Content marketing has never been as important as it is today. It is at the front of all the digital marketing strategies and will continue to remain so for many years to come. It is undoubtedly the king in the world of web marketing, now and forever!
Digital Age Ushers in New Rules….
Today’s the age of digital marketing and the web has changed the entire rules of marketing. Marketing has no longer remained a one-way dissemination of information. Today, through the web you can talk to the buyers directly and not merely impose your product messages on to them. How can this be done? By providing value in your website content. The educated consumer of today is no longer interested in websites that merely promote their products and services; he looks for value. Websites have to therefore provide value in the form of concrete tips and guidelines through their content. You talk to your customer through your content and hence you ought to ensure that you do a good job at it and mange to hold the customer to your website. Ascertain the customer needs and provide relevant content when it is needed most.
Good Content Fulfils the Three ‘E’s
In web design parlance, it has been said that ‘Content is King’. Considering the fact that website content attracts more visitors to a site rather than its products or services, this phrase truly holds good. A website which fails to offer relevant and meaningful content will not be a success howsoever effectively it is designed. Good content should appeal to the emotional senses of the user; make him laugh, wince or cry. It has to be:
· Educating
· Entertaining
· Exciting
Educating the user can be done by creating an infographic, publishing company articles, generating press releases, creating how to guides, giving interviews detailing product manufacture and use, introducing a webinar series, informing about upcoming events and so on. The entertainment element can be cranked up by sharing Youtube videos which are either comic, trending or touching, hosting a quiz, starting contests, collecting fan votes on a particular subject, inventing a lively app etc. Offering engaging images, using video clips to hook the reader, grabbing attention with witty titles and subtitles, offering keyword rich content and initiating action from readers are just a few ways to add zing to the content.
Need for Targeted Content
Ensuring that good content reaches the person who needs it at the right time is a challenge faced by most of the marketing teams in this digital age, when speed is of essence. A targeted marketing strategy can come to your aid here. Your past customers, industry groups or forums, social media are some sources where you can place your content to increase its reach. You tap the repertoire of past customers to know if they are interested in more, become an active participant of industry groups or forums or make a place for your business on the social media and you are on the way to making your content available to the right person at the right time.
Summarizing
Content cannot remain stagnant, it has to be updated on a continuous basis, something new has to be injected into the content at regular intervals so that it can be kept fresh and interesting. Only then can the main goal of catching the visitors’ attention and getting them to stay will be achieved.