1. Avoid content that has been done millions of times. Although it may look like it worked for a few other companies, it has already been done. The last thing people want to do is read the same article twice! Be original and tailor your content to what your specific audience wants to hear or know.
2. Avoid moving forward without an idea of what’s ahead (Do your research!). If you dive into a pool without knowing how deep it is, you may end up getting hurt. Don’t create content if you haven’t done your research. Plan ahead and see if there is a spot in the vast Internet for your content, if not, rethink your strategy.
3. Avoid useless content. It needs to be entertaining and useful. People don’t want to read something that doesn’t give them some sort of benefit. The benefit can vary depending on what the content tries to do, but it should aim to be informative, entertaining and actionable.
4. Don’t forget your audience—create a persona. Knowing and understanding who you are talking to can make your content marketing that much more effective by tapping into what resonates with your audience. You can communicate on a more personal level with them. Take this concept a step further by creating a persona or personas. You build trust with your audience in this way because it is easier to trust a person, than a faceless company.
5. Don’t assume everyone is in the same part of the buying cycle. When creating content it is important to target the audience based on what part of the buying cycle they may be in. Some may be at the top of the marketing funnel, and some nearing the end. So by routinely creating content that appeals to each stage, you’ll be capturing the attention of a new group each time! Awareness, interest, purchase, and then repeat!
6. Don’t just use one format. (Think: videos, slides, text and more!) Not everyone learns or enjoys consuming content in the same way. Try using a variety of formats! Be creative with your content; make a video this week and a slide show next week.This serves two purposes, one it makes your content more appealing, but secondly, it repurposes it to give you more bang for your buck!
7. Don’t forget to get your content out there! You need to have a distribution strategy, of course you can put it on your website or blog, but if you want new visitors, you need to distribute your content to new mediums. Plan out how you will distribute your content in multiple ways. Think about using distribution platforms that target your audience like: StumbleUpon, Tumblr, NTENT and Ampush. These platforms will help you reach a scalable audience driving new eyeballs to your content.
8. Don’t forget to promote, promote, promote! When you hit that magical publish button and release your content to the World Wide Web, that doesn’t necessarily mean anyone is going to see it—there is content everywhere! Promotion, via social media, paid advertisements or word-of-mouth will give your content the boost it needs to be seen by as many people as possible.
Remember by focusing on your audience, you’ll win them over with content that they’ll want more of!
Have more to add to our list? Place them in the comments below!
Article written by: Thomas Bourus, Marketing Coordinator
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