Content marketing is growing in importance. Search engines and consumers now demand quality content no matter whether they are browsing the web or scrolling through their social media feeds. As a business owner, you likely understand the importance of content marketing, but might not know exactly how to develop an effective strategy. In order to be effective at content marketing, you’ll need a toolkit.
The following content formats should make up your business’s content marketing toolkit:
- Social Media – Social media is an incredibly important resource for content marketing. An estimated 90 percent of businesses in the United States are using some form of social media. No matter what platforms you choose to use, be it Facebook and Twitter or Pinterest and Instagram, you’ll need to have a solid strategy for content marketing through these social networks. Plan to offer a diverse stream of content including text, photos, videos, links and comments.
- Blog – While many small businesses have a blog, most could use some improvement. If you’re like many business owners, your blog isn’t your first priority. This means that you may post content sporadically. In order to be effective, you need to focus on creating a consistent stream of quality content on your blog.
- Images – Often overlooked, images play an important role in your overall content marketing strategy. Work with your designer to create compelling infographics and other images that can supplement your web content and be shared over your social networks.
- Video – If you’re not on YouTube, you’re missing out on a massive content marketing opportunity. In terms of dynamic, quality content, it doesn’t get much better or more engaging than video. Use videos to speak directly to your customers, showcase your products in use and demonstrate the lifestyle that accompanies your brand.
- Email – Email is often overlooked, but is still an integral part of any content marketing strategy. While you need to be careful about not sending too many emails out to your mailing list, sending a bi-weekly or monthly email can help you keep your customers updated on news, special offers and upcoming promotions.
- Website – Of course most businesses already have a website, but if you haven’t updated it in a while, it may be time to talk with your website designer. Web standards are continually changing as technology advances. Therefore, your website’s performance may be able to be improved. Add a diverse stream of content to your website on a regular basis to provide your customers and prospects with valuable information and resources.
While this is by no means a comprehensive set of tools for content marketing, it will help you start thinking about ways you can improve and add to your existing toolkit. Your strategy should be constantly evolving in order to provide your customers and prospects with an exceptional user experience that is consistent with your brand.
