Image by: depone
By Craig Ballantyne
Online business owners are quickly scurrying to figure out how next year is going to be when it comes to client loyalty. With recent legislation being what it is, CEOs are concerned that it might have some effect on their customers’ trust.
Content marketing is the first thing on their minds, and though many are opting to upgrade their current strategy, what really needs to happen is a full on makeover. Above all else, here are four things that are sure to not only bring you to a new level of quality content, but to branch out towards a new audience:
#1) Produce Your Content In-House
The normal strategy of a content manager is to follow popular trends for articles and videos, etc. Though trends are extremely beneficial in evolving your overall infrastructure, by producing content in-house as much as possible, you will be able to stay true to the brand’s values without being shifted or sculpted to fit a mold.
Originality is always going to win out. You know your customers’ needs more than any data sheet. This doesn’t mean to necessarily bow your head and be in denial of important consumer trends, but it should inspire you to base more of a focus on sculpting your image this next year. Already you will be one step ahead of the pack.
According to a Content Marketing Survey Report with Outbrain, 38% of respondents said they had a defined strategy in place. That means 62% of online business owners are going to wing it next year. The more in-house and personalized you can make content, the more waves you’re likely to make – and waves get noticed, not ignored.
#2) Implement A Content Matters Blog
Above all else, customers want to feel like they’re in the board room with you to be sure you’re achieving their needs in an efficient way. To give your customer a voice, one of the best things you can do is to implement a blog that addresses the concerns of your consumers, while targeting important keywords and phrases.
Rental History Reports is one company that did this to much success. Their aim was to increase organic traffic, reduce PPC spend and build client trust to a new market. After creating their calendar, the company published blogs at least 3x a week. The results were extraordinary.
After just six months, Rental History Reports now shows up on page one in organic Google searches for its targeted key words and phrases, organic traffic to the website increased by over 400%, page views per visit increased by 260%, pay-per-click spending decreased, and more than half of the company’s sales are now a result of organic traffic.
#3) Social Media Campaigns
Campaigns are an excellent way to get the word out, and more companies are doing it now showing tremendous success. When you make it a cash prize competition, while implementing your target audience and giving them an education on your services through YouTube episodes, contestants are likely to share their video on their social media pages.
Financial services company City Index did this very thing by giving wannabe traders the chance to win 100,000 pounds. Each week, one trader was eliminated, eventually leaving the last two to battle for the prize in front of an audience. Because each contestant was also set up with their own Twitter profile and blog space within the City Index website, the algorithm was ever in their favor.
The campaign led to the best month ever for account openings and boost organic search rankings. They also achieved one million views across all content channels, 67,000 clicks were generated by the #TradingAcademy Twitter feed, they saw an 81% increase in unique site visitors, and a 1443% increase in social referral visits.
#5) Implement Expert Opinions
Promoting not only the benefits of your products, but also showcasing expert’s opinions are extremely important nowadays. Consumers want to hear how it benefits them in the long run, not just sales pitch on the service itself. Once a week, or even a few times a month, try getting an expert to write up an article about your product and also implement them into regular infographics.
The engagement of expert opinions meshed with infographics will allow you to build brand authority, enhance SEO, win more engaged traffic, and support on-site conversions.