This is at the top of the list of my favorite subjects. Content marketing, when used properly, can really catapult a business ahead of the competition. Even the smallest business can get an edge on the competition by creating and executing a powerful content strategy.
Near the beginning of November, #AGMarketingChats had the pleasure of chatting with one of the top content marketers in the country, Erika Heald. Erika is a highly talented and widely recognized marketing consultant. She is also the moderator of the popular #ContentChat Twitter chat.
If you missed the conversation, you’ll want to soak up this recap of the highlights for sure. Erika brought some seriously top-notch tips and insights to the chat. Takeaways include:
- How to leverage content to generate conversations and build loyalty
- Creating a content strategy that you can actually execute
- Steps to take to do content marketing the right way
- Types of content that are trending and have the most impact
- Digging into the long-form vs. short-form content debate
- …and so much more
Let’s get started!
Q1: Content marketing offers so much value to brands. Looking at the market, do you see more brands putting a bigger focus on content with their overall strategy?
While it’s more and more clear that content marketing should be the cornerstone of your overarching marketing strategy, there are still some brands straggling behind as far as buying in. Is content picking up even more steam, and are more businesses getting on board?
Informative and engaging content can help you generate a base of raving, loyal fans that are willing to shout about your brand from the rooftops. By providing actual value through information or entertainment, and by actually helping people improve their lives in some way through content, you strengthen relationships with your audience. This leads to growth for your brand.
Q2: A content strategy is key to content marketing success. What are the most important things to consider when building your content strategy?
Having a documented content strategy is critical to being successful with content marketing. But, what goes into creating a strong content strategy? Each business is different. There is no one=size-fits-all when it comes to content, so be sure to do your research, know your audience, and create a content strategy that works for your brand.
As you develop your content strategy, it’s important to be realistic. Don’t set goals and actions that you can’t handle. Each business comes with its own set of resource limitations, so be sure to understand what you and your team can and can’t handle.
If you have to outsource some of the content marketing work, do it. If you have the team in house, use them. But never overextend your resources. This can lead to lack of consistency or sloppiness and that can have a very negative impact on people’s opinions of your brand.
Q3: How does a business go about determining the right types of content for their particular audience and objectives?
To really create content that meets the needs of your audience, you need to let your audience inform the content you create in many ways. Whether chatting directly with your audience or doing some research behind the scenes, it’s super important that you dig in and really develop a deep understanding of your audience before you create any content. Then keep your findings and the needs of your audience in mind when creating content.
Q4: Visual content is super important these days. What trends do you see in this area that businesses should be aware of?
Visual content like video, infographics, and other content that delights the eyes and takes people beyond the written word is hot right now. Hotter than Hansel to be exact!
If your brand can figure out the right way to incorporate visual content into your content strategy, you can really take things to the next level and stand out.
Q5: Content is ineffective without a distribution strategy. What tips do you have to help businesses determine the right channels to distribute their content?
You’ve heard the saying “If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?”, right? It’s the same with content. If you produce amazing content and it only exists on your website, does it really even exist if no one sees it? To get your content seen and to make it really have an impact, you need a strong content distribution strategy.
Before you publish your content on any channel, you need to understand the channel along with your audience and their content consumption preferences. Look at which channels your target audience prefers to hang out on, and start targeting content there.
Get to know the ins and outs of each channel, the types of content that performs best, formats, and even take a look at what the competition is doing. Then, and only then, should you start distributing your content.
Q6: There’s an ongoing debate about long-form vs. short-form content. What is your recommendation here?
This is a good one. Long-form vs. short-form content. There are plenty of people who will argue on both sides of the issue. It’s a hot button topic, maybe not as combustible as a political debate, but marketers, SEOs, bloggers, and others have dug in and have their opinions for sure.
In the end, the debate still rages on. It’s in your best interest, however, to do your own research and determine which is the best fit for your content strategy. You may find that a mix of both long-form and short-form content work best.
Q7: What do you see the future of content marketing holding? Give us a vision for 2022 and beyond.
Like anything in the digital world, content marketing and the tactics used to execute it change frequently. It’s important for you and your brand to stay on top of the latest trends and technology in content marketing. If you stay stagnant in the content space, you’ll fall way behind very quickly.
Developing a sense of community and working together with your audience and others is going to be important. This leads to people starting conversations, and when people are talking about your brand, that’s a good thing – most of the time, anyway.
Q8: What’s one nugget of wisdom you can offer to anyone looking to get into a career in the content marketing field?
We host a new #AGMarketingChats session each Thursday. You can check out the full schedule for the remainder of 2021 by clicking this link. —>>> #AGMarketingChats Twitter Chats Calendar
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Hi Anthony,
It was a great resource! I own a startup and content marketing is one of the most preferred marketing around here. Thanks a lot for sharing valuable information about content marketing, I learned a lot from your post, and I am looking forward to tweaking my strategies and process with these insights and maximizing the benefits of my marketing efforts. I appreciate you sharing this resource, and I will be sharing it within my network.
Erika certainly brings a ton of great advice to help businesses leverage the power of content. Businesses not focused on content marketing are really losing out. A powerful content strategy pays off, and if you start now, the value just builds up and accumulates over time.