Content marketing is one of those terms that gets thrown around a lot without being defined. Is it just about writing blog posts? Or does it include video creation? Does it include social media strategies?
If you are trying to figure out how to develop content marketing ideas, there are some key questions to ask yourself.
What is Content Marketing?
The first step is to define what exactly content marketing is. As mentioned above, it is not just about creating great content. Content marketing has many different aspects, including distribution tactics, defining your target audience, and even the content itself.
The term “content marketing” relates to everything involved in developing a content strategy.
So let’s start by asking ourselves: What is content marketing?
In his book, “Marketing Warfare,” author Michael Masterson defines content marketing as “the process of generating relevant content designed to meet the needs of customers.” This definition helps us understand why we should care about content marketing.
We know that our mission is to provide useful information that people find helpful. So, if we can generate content that meets the needs of our customers, we’re doing something right.
Now, here’s where it gets interesting. Content marketing is much bigger than simply producing quality pieces of content. A well-thought-out content marketing plan includes several components, such as:
- Distribution tactics – How do I distribute my content? Will it be on my site? On Facebook? On Twitter?
- Targeting – Who am I targeting? Am I aiming at existing customers? New prospects? Both?
- Audience analysis – Who will consume this content? Are they male or female? Do they have children? Are they millennials or baby boomers?
- Writing style – Should I write like an expert or like myself?
- Themes – What topics should I cover?
Content marketing is a great way to attract attention and build brand awareness. But what happens once you start building momentum? How do you keep creating compelling content without running out of ideas? Here are 15 creative and killer content marketing ideas to inspire you.
Create a video library
Videos are a great way to showcase products, give insights about yourself, and provide helpful information. They can also help increase conversion rates and boost traffic to your site.
If you want to make videos work for you, consider starting a YouTube channel where you upload short clips related to your niche. You could even use free stock footage sites like Stock Footage Finder to find images and music that fit perfectly with your video.
Write blog posts that answer questions
If people ask questions about your product or industry, address those queries directly in blog posts. This allows you to educate readers while providing value and increasing sales.
Blogging isn’t just about sharing informative articles; it’s also about answering questions. You’re helping readers solve problems and gain knowledge by giving them something to read.
Use infographics
Infographic tools such as Canva allow you to create eye-catching graphics quickly. These visual representations of data are easy to understand and convey complex concepts. Infographics can explain complicated topics in simple terms or simply as design elements.
Buyer’s Manuals
Whether you own an online store or not, investing in high-quality buyer’s guide content is always wise. This is partly due to the fact that you can monetize it to earn revenue and that internet users enjoy doing product research online. If you can give them the stuff they’re looking for, you’ll be:
- increasing your SEO
- growing your influence and perhaps even your income
White Papers
Are you a subject-matter specialist who can write more than just a few thousand words on a subject? Would you mind providing your viewers with some original information? White papers are among the best content marketing strategies you should use if that is the case.
You may handle complex topics in these in-depth reports and establish your brand as an expert in your industry. Additionally, they enable you to produce unique material that your competitors (most probably) aren’t.
Reviews and comparisons of products
What if you made excellent content for consumers researching products but requiring details about certain features to complete their purchase process?
Do you want to reach customers at all points in the purchasing process with content marketing? If so, it wouldn’t be a terrible idea to think about including product comparisons or reviews in your toolkit.
The Background
How about sharing industry knowledge through your content marketing strategy? Sometimes the best content marketing strategies don’t even need you to conduct extensive research or invest days crafting the ideal post. Sometimes, just giving people a glance into your daily life can be pretty effective.
Repurpose the content you already have
When time and resources are at a premium, content marketers are constantly seeking ways to maximize the impact of their efforts. To reach more customers across channels:
- Consider reusing your content.
- Don’t just publish something and leave it there if your audience is responding well to it.
- Set it up to be published repeatedly to reintroduce it to audience members who missed it the first time.
- Reread the text, correct any out-of-date information, and add and expand a topic.
- Design a functioning version.
- Update social media campaigns and graphics.
- Copy the updated code and paste it over the existing material.
- Fix a date for publishing it.
This would boost, so your blog would get attention instantly.
Inquire about Your Email Subscribers
A marketer who maintains an email list has access to many content ideas. They can offer suggestions that your audience will find attractive because your list of email subscribers and readers of your content frequently coincide.
All you need to know is what inquiries to make of them. A single-question poll or a survey are the two most common ways to get information from your email list. A fast poll requires less effort from your subscribers than a thorough survey, but it will yield less comprehensive data.
A survey, however, is a more significant request of your subscribers but will provide you with deeper data.
Explore Using Google Trends
So, where would you look to learn what Google queries people use to reach your content? Google Trends turns out to be a free tool for tracking search trends. Many insightful chunks of data in Google Trends show what people are searching for in your topic.
Try different keyword modifiers
In addition to their primary function in SEO, keywords—words that best describe a concept or item—are an excellent source of inspiration for content ideas. A keyword is made up of a core term and a modifier.
By experimenting with various modifiers, you may give your content additional perspectives and improve your ranking for more search terms.
Always stay current
Every business has its vocabulary and patterns that constantly come and go. You can ride these waves and create post after post where you can add your two cents if you move quickly enough.
Create Content and Post It to LinkedIn Pulse
LinkedIn can be the answer if you’re trying to offer your content a second home. Republishing your work on LinkedIn Pulse, the company’s professional blog platform, is as simple as copying and pasting it from its original location.
It’s crucial to remember that you alone must be the creator of the content you publish. If your team includes more than one writer, only those writers may publish the content they create.
To help fill in the gaps in your blog schedule, use guest authors.
The number of posts your writers produce is insufficient to keep your blog calendar full. Your regular blog writers may be able to stay ahead of the game and fill some of those gaps by reaching out and hiring guest authors.
Additionally, you have the added benefit of promoting your guest bloggers’ profiles on your blog.
Produce content on the industry’s best practices.
Another popular content promotional strategy is publishing a guide to your industry’s best practices. These lists might focus on a specific topic, such as “the best practices for Facebook marketing,” or they can cover a broad topic, like “best practices for social media marketing.”
Verdict
Content marketing is more than just a way to get new visitors to your website. It’s a strategic approach to building relationships with potential customers. And when done correctly, it can help you build trust and credibility among your current customer base.
These 15 classical ideas would surely boost your blog ranking and help you uniquely market the content. Happy reading!
