In a digital world where content is king, it’s hard to keep the proverbial coronation party going, especially when you have approximately four million other things on your plate. Content creation is one thing, but quality content is what adds the jewels to that crown. And even in our on-demand universe, quality takes time, which is likely not something you have a surplus of (and if you do, tell us all your secrets).
Whether you head up a small in-house team, are a one (wo)man show, or have no marketing department to speak of, we could all use some pointers on how to get more mileage out of our hard work.
If you’re regularly churning out content, are just beginning to piece together a plan or somewhere between, here are six tips to make your content strategy work harder for you.
- Send email series to current contacts. Friends, email is not dead. Per the Content Marketing Institute, 93 percent of B2B marketers leverage email to distribute content, and 40 percent note that email newsletters are the most important contributor of their content marketing success. Also, this trend isn’t going anywhere; 73 percent of millennials prefer business communications to come via email, and 99 percent of consumers check their email every single day, many around 20 times daily. If you want your content considered by your target audience, this tactic tops the list.
- Upload relevant emails to Facebook and LinkedIn to create look-alike audiences. A Lookalike Audience helps you reach new people that have similar characteristics to your best existing customers, and are thus more likely to be interested in your business.
- Create a series of social posts using content snippets. Your entire social audience will not see every post you make. In fact, they will only be seen by a small percentage based on a variety of factors that vary by platform. Ergo, one and done should not be your content support social post mantra.
- Outreach to people who link to similar content and comment on relevant, authoritative blog posts. Whether it’s on social media, via email or on another website, every piece of content plays a supporting role in a larger conversation. Be an active voice in that exchange. And don’t just talk to be heard; chime in only if you have something valuable to contribute.
- Guest blog/contribute to industry newsletters. Associate your brand with authoritative sources and sites that people trust.Become active within industry communities. Don’t just consume information, build credibility and establish yourself as a thought leader by engaging in the conversation.
- Refresh/expand old content and repurpose it into new formats. Don’t forget about your content once it’s published; start practicing historical optimization. Hubspot added this tactic to their own content strategy and doubled their monthly leads. In addition, find different ways to repackage your existing content. For example, leverage pillar page content into a downloadable pdf eBook offer.
- Boost top-performing content on social media. There is nothing quite like the feeling of nailing a social post. If a post is performing exceptionally well, ride that wave and put resources behind it to ensure more of the right eyeballs take in its glory.
In closing, reaping the fruits of content creation is a long game. If you thrive on instant gratification, don’t be discouraged. Stick with it; we have it on good authority it will be worth it in the end.