Creating and publishing content under your brand name is a given no matter the industry or scale at which your business operates. However, differentiating your content to an extent where potential leads and recurring customers will consider buying additional products/services from you and advocate for your brand is another matter altogether. That’s why you need to know a few secrets of content promotion.
According to 99 Firms, content marketing costs 62% less than traditional advertisement and can bring 3 times as many leads for the same resources while 78% of CMOs consider content marketing the next big thing in the future of advertisement as a whole. A similar study done by Small Biz Genius indicates that 96% of the most successful marketing professionals consider that customers trust and rely on their content however only 9% of B2C companies consider their content marketing strategies to be on an adequate enough level to compete globally.
So, what’s the secret of successful content promotion? Is it to simply create more content than the other person or is there a deeper, more complex conversation to be had on the topic? Let’s dive into some of the nuances and secrets of content promotion which will likely make your content stand out from the crowd, as well as why you should want to do so in the first place.
The Importance Of Unique Content Promotion
Let’s touch on the relevance of standing out in terms of the content promotion before we get into the nitty-gritty of the topic at hand. Whether you use your company’s blog, Instagram marketing, email lists or another channel entirely to inform your followers of new content being published, this is only the first half of the promotional equation. Once a lead comes in contact with your website and content, their quality, relevance, and overall professionalism is what will keep them hooked and wanting for more.
This is a delicate balance to hit for a plethora of reasons including your search engine ranking and the public perception of your brand as a whole. However, pitching your content from a different, more creative and brand-specific perspective will help your personalization and customer experience (CX) efforts immensely. In that regard, some of the most crucial advantages to look forward to if you adopt a more unique and less trend-reliant approach include:
- Better brand awareness and word of mouth.
- Higher customer loyalty and brand advocacy.
- Higher lead and subsequent revenue generation.
- Improved and competitive industry positioning.
- Ability to set new content trends and disrupt the market.
Secrets Of Content Promotion To Consider
1. Storytelling & Personalization Matter
For better or worse, your brand is one of many in an industry made up of similar businesses. This makes overly professional and robotic content creation a bad idea, especially if your target audience is made up of tech-savvy millennials or younger generations.
Make sure to approach your content writing with a casual tone of voice as if you were to address an acquaintance rather than an unspecified body of customers somewhere out there. It’s good practice to rely on writing platforms such as Top Writers Review and Evernote when you settle on your writing style and need help with editing and formatting pre-publishing. Use personalized pronouns, weave stories, anecdotes and puns into your writing without fear of losing business integrity – your brand’s outlook will only improve with a more sincere approach to content creation.
2. Differentiate Content Types
When it comes to choosing which content type to publish next, your idea should make the decision for you. For example, if you have an idea of interviewing industry representatives or to host a Q&A with your coworkers and promote the company along the way – why not choose video marketing?
Likewise, if you want to offer a list of tips or a step-by-step guide on how to use your services, why not opt for written blog posts? Never corner yourself by thinking that only content type X is viable when a plethora of mediums and formats are available to you. Not only will this improve your search ranking but also showcase your versatility and creativity in presenting different ideas to the audience.
3. Choose Audience-Dependent Channels
Choosing the right channels to publish your content on comes down to your target audience – where are they centralized? If you want to target professional corporate workers, dedicated platforms such as LinkedIn should be your go-to channel.
Similarly, social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter are a good choice for families, parents, and teens who spend a lot of time chatting and sharing content. Never rely on a mathematical equation of “channel X and Y and no questions asked”. Place yourself in the shoes of your target audience and place your content in their arms’ reach for it to have the biggest impact.
4. Content First – SEO Second
The trap many content creators and digital marketing specialists fall into is the choice to start with SEO and move on to writing from there – this is a fundamentally flawed approach to content promotion. While Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is essential for your brand’s online visibility, it should never “lead the charge” when it comes to marketing your business to potential leads.
Create content topics, marketing campaigns and creative ways to approach your audience prior to delving into SEO and content optimization. Once you are satisfied with the quality of your work, you can utilize tools such as Google Keyword Planner and SEM Rush to iron out keyword density, formatting and the flow of your content for a better balance of contextual and technical SEO.
5. Include Social Proof & Testimonials
It’s difficult to convince cold leads into conversion if they lack any “proof” of your genuine quality of service regardless of how highly you rank on Google. In that respect, social proof statistics, as well as customer/client testimonials, can go a long way in building credibility and trust in your brand.
These snippets of information, quotes, and data from past business relations can be embedded into content posts, blog articles and social media updates periodically. It will ensure that the public image of your brand improves over time and that new B2C and B2B leads approach you with business inquiries more often than not as a result of your transparency and showcasing efforts.
6. Engage your Audience Actively
Lastly, content promotion is not a one-way street – audience engagement and constant communication are key to success. You will undoubtedly experience customers commenting on your posts or starting discussions of their own about the topic at hand.
Make sure that you have a community manager in charge of responding to any comments, feedback or criticism which will show up on your published content pieces. Failing to respond to these comments will paint a negative picture in regards to your brand and make it look like you “speak but don’t listen” to your audience. Be proactive in your engagement and your conversion and revenue generation rates will reflect those efforts.
Secrets In Plain Sight (Conclusion)
No books, seminars, or coaching will be able to provide you with a “secret formula to success” in content promotion – it all comes down to experience and establishing a human connection with your reader. Develop a style of content unique to your brand, choose the channels your audience is likely to use and be there when they engage with your content – subsequent word of mouth and conversions will come naturally as a result.
Build on your foundations by listening to what doesn’t work but never strive to change what works simply for the sake of “keeping things such as keep your content fresh”. Once you discover your brand’s content promotion formula, make sure to stick to it and you will effectively become a trendsetter in your industry in no time.
