Content Marketing Techniques: Revisiting The Old To Create New
You already know it all…
‘Ah, another post about content marketing techniques. We know what’s it all about and well, we also know the kind of ‘hacks’ and ‘strategies’ that will be talked about here. Who doesn’t?
But well, just for the fun of it, I’d quickly scroll down to see if there’s something that would actually help me.
Pfft, no expectations though.’
If these are your thoughts, well, I can’t really blame you. With thousands of blogs and services and influencers all telling you what you’re missing out on, why you aren’t succeeding, which tricks you must absolutely incorporate in your marketing strategies, etc.; you just lose interest somehow. I mean, there’s only so much condescension one can take. But that doesn’t mean that they aren’t helpful. It’s just that they can be repetitive, copied, and not-so-useful.
‘Then why this article? What are you going to write that isn’t already written before?’
You’re absolutely right. Just a little context: Google has at least 130 trillion webpages and more than 2 million blogs are published daily. With so much content out there, there’s probably little chance for anyone to actually add value to anything unless they can make it worth talking about. Which reminds me of a quote by Seth Godin:
“Real content marketing isn’t repurposed advertising, it is making something worth talking about.” — Seth Godin
It is all about connecting with your reader(s). If your blog has hundreds of articles and only a few returning users then you probably need to make some changes. And that is all we are going to talk about today. And for those of you who choose to stay till the end, I have a free surprise for you.
But first things first, what is content marketing? According to Hubspot, it is the process of planning, creating, distributing, sharing, and publishing content to reach your target audience. It can boost factors like brand awareness, sales, reach, interactions, and loyalty.
Now, no guide can tell YOU what is the right type of content for you. It totally depends upon your brand, your audience, your voice, and your style. What works for Louis Vuitton might not work for Target. What works for Tesla might not work for Ford. The point is, every brand is different. Their brand identity and their audience are unique. Their websites and blogs and social media are an extension of their voice and what they stand for.
If you’re new to this, great! You have a clean slate to start. If you’ve hundreds of content pieces on your website, great! You can repurpose or update them to get more traction. If you’re confused about your place, well, why don’t we figure it out together?
“The only way to win at content marketing is for the reader to say, ‘This was written specifically for me.’” — Jamie Turner
If I could sum it up in one sentence, I couldn’t do it better than Jamie Turner. After all, what is content without connection? What is marketing without the human touch? I mean don’t you hate when you go to an e-commerce website to get a resolution but you get automated response(s) to your unique problems? While we are on that subject, let’s discuss some basics.
- The human touch
Something that lacks in today’s world. A lot of companies are realizing that and doing their bit to change that. After all, your readers, your clients, your customers, they’re all human and they need to interact with an empathetic living being and not a machine.
2. The right vision & team
Now, this isn’t restricted to content marketing. Having the right vision and the right team can make all the difference in the world. Once the course and goals are decided, it is imperative to leave things on your team members. Responsibility and ownership go hand in hand. It would help them be a team player and grow as well.
3. Right context for the right channel
This is crucial. While you can repurpose the same content and the same topic, you need to do it right. People use different platforms for different purposes. LinkedIn is a professional network and sharing a creative originally made for Pinterest would definitely be questionable. Instead, it would be wise to blend it in a way that your audience can connect with it.
4. Repurposing old content
Creating new content doesn’t just make sense when you have a pile load of old stuff that nobody is reading. So, you can either update it or turn it into a video or a podcast. Reusing stats from blogs and posting them on your social media channels is another brilliant way of repurposing old content.
5. Consistency
And well, haven’t we read this a little too many times? But that is true. Being consistent would help your blog/website/social media channel build trust and regular readership. It would also help you get better at what you do!
But these are just the basics. The real challenge is about figuring out what works and what doesn’t. A/B testing is quite helpful in this case — but remember to only test one variable at a time. Keyword testing, backlinking, and other SEO techniques are quite helpful too. There are a couple of free tools at your disposal. We can talk about that in the next article if you’re interested.
That is all for now. But hey, don’t go just yet. Didn’t I tell you earlier? We are not done, you and me. Since you stayed until the very end, I’d like to offer you a reward. Something to remember me by. It’s from the place where I got all this knowledge. It is meant for creative professionals and is created by my favorite creative professionals too. The Bunny Studio. See what they have in store for you. Here’s a message from them:
“If you’d like to get more insights into content marketing, well, you’re at the right place. We have an e-book just for you. And it’s free!”
Talk about being at the right place at the right time!
