Welcome to the digital age, when content marketing is required for anyone launching a new business. For some people, the concept of content marketing might be intimidating, especially if they have little or no experience with it. My advice has always been to study as much as possible before diving into the topic; yet, with so much knowledge available online, this would take decades.
In an attempt to cut through some of the noise, I went out to industry insiders to develop a list of straightforward advice for rookie content marketers.
More than 250 marketing professionals, influencers, and business owners gave me advice. The information is everything they wish they knew when they started as business owners. Here are the top seven suggestions.
Create a blog for your business.
According to IU Kelley School of Business marketing professor Kim Saxton, having a company blog is a terrific method to ensure you have a consistent supply of information.
“Creating a company blog is one method to ensure a steady stream of information.” According to HubSpot, you should be writing a blog post practically every weekday (four times per week or 16 times per month). That means you’ll have to think outside the box regarding what could be a blog post,” Saxton explained.
Get the necessary tools right away.
“At the end of the day, it’s not about the number of tools, but rather the correct tools for your agency,” explains Mattan Danino, Founder & CEO of WEBITMD. “It’s understandable to save money during the starting phase, but allocating a budget to management tools is better for clients, staff, and, eventually, your bottom line.” Most marketing agencies, in my experience, make the error of leveraging a variety of low-cost tools and software as service platforms to complete every aspect of their business. Those tools appear to have no limit, and new ones appear regularly. For any agency to run successfully, I believe a custom CRM solution, marketing automation suite, and internal task management software are required.”
Better engagement is a result of high-quality material.
One of the most effective ways to keep people’s attention is storytelling marketing. It also improves the quality of your articles as a whole, resulting in increased shares and engagement.
“Do not write content only for the sake of writing,” stated Anastasia Sidko, SEMrush’s Content Manager. “Always give the user something of value. Share your own experiences, including any hacks, tactics, or failures you’ve encountered. You can also exploit the experience of industry influencers if you don’t have adequate information. Choose the most interesting themes and successful material, and then use Brian Dean’s Skyscraper Technique to make it even more valuable.”
Repurpose what you can’t build.
“It might be difficult to come up with new material constantly,”. “As a result, reuse what you’ve made in several places. After you’ve produced a few posts, you can easily integrate them into a white paper to give to your readers, or you can use the data to build an infographic if you have some statistic-heavy blog entries. Consider how you can reuse what you’ve already created in a fresh way for each piece of content you create in the future to make your content development efforts easier.”
Identify the appropriate platform and influencers.
It’s crucial to consider where you’ll publish your work. It’s also critical to consider who interacts with your material. People look into these aspects before doing business with you. People want to know who believes in you, supports you, and is eager to help you advance. Make sure you do your homework to locate the platforms and influencers you need on your side. Then there’s the difficult process of reaching out.
Julia Anghel of WallSt.io advised, “Take the time to engage with the blog or influencer.” “Subscribe to their mailing list. Recognize their writing style and preferred topics. After that, write to see whether they’re a suitable fit for you and the new audience you’re looking for. Please make an effort to communicate with them and their staff. Share their content on social media and interact with them. Leave thoughtful comments on their blog posts and start building a relationship with the blog or influencer you’re after.”
Begin with a cornerstone piece of information.
A cornerstone piece of content is a single material upon which you can build all subsequent content. It could be a landing page, a white paper, or something else entirely. It can also assist you in avoiding being overwhelmed. BESLER Consulting’s senior director of marketing, Michael Passanante, says.
“To skip becoming overwhelmed by the demands of content creation, concentrate on creating one or two cornerstone pieces of content, such as a white paper or ebook, that will serve as go-to resources for the topics you’re researching.” These materials should ideally be comprehensive and cover the major themes that fit with your content strategy, according to Passanante.
Include high-resolution photos and videos in your content.
Images and videos can assist you in keeping your readers’ interest while also conveying your point.
According to Eitan Zimerman, CIO of Act Bold Media Group, “engaging your audience is a vital aspect of content marketing.” “Increasing your average time on site has numerous advantages. Adding as much helpful, supplemental, and high-quality media to all of your content is a terrific method to do this. Use high-resolution product photographs or include a useful video for users to watch. Any form of multimedia supplement to your material will keep users engaged and improve the overall quality of your content.”