Content marketing has changed the world of blogging and content creation. We all remember blogs from years ago with the advent of blogging systems. Today, however, this blogging has gone beyond a person’s writings and memories, and most businesses have turned to content marketing. When we share informative and valuable content through our business blog, we will appear as an expert in customers’ eyes, whether we like it or not, turning enthusiastic readers into potential buyers. When you share content for free, you allow your business to build trust in the minds of blog readers. In any case, you provide tips and information about the industry you operate in for free. So why don’t they trust you? In this article on smart strategy, we will review what is content marketing, content marketing strategy, and tools. 

 

What is content marketing?

To know what is content marketing, we should say: “Content marketing is an informative way businesses help readers by sharing educational or entertaining content. In content marketing, we do not force people to buy; instead, we help them to make the best decision, and their best decision is buying from us.

Pay attention to the definition provided by the “Content Marketing Institute”:

The purpose of this marketing method is to attract and retain customers by producing and organizing valuable and appropriate content to change or strengthen customer behavior. This type of marketing is an ongoing process that fits best into your overall marketing strategy and focuses on owning media rather than renting it.

In 2016, few businesses doubted the miraculous power of content marketing. Still, the fact is that only a few companies take advantage of this type of marketing with the skill and expertise that they need.

 

Types of content marketing

There are many ways to implement content marketing, and the choice depends on your strategy or your organization. However, in the following, we mention its 5 usual methods.

1. Social media content marketing

The fact that more than 3.5 billion people use social networks justifies content marketing through social networks. There are many platforms to implement this marketing method, including Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Telegram, etc. These platforms provide the conditions to produce text, image, and video content and share it with your audience.

2. Infographic

Content marketing by producing infographics can be very effective. With this content creation method, you can attract those looking for compact information. 

3. Blog

The blog section of any website is an excellent way to show goodwill to the audience. Providing information that may be a little difficult for the audience to obtain is the best way to build trust, and by answering the audience’s questions, you can bring them closer to you.

4. Podcast

podcasts are also a form of content, and they have gained a lot of fans these days. Many businesses today consider podcasting as one of their content marketing channels. Using this method, you can share the information you want to give your audience and be a part of their free time.

5. The video

“A picture is worth a thousand words.” Due to the visual and auditory appeal that videos can have, they can excite the audience more than text or images.

 

Content marketing principals

Engaging content is one of the top three reasons people follow brands on social media. Therefore, producing high-quality content is essential. However, to have high-quality content, you must pay attention to the principles mentioned below.

1. Create an advantage

Your content should be valuable, including helpful information, educational content, or entertainment. Your content should have points that attract the reader’s attention and, ultimately, their business. Practical training articles with titles that start with “how to” are especially effective at attracting customers.

Why? Because people are constantly looking for new information, and as a result, articles that can adequately meet their information needs are very valuable. These articles elicit a good response from people and help businesses gain credibility. If you can provide competent answers to the questions of your buyer personas, the likelihood that they will return to you for information in the future will increase.

The more you can guide people or provide them with informative and helpful content, the better image they will have of your brand and the more enthusiastic they will be to promote it by word of mouth!

2. Act quickly

Speed is a decisive factor that forces people to act and react. Therefore, you need to create a sense of urgency with your content.

Do your best to make your content make the audience act and react. Try to get relevant, up-to-date, time-sensitive, and highly valued information. If you have an opportunity with a time frame, share it with your audience as soon as possible.

3. Cite the source for your content

The truth is that people are fascinated by facts. You may have a lot of content, but mentioning sources for your statements is better. These sources can be figures or graphs. Use them in content production so that people take you seriously. By doing this, you also simplify the reading process. Your goal is to make people trust your brand. So for your statistics and evidence, mention reliable sources to enrich your text or content.

4. Satisfy the audience’s curiosity

Your audience is looking for information that will make life easier and more pleasant for them and provide solutions to their problems. Take advantage of this curiosity. Choose titles that people will not easily pass by. This means looking at things from the outside.

In addition to solving reader problems, you should find a way to keep the content interesting. It’s easy to answer a question you know about, But presenting information freshly and creatively is more effective.

5. evoke emotions

While you should spend only some of your content on emotion, you should know that information that evokes emotion can be very effective. For example, emotion is the primary motivator in the buying process. However, it is crucial to use emotions so that people do not feel that their emotions have been exploited. So try to evoke emotions with your pen, camera, or art, and simultaneously bring credibility and trust to yourself with a logical and rational approach.

Feelings and emotions help you create compelling content and increase the likelihood of sharing it with your audience; Because the audience is naturally eager to share their feelings with others. Exploiting emotions doesn’t mean constantly trying to bring tears to your readers’ eyes or make them feel fear and worry; Rather, create different content for each emotion and feeling.

 

Content marketing strategy

In the following, we will tell you how to develop a content marketing strategy in 10 steps:

1. Determine your goal

The first step in the marketing process is to define your goal. A famous proverb says: “If you don’t have a goal, wherever you end up is your destination!”. So, without delay, take a piece of paper and a pen, talk to whoever is necessary about it and write your goal big on the paper. For example, our goal of content marketing is to introduce our website to everyone.

2. Know your persona

Knowing the persona is the second step of all the work done in digital marketing. How will you achieve your goal if you don’t know who you want to create content for? Content production for a 50-year-old man is different from a 15-year-old teenage girl. So it is better to determine now what group of people you want to attract.

3. Create a content marketing strategy

Now that your goal is written down and your persona is clear, it’s time to strategize. A strategy is like a detailed plan to lead you to your destination. Make it simple enough. Figure out where you want to start, what tools you have, and where you want to go.

4. Select the channels you want to be active on

Choosing these channels depends on your business persona. For example, everyone knows that if you want to target the young generation between 17 and 30, the best place is Instagram. Or if your audience is a community of older adults, you may even want to send them a letter and remind them of the happy days of their youth! Determine which channels you want to operate on and add them to your strategy.

5. Build a strong team

Trying content marketing alone is like trying to steer a ship independently. 

A content team should include the following people:

  • Content strategist
  • Content manager
  • The author or even the team of authors
  • Copywriter
  • Manager of social networks
  • SEO expert
  • Graphic Designer
  • Photographer and video producer

6. Give an idea!

Now it’s time to start a brainstorming session and present your ideas. Say what topics you want to talk about with your audience. Do you want to make a video? What do you want it to be about? How about your blog? What do you want to publish? Talk about these issues and write down your ideas.

7. Create a content calendar

A content calendar is your road map. This calendar will help you know what you publish on which channel daily. Please separate the website content calendar from the social network calendar.

8. Write, take pictures and make videos

Go through your calendar quickly and prepare your text, image, and video content.

 

9. Publish your content and promote it

Again, according to the calendar, publish your images, texts, and videos in the relevant channels. Remember that only some people will enter your social media page or open your blog daily, So promote your content on different channels. This step can play a significant role in getting results from content marketing.

10. Analyze your content

  You need to understand the results with analysis. Achieving your goal is only possible by analyzing the results. So the best thing is not to be lazy, analyze these results and make the necessary optimizations.

 

Content marketing tools.

To start working in this field, it is necessary to master several content marketing tools. But, of course, they are not complex tools, so don’t worry and start.

  • Content Management System (CMS)

These content marketing tools are installed on your site, and by using them; you can upload your content on the site without the need for an IT team, put photos and videos between them, and publish it in the way you want.

  • Project management software

This content marketing tool helps you know where things are and whether everything is moving according to the content calendar. Trello is one of the most popular software. Trello has a web version; you can access it anywhere and track your work. In this environment, you can create different columns, add projects to these columns and consider a fixed routine to use with your teammates.

  • Analytics tools

We talked about the benefits of analytics earlier. Google Analytics is one of the most famous content marketing tools for analysis. This tool requires preliminary training, But it is convenient and versatile.

  • Design software

You will need these content marketing tools to design your photos and infographics and edit your videos. Some of these design software can be mentioned as Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator. You can also use Adobe Premier to edit videos.

 

in this article on smart strategy we deep dive into content marketing strategy and tools.

smart strategy as a leading digital marketing agency providing social media services in Canada. To have more information about our social media marketing services and have a consultation with our social media strategist please contact us.

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