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Content marketing strategy: counting the ripples


charlie - 5th January 2012 - 0 comments

In order for content to work there has to be a strategy in place. Strategy enables marketers to measure the effects their content is having, count the ripples each element is making and refine those aspects that are most successful.

Of course this doesn’t mean we, as content engineers, have to be completely rigid; a good strategy will allow for flexibility, leaving room to adapt and pursue new, innovative, uncharted avenues and reach fresh audiences.

Surely it’s time to move beyond the old adage ‘content is king’; what we should be saying is ‘content [that delivers measurable results] is king’. While this might not be quite as catchy, it more accurately reflects the fact that the whole point of content marketing is to have a quantifiable positive impact on a business.

What effects are you looking for?

A good content marking strategy will drive traffic to your website, increase the time visitors spend there and ultimately build lasting brand loyalty; thereby generating a considerable return on your investment.

In today’s world, marketing is meaningless without engaging content. A content marketing agency has to deliver content that will make people stop, think and behave differently; what they produce, therefore, has to be informative, relevant and catchy.

This is essential as consumers now have the power to completely ignore any marketing material that does not interest them. The age of interruptive marketing is over, we are living in an opt-in culture; therefore, creating interesting stories that engage people is of fundamental importance. Only then can we hope to reach this new breed of socially active, informed consumer.

How are these effects achieved?

Your content marketing strategy should encompass all aspects of your brand. However, it can feel like you’re shooting in the dark when it comes to the details and implementation; this is where a good UK content marketing agency, such as Snack Media, can help.

There are a number of tools in the content engineer’s toolbox; these include:
•    Planning – It’s essential that content is relevant; for example, by being tied to a time of year, current events, or goings on in your industry. There’s no reason why you can’t plan for at least some of these eventualities in advance.
•    Optimisation – Content has to contain applicable keywords, phrases and/or images in order to be picked up by search engines.
•    Social – Content must be synchronised across all social media platforms; it must also engage people and encourage sharing through channels such as Facebook and Twitter.
•    Backlinks – Put simply: the more backlinks that lead to your content the better.
•    Please the Panda – Following Google’s latest update, Panda, it’s vital you create content that is well-written, encourages link building, answers a relevant question and does not contain any broken links, spelling mistakes or grammatical errors.
•    Patience – It takes time to build a trusting audience base. If you keep producing quality content people will start paying attention (build it and they will come).

The most important tool, however, is great content. It’s important that you tell a story and involve people; this means researching your target audience!

Content marketing should always have a clear identifiable strategy: this is the key piece of the puzzle. At Snack Media, we don’t just deliver content, we create custom-engineered content marketing strategies, which involve synchronised management across multiple channels. This includes articles, video, advertorials, social media, print and online newsletters, websites, webcasts, product descriptions, podcasts, and much more. Contact us for more information.

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