There are various digital marketing tactics that one can employ, regardless if you’re a budding influencer or a small business owner.
Of all the marketing trends that have come and gone throughout the years, there is one truth that remains: quality content is key.
In this article, we will share with you some content marketing tips that can give you a headstart, whether you want to launch a digital marketing campaign for a new product or service or if you simply want to increase your online engagement and reputation.
Table of Contents
Do Your Homework
Before you start creating your content, you need to research the market. Particularly, you’ll need to delve into the demographics of your target audience and the channels they use to consume content. Through this research, you can determine what personalized content will appeal to your audience most and which channels to reach them.
From these details, you’ll be able to create a marketing plan outlining the types of visual, video, and written content you’ll produce. Additionally, you’ll be able to determine the digital marketing tools you’ll need to create your content.
Most importantly, your research and content marketing plan should determine any market gaps your brand wishes to fill, as well as the benefits your content will bring to consumers. Your content marketing plan should also include other goals you wish to achieve, such as:
- Increased revenue
- Improved brand positioning and awareness
- Increased lead generation and online traffic
- Better positioning as a thought leader or expert
- Better engagement
Start With the Resources You Already Have
It’s only normal for a brand owner to want every aspect of their content marketing to be perfect. However, it’s easy to fall into the trap of endless preparation.
But here’s the thing: the Internet waits for no one, and the conditions will never be completely perfect.
Instead, it’s better to start as soon as possible and work with what you have. It’s okay to start small. After all, what’s great about content marketing is that you can always build on things later on.
You can start posting content about the products that you already have available. In fact, you can even start teasing about an upcoming product or service that you have yet to release.
If there’s one factor that we suggest you prioritize, that would be the quality of your photos. Fortunately, many smartphones can already deliver the crisp image quality that you need to post on most social media sites.
If you find yourself struggling with content creation, then know that you can always hire freelancers to help you out with copywriting, graphic design, or video production.
Explore Other Commonly Overlooked Resources and Territories
It’s very interesting how many retailers forget that their very own storefront is a great place to conduct photo shoots. You also don’t need to hire models. You can certainly pose for your own brand. You can even get some help from your staff.
You’ll be surprised how many consumers even prefer this touch of intimate storytelling. It makes your brand seem more friendly and relatable.
In addition, we also recommend looking into other venues to bring your audience from your online content to your storefront and vice versa.
For instance, you can take advantage of online business listing opportunities to share your store’s address.
At the same time, it wouldn’t hurt to put a QR code on your packaging and product tags that can allow your customers to find your online spaces easily.
Finally, don’t limit yourself to posting your content to your own website and social media channels. There are other places that you can explore on the internet. For example, joining forums is a great way to expand your online visibility and make closer connections with other active personalities within your target community.
Answering questions on sites like Reddit and Quora can also help. Just make sure that your responses provide value instead of simply promoting your brand or online channels. Otherwise, the moderators will give you the boot.
Give Your Brand Its Own Personality
An effective brand goes beyond a color palette and a designated font. It can’t be fully represented by a name or a logo.
Instead, it should have its own personality. Keep this in mind when creating your content and engaging with your target audience. For instance, is your brand witty, funny, or both?
You have to adjust it according to your ideal market as well. For instance, if you’re targeting young adults, you’d want to talk like them. This means it would probably be okay to use online slang, abbreviations, and emojis every once in a while instead of communicating formally.
On the other hand, if you’re talking to business professionals, you might want to tone down your language and humor.
Finally, you’d also want to tailor the tone and timing of your posts to the consumer’s buying behavior. For instance, some consumers prefer in-depth infographics regarding the benefits of your brand, products, and services. Others may prefer demos and hands-on experience. Ultimately, your content should be personalized to address the customer’s purchasing preferences and needs.
You Need a Blog
You’ll want to make it easy for your audience to find your content. Therefore, to provide the most accessibility, start a blog on your website. This way, your consumers can browse your products and services, as well as informational articles that educate them about your brand. It can serve both as a launch pad and depository of all your published content.
We also recommend setting up a subscription list so you can easily update your regular readers whenever you post something new. You can also use this as an effective tool for email marketing.
Switch Things Up
Found a type of content that your audience responds well to? Then that’s great! However, don’t let this stop you from experimenting with other channels and content.
For instance, according to a digital marketing survey done in 2015, video was the fastest-growing form of online content. These days, and in a separate, more recent report, the most popular type is memes.
This doesn’t mean that video is outdated or ineffective; far from it. Instead, there are simply newer types of video content that have gained more popularity and traction compared to the usual clips.
Live streaming and more bite-sized videos, such as those on TikTok, are good examples
You Don’t Need to Do Everything on Your Own
Finally, content marketing should always prioritize quality over quantity. As mentioned previously, quality content can come in many forms: educational and informational articles, infographics, and even narrative videos. One way to generate quality content and connect with consumers is to promote user-generated content.
There are several ways to encourage more user-generated content. One of the most effective is coming up with a branded hashtag challenge.
It’s an online challenge that’s designed to encourage your audience to create high-quality posts in exchange for possibly getting rewarded for their creative efforts. Each post will then require a hashtag that you have prescribed so that each post can be aptly credited back to your brand.
You can seek inspiration from bigger brands and influencers.
Speaking of which, your brand can benefit from collaborating with other influencers and related companies. Not only will it expand your reach this way, but you’ll also be able to establish more visibility and credibility within your target online community.
Conducting an Effective Retail Content Marketing Strategy
One of the things we love about living in the digital age is the fact that marketing resources are more accessible than ever before.
There are online tools that you can even use for free. Anyone can serve as their own content marketer these days as long as they have the patience to learn the necessary skills and the courage to try new things.
On the other hand, it also made retail more competitive. Just sticking to traditional marketing methods won’t work as effectively as they did in the past anymore.
Start today by taking the first steps to establish an online reputation. We hope that the tips we shared help give you a solid starting point. Good luck!
Related posts:
- How to Create an Effective Retail Content Marketing Strategy - June 26, 2022
