There are a lot of tips out there about content marketing. As marketers and businesspeople we should be able to sift through it all, right? Sometimes it’s not that easy, which is why we’ve compiled 3 expert content marketing tips straight from the experts we trust:
1- Use more visuals. via Rebekah Radice
Images and graphics are your best marketing tool. Images receive an 87% interaction rate on Facebook and 35% more retweets on Twitter. That’s a substantial increase for both platforms. Followers will judge your content within seconds based on an image, so make it count and make sure it’s on brand.Don’t have access to great images? Stock photography can be useful, so long as it doesn’t cross the border into cheesy. Some trusted, paid stock photo sites include: Fotolia, Shutterstock, and Adobe (especially useful if you’re already using their cloud services). Or there’s plenty of great sites like Canva that will help you make your own personalized graphics.The increased engagement is well worth the 99 cents or small subscription fee you’ll pay.
2- Link to further reading (and keep those links updated). via Darren Rowse
Most blogs are meant to be short. You can’t add lengthy synopses of different articles into a single post and expect the reader to stay engaged. A much better way to add value to your posts is to include link–lots of links. Give your reader the option of reading more on a particular topic by hyperlinking to an article about it. They’ll thank you for keeping the read short and adding dimension to it.Linking to further reading also gives your content credibility. As you’re making a name for your company’s blog and/or yourself, you’ll want to show readers you know what you’re talking about. The easiest way to do that? Show that others agree with you. Link to relevant stats or articles of other thought leaders in your space.Just be sure to keep those links updated. You’re (hopefully) sending out links to your posts months after you’ve written it–because it’s still valuable and likely someone missed it–but what if one of the links no longer exists? You’ll frustrate your reader and your credibility goes down. Periodically search for broken links using one of the many online tools like CheckMyLinks.
3- Spend time on the title. via Travis McGinnis.
Not only is the title the first thing your readers are going to read, it’s also what’s going to be tweeted and what’s going to show up in searches. In that sense, the title is everything. So how do you craft the best title? Think about your readers first, always, and then do a little keyword research. You’re optimal title likely lies somewhere in between.Fact: people respond to emotional words. Think about how you can makeover your title to appeal to reader’s emotions. People also respond to numbers. Titles with numbers are 175% more likely to be shared. Does your title answer a reader’s question? Is your title a reader’s question? Does your title appeal to a problem your reader might be having? No matter what angle you approach from, make sure your title appeals to your reader.If you need some inspiration (or if you’ve got a title and want to make sure it’s SEO-friendly) take to Google. A quick search is better than no search at all. See if your title already exists, and how popular it is. If you’re competing against a huge brand with a lot of traction, you may consider changing the title. Use the Google “suggested search” or “related searches” to see what most people are typing in. There are also keyword tools you can use like (you guessed it) Google’s Keyword Planner, SEMrush, and many more.
We hope these expert tips and our own suggestions will help bring your content marketing strategy to the next level! If you have a question about content marketing, feel free to reach out to us at any time on Twitter @teamarcalea or email info@arcalea.com .