The Dos and Don’ts of Content Marketing
Content marketing has become one of the most popular and effective forms of marketing on the scene. While content marketing is nothing new that doesn’t mean it’s simple or easy to do. Whether you’re marketing skin care or sun dresses, the principles are the same.
3 Dos of Content Marketing
Some people think that content marketing is just blogs or written content but content marketing includes any kind of content which can be:
- blogs
- videos
- images
- podcasts
- infographics
Do Create High-Quality Content
One of the biggest must dos you NEED to focus on when creating content is quality! Yes, you want to produce as much content as possible but what you really want to do is to produce as much good content as possible.
Brands that produce content just for the sake of content are missing the point. Whether you’re putting out blogs, podcasts, images, videos, etc. you need to ensure that it’s the highest quality that you can manage.
At first you might not be very good at it and that’s ok. There’s definitely a learning curve when it comes to producing any sort of content. If you go back and look at some of the biggest social media influencers you can see that their early content wasn’t that amazing. Compare Rosanna Pansino’s first baking video to one of her more recent ones, and you can see just how far she’s come. But during that time she’s learned a lot and the quality of her content has grown with her audience.
If you can afford to hire a team to create high-quality content, go right ahead! The point is to do what you can and don’t put out content that you wouldn’t be proud to share with family and friends. If you would be embarrassed to be associated with the content you’re producing, then you might try to think of how you can improve it.
If you’re interested in producing video content you might think about investing in some video equipment but you can just start off with using your phone. That’s the amazing thing about living in this time of amazing technology. You can produce just about any kind of content with a laptop and a phone.
Do Your Research
Always, always, always do your research. This includes finding out what kind of content your customers want, doing keyword research and knowing what’s trending in your industry.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned in five years of creating content it’s that just because you think it’s a great idea doesn’t mean that it’s going to be successful. You might be stoked to create a video series that you think your audience will really respond to only to have it fall flat. Or you spend hours on a blog that you think will really take off and goes literally nowhere (not that I have any experience with that…).
That’s why you do your research.
Find Out What Your Audience Wants
If you want to produce content that your customers will go crazy for, find out what kind of content your customers want/need. This can mean asking your customers what they want to learn more about. Involving your customers in content creation can get them excited and engaged.
Even more informative than asking your customers what they want is to just listen. What are their biggest struggles and complaints. Is it dry skin? Is it bags under their eyes? Create content that provides value.
See What’s Trending
Another way to produce successful content is to see what other people in your industry are doing but do it better or differently. Don’t just copy your competition, that won’t get you anywhere.
I like to check other websites that are in my same industry but not my competition. For example, you could check out what skin care influencers are doing and find a new way to put your own spin on it that’s true to your brand.
Keyword Research
Everything you do should be keyword optimized. After you produce a piece of content you don’t want it to get left behind and forgotten, that’s a waste of time. After figuring out your general topic, use a keyword research tool like Google AdWords to pick a keyword. That could be how to help dry skin or how to get rid of dark circles.
Just make sure you actually write about the keyword that you’ve chosen and answer that question. Every Google search is a question and people are looking for an answer. If you don’t answer the question that’s being asked you won’t rank for that keyword.
Do Repurpose Content
Do you ever wonder how some brands or people produce so much content day in and day out? It’s not all original one offs, that’s for sure. Creating multiple pieces of original content across every social platform everyday would be a nightmare. You would have to hire a massive team and even then it would be a mess.
Instead the secret is to create one piece of content that can then be spun off into a bunch of other pieces of content. For example, say you create a how to on your nighttime skin care routine using your products. You can make that into a blog, images, social posts, short Instagram videos, an infographic, etc. all of which can be posted all across social and get shared.
Entrepreneur and digital marketer Gary Vaynerchuk is a master at doing this. He boasts that he can create 86 pieces of content from a single keynote speech! You can read all about how he gets it done here.
2 Don’ts of Content Marketing
Don’t Do Ovaltine Marketing
You’ve probably never heard of Ovaltine marketing before and that’s because I made it up! Let me explain…
Once upon a time I created a blog post and the goal of that blog post was to discuss the benefits of a product I was trying to push. I even created a fun quiz to go with it except all the results were different versions of why our product was the right solution. I thought it was fun if not a little single minded.
But then a customer called me out on it! They were frustrated that I tried to pass off a quiz where every result was essentially the same. Not only had I created a poor quality piece of content I had lost the trust of that customer.
I immediately thought of the movie A Christmas Story when Ralphie is so excited to decode the message from Little Orphan Annie. He locks himself in the bathroom furiously working to uncover the hidden message from Annie only to find out in the end he’d been duped. The secret message from Annie wasn’t meaningful or special it simply said, “Be sure to drink your ovaltine.”
There’s a way to create content that leads your audience to see your products as the solution and there are ways not to do it. Don’t set your customers up to think they’re getting something of value only to find out it’s just a crummy commercial.
Don’t Be Aimless
While you don’t want to betray your customers with content that promises value and then doesn’t deliver, you do want to have a goal in mind. You should know the end from the beginning.
Before I even begin creating any type of content I decide what I want the call to action to be. This can be downloading an eBook or joining your private Facebook community, whatever it is you should know what your aim is.
Of course knowing your end goal also means knowing what type of customer you’re talking to; how far along are they in the buying process. This process is called the funnel and there are three parts:
- Top of funnel (TOFU)
- Middle of funnel (MOFU)
- Bottom of funnel (BOFU)
A customer who has researching solutions to their dry skin could be considered a top of funnel customer. They don’t know who you are and they don’t know what the solution is yet to their problem. This type of customer might not be ready to make a purchase from you quite yet so making a call to action to buy wouldn’t make sense.
Have an aim for every piece of content and make sure that you match your aim to who will be reading it.
The Takeaway
Content marketing might not be simple or easy but it can be a lot of fun! You just have to follow a few rules and fill in the lines with your own creativity. Learning what works for you and your audience might take some trial and error but following these dos and don’ts will help you to navigate the waters a little more smoothly.
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