Content 101: What is Content Marketing and Why Do You Need It?

In today’s marketing world, content is king. What constitutes great content and why does it need to be part of your marketing plan?

Great content is written material that is informative, timely, original, evergreen, shareable, compelling, engaging, findable … the list goes on and on. It’s content that takes into consideration your brand, customer needs, and appeals to an online audience.

By definition, content marketing is the strategic process of creating, publishing, and distributing powerful, relevant information to a targeted audience. The aim is to retain your client base while also attracting and converting new clients.

Engaging your online community should be your biggest goal. In order to draw attention to your brand and generate leads and sales, you need to disseminate quality content across many channels — social, website, blogs, guest posts, emails. Keyword optimization is essential in this process.

SEO is Key

In today’s marketing environment , it’s crucial to be ahead of your competitors with search engine-focused content. It’s not enough to simply write content that is topical. It may be a fantastic topic, but without the proper search engine optimization (SEO) and distribution channels, it’s pointless.

Take a step back and analyze your current content. Do you need more content or a fresh makeover? What’s working and what hasn’t been? You can boost your SEO simply by adding a few paragraphs of relevant information to your existing content.

Whatever channel you choose, be sure to do your due diligence in researching keywords and your target audience. Dynamic content written needs to contain the correct keyword densities as well as have neutral and relevant backlinks and contain SEO in order to be optimal and relevant enough to retain visitors on your site.

Content = Putting Your Writer’s Hat On

Content marketing is where you put your writer’s hat on and draft interesting and targeted copy such as:

• Blogs

Here is your chance to write specific content about what you know. Think of it as an Internet journal or diary entry. For example, a blog written by a wedding venue with tips on planning nuptials is a great piece of content.

• Case Studies

This is a research strategy with an analysis of a project, event or service. A managed IT provider in the Bay Area focused on showcasing a client of theirs who needed a network and security audit.

• White Papers

A white paper is an authoritative report or guide to help readers comprehend a specific topic or issue. A law firm, for instance, writing on the subject of opioid abuse is a worthy topic to address in this day and age.

• Videos

Writing a script for a video that accompanies a blog is a strategic way to keep a reader’s attention.  eGlobal Web Solutions recently wrote a blog on The Role of ROI in Social Media in 2018 and accompanied it with a video that sums up the blog.

• Newsletters, Flyers, Email

Reach out to your customer base with newsletters, flyers, and emails that provide useful content aimed at their interests. A supplier of African fabric is a great example of a company that uses their product in marketing materials, filled with vibrant photos and informative copy. Sign up for their newsletter and see for yourself.

• Resources – Tools and Calculators

If a person is checking out your website, chances are good that they’re looking for more information on your services. Provide them with useful resources. Content focused on resources is always a good way to keep visitors coming back to your site. A mortgage company may offer mortgage calculators on their site as a way to attract visitors to their site. Once there, they can check out other content on your site.

Additionally, there are free online resources to use to help you as you generate your content.

Plug in your website’s URL into Internet Marketing Ninjas, an easy-to-use tool, and determine the keyword density of your page or the number of times a word appears in the text.

LSI Graph is another tool that generates LSI keywords for your SEO. Determine the percentage of times a word appears, with the optimum being 2 to 5 percent per page.

What Story Do You Have to Tell?

Think of it this way – is there a story that would make for an engaging piece of content? Research frequently searched topics and turn those into content pieces, be it a blog, your website’s homepage or on your product page. Here are some ideas for popular topics:

• How to articles
• Top 5
• Trends
• Q&As
• Guides
• Must-know facts
• Benefits
• Checklist
• What you need to know
• Strategies

Pertinent SEO-focused content is key to boosting your rankings and audience engagement. Know that it’s not an overnight strategy, rather an ongoing process that’s results-driven based on quality content, accurate data and targeted distribution.

If your content could use a facelift or you just need help getting started, contact us today for assistance.

eGlobal Web Solutions specializes in marketing your business via the digital marketplace. We use search engine optimization, social and review promotion, and Email marketing for all types of businesses from local to global. We utilize various digital marketing techniques to increase your Internet presence, optimize your traffic and generate new business.