How to Achieve Content Marketing Success this Year

If you read our web designs prediction post back in December then you may have noticed that content marketing featured quite heavily. Indeed, we feel that 2018 is going to be another strong year for content so we thought we would look at how you can achieve success using this marketing tool in the coming months. We’ve had a bit of a brainstorming session and come up with a few key points that we feel are particularly relevant.

A key point that we want to stress to our readers is that the internet is drowning in content. This links to our December post whereby we discussed the importance of authentic content moving forward and this is highlighted by 70% of marketers stating that they will produce more original content this year. This means that competition is stiff and marketers, now more than ever, have to work harder to break out of the pack and rise above the noise.

Your Headline is Everything

On average, eight out of ten people will read headline copy but only two out of ten will read the entire article or post. Basically, this means that your headline is of crucial importance if you want visitors to read your entire article. You could argue that the headline is the hook that reels in your readers or it could have the opposite effect and drive them away! Effective content marketing begins with a carefully thought out headline that will grip your audience’s attention.

Your Wider Content Marketing Strategy

Now that you understand how crucial an effective headline is you can then begin to craft the perfect piece of content. You may already have an idea of the kind of topic that you wish to discuss but if you’re struggling to refine your idea then there are certain things that you can do to speed up the process. You can “listen in on the conversation” by using platforms such as Reddit or Quora. These resources are excellent for getting an idea of what people are talking about in and around your space.

Now you can begin to develop a content plan by researching keywords and considering the type of content that you want to produce. This could simply be a good old-fashioned blog post but on the subject of authenticity, there are lots of great options out there for the modern content marketer. You could create infographics, conduct a Q&A, write a case study, produce a video or even write a how-to-guide. The possibilities are limitless so use the resources that you have available to create content that is truly authentic.

Once you have produced your content it is also important to measure its progress over time. There are plenty of tools and metrics to help you achieve this and content marketing should always be measured as this will allow you to discover what worked well and what didn’t work so well. Look at engagement analytics, leads and influenced sales and this will give you an indication of how your content performed overall.