The Secret To Great Content Marketing

The secret to great content marketing is actually threefold. And, just so we're all on the same page, let's begin our discussion of content marketing with a reminder of what it really is. The Content Marketing Institute defines it as follows:

"Content marketing is a marketing technique of creating and distributing valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and acquire a clearly defined audience – with the objective of driving profitable customer action."

With that definition in mind, here are three tips you can use to make your content marketing efforts pay dividends:

Focus on your content consumers

Many content marketers continue to focus primarily on search engine optimization (SEO) when creating content.

While SEO is important, how visitors view your content is far more important. There are two reasons for this.

One is the credibility factor. If those who read your content find it relevant, and useful for their purposes, they will view you as credible. Credibility like that is priceless. The other actually has to do with how the search engines view your content. If content consumers like your content, they will share it. This organic linking is the best kind you can get.

Expand your outlets

Publishing content on your theme-based content website or blog is still a must. But there are other outlets that can work well to attract visitors to your website or blog and expose them to more of your content.

You've probably heard of curating content. That’s where you share other people's content on your social media pages to enhance your reputation as an industry expert. Well, you can also share your own content in the same way. And you don't need to limit yourself to social media. You can also share your content with those on your email list.

Another great way to expand your outlets is to republish your content on non-textual media like slideshares, podcasts, videos, and infographics.

Pay attention to your personal brand

We all know how important business branding is. Well, 2015 is the year you should begin creating and growing your own personal brand. But, no matter what size company you own or work for, people don't buy from companies. They buy from other people. By creating and growing your own personal brand, you're setting yourself up as the go to person for whatever it is your company sells. This is especially important if you market products or services that are widely available.

To learn more about how to effectively employ content marketing in your business, contact us. We also invite you to follow us on Twitter.