You’ve probably heard that content is king, and it’s true. But there are so many different forms of content to choose from, it can be overwhelming to pick what’s right for your business. Here’s our list of the best content marketing strategies that will earn the trust of your audience, build brand awareness and ultimately, grow your business.
What is a content marketing strategy?
Content marketing is all about using storytelling to build a relationship with your target audience. To create this relationship and foster brand loyalty, content should be relevant and consistent. It’s a long-term strategy, which means your initiatives will be carried long into the future.
Storytelling today is very different to a decade ago. With a rise in digital technologies, the options for content marketing methods continue to increase and shift.
There are many options for content marketing, ranging from traditional magazine and billboard ads to the more modern podcasts and viral social media content.
How do you create a content strategy?
The basis of any strategy, whether online or off, is to know your target audience well. You have to cater to their needs and offer them solutions to their specific problems. This will ensure that the right people pay attention to you.
In a nutshell: deliver the right message, at the right time, to the right people.
The best way to create a content strategy is:
- Define your goals
- Determine your audience and research them well
- Analyse the competition
- Choose your content marketing methods
- Produce high-quality, relevant content on a frequent basis
The Best content marketing strategies
Now that you know how to create a marketing strategy, let’s look at the best strategies there are. Remember, you can always tweak them to fit your business’s needs.
-
Email
Email remains as one of the top content marketing strategies. It has the highest Return of Investment (ROI) because of its high conversion rate. For every $1 you invest on email marketing, you could make up to $42 in profits. That’s an ROI of 4200%.
Another advantage of email marketing is that consumers have already opted in to receiving your emails. This means that they want to hear from you. In fact, 49% of consumers said they like to hear from brands about their promotions via email.
With this being the case, email is an effective content distribution channel to gently remind consumers about your business and products and their benefits, without coming across as pushy.
Include videos, images and relevant copy to make your newsletters attractive. Also personalise them, like addressing your subscribers by name, to really make them feel valued.
-
Podcasts
The demand for podcasts is continuing to grow. They reach 9 million Australians, which is a staggering 37% of the population. This makes them a gold mine for content marketing.
Podcasts are easy to access and consume so listeners can tune in literally anywhere. They also don’t require consumers to focus intensely because they’re basically a conversation. This means listeners can retain the content easily, making it a great tool to promote your brand.
They drive regular engagement as subscribers typically get notified when new episodes are available. With 88% of consumers listening to complete episodes, you’re guaranteed to build good relationships and brand loyalty with your customers.
Remember to inject personality into your podcasts to keep listeners engaged and eager for more. This will also build a deeper connection with them.
-
Video marketing
Creating high-quality videos that showcase your brand is a sure way to get noticed. The popularity of video content has risen so much that 58% of users say they prefer to consume video content above all others.
Videos are shareable, which means engagement levels can instantly increase. You can promote your videos on a variety of platforms including YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and your own website.
Standing in front of the camera will not only give a face to your brand and humanise it, but will build trust with your audience. Your brand voice is able to come through more effectively and your credibility will increase.
LinkedIn is a free platform for professionals to network. Unlike social media platforms, the organic reach here is unlimited. Statistics show that it’s 277% more effective at generating leads compared to Facebook. This offers brands better opportunities to reach their target audience when promoting content.
It’s also great for engaging with users. You can spark conversation and discussion through the comment section on posts, or ask for feedback on products. This will help build trust and credibility.
Using LinkedIn is a good way of establishing your brand as an expert in your field. You can use hashtags to gain more exposure, especially to those outside of your network that are interested in the same niche as you.
-
Interacting with consumers
Personalisation has become a priority in marketing messages because it allows consumers to directly engage with the brand. Adding a personal touch can encourage your consumers to feel an emotional connection to your products.
Take for example the Share a Coke Campaign first launched in Australia in 2011. Coke replaced their traditional logo with the phrase “Share a Coke with” followed by one of the 150 most popular names in the country.
This strategy increased overall sales by 3% and Facebook traffic by 870%. Once the campaign spread worldwide, the hashtag #ShareACoke was the number 1 global trending topic. It’s safe to say that interacting with their consumers and talking directly to them was a big win for Coca-cola.
Final thoughts
There may be many different ways to market your content but it’s important to remember to always provide content that is valuable to your users. They will then look to you as the authority in your niche. This will also help create brand loyalty and credibility with your business.
Building a good relationship with consumers through interaction and engagement will help you grow your business. One way to do this is to ensure your content is shareable.
If you’re looking to take your content marketing strategies to the next level, we can help you increase your online visibility and your brand awareness. Our effective content marketing strategies will have both you and your consumers happy.