a potential buyer is given in each of the sales funnel?

At the beginning of the funnel potential buyer perfect shoes discount center might ask: "How to find the best deals?"

In the middle of the crater perfect potential buyer B2B segment may ask: "What are the products or services offered by this company?"

Your content should answer the questions, even if they are more detailed. Focus on the target buyer

When you understand the needs of the ideal buyer, you need to determine the needs of specific target audiences. Branch segments allows us to refine the questions that must meet the content.

For example, in the aforementioned case of the retail sale of footwear you need to know about the potential buyer as follows:

- Does he / she run?
- Male or female?

Woman, a runner may look not only "the most advantageous offers," and something more concrete. For example, it may ask the question: "How to find the best deals on women's shoes?" Content companies must help her answer this question.

Tip number 5. Find new opportunities with search statistics


Often in order to find an answer to a question or solve a problem, people use search engines. Analysis of the search statistics reveal number of issues arising from potential buyers in your industry, and help to create content for their solution. For the analysis, you can use a free application Google Keyword.

If we introduce a keyword related to your business, it would generate:

- The related keywords;
- The volume of search queries on them.

The program also provides an index of relative price competition for contextual advertising for each keyword. This creates a rough idea of ​​the level of competition for the rank in the organic search results for those keywords. For the same reason you can also search by keywords manually and the results. Using them, the company can identify new themes and new content keywords to landing pages.

Less competition - more opportunities


In each market there are the keywords frequency over which the mass searches. Competition for rank in search results for them is very high.

But some of the waste from this tradition, addressing topics that are:

- Related to the needs of potential buyers;
- Characterized by several smaller volume of inquiries;
- And for which competition for rank in the results are significantly lower.

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