Today’s social media and online news sources are saturated with content as both individuals and companies struggle to be heard. With the development of more and more social media channels and options to find news and stories online, trying to engage readers has become a 24/7 task and a real challenge for companies looking to stand out from their competition and attract the masses. So how do you empower your brand to be the
voice and not just another
echo?
Don’t be all things to all people! Know your audience and design targeted content for them, specifically. Know what interests them and provide that to them, while keeping it relevant to your business offerings and goals.
Amongst all the fake news, readers are looking for something tangible and real to connect with. Make sure your content and messages have a human connection and that they do not come off with a sales-push feel. To that, only create and share content that is relevant to your business and that you believe in. People can spot simply trending content over genuine and honest content a mile away.
Keep a steady drip of branded content so that you stay top of mind with your readers. Deliver the content consistently and in the format they desire. Personalizing your content and letting your audience know who is “behind the brand name” will also help them to relate to you, and in turn your brand, helping to strengthen your trust and reliability in their eyes, through the branded content you share.
When developing your content, quality wins over quantity! Don’t just focus on length for sake of thinking a lengthy article “looks better.” Adding more words for the sake of touting a lengthy read can be a mishap – especially if they’re superfluous words. Though aiming to keep your content to at least 300 words in order to capitalize on search engine optimization will help you, ‘fluffing’ it up will leave the reader with a bad impression and could even make you look less credible.
When times are slow, very often at the beginning of a new year, companies fuel up on their content. Then when things get busy again, that can easily become one item that falls by the wayside. Once you commit to content marketing, following through is essential. Create an up-front content plan to carry throughout the year and set reminders for yourself and hold you and your team to due dates. You could even capitalize on automation abilities through various platforms, such as Hootsuite and HubSpot, so that once your content is created, you can save time on distribution through scheduling out when/ where that content is shared, keeping your brand consistent and top of mind, while not taking time away from other relevant tasks.
In addition to following through on your content marketing plan, make sure you follow through with your audience! Monitor what you post for any comments, questions, and ideas and then engage with your audience by liking and responding to their thoughts. This shows that your brand is present and respects the time your audience takes to engage with you, which will in turn increase the trust people have in your brand.
Content marketing is the lifeblood to today’s marketing department and in order to successfully leverage it as a tool for business growth, you need to be strategic about it. Establish a plan, adopt a schedule, brainstorm topics to have at your ready, find your audience, and execute. Don’t be afraid to repurpose your own content to maintain consistency, although it may feel repetitive to you. Setting the stage for your audience to see or hear your message at least three times can help it to absorb better, resulting in a higher chance they will act on that message. Last but not least, be sure to measure reach, engagement, and conversions, in addition to quantity. Numbers for the sake of numbers will not benefit your business, unless there is merit behind them. By maintaining quality over quantity, with consistency, will help empower your brand and it’s voice.
RISE Marketing can help you turn up volume on your brands voice. To empower your brand together, be sure to
contact us today!
