88% of B2B marketers use content marketing to promote their brands
If you run a business and have a website, you’re probably part of those 88%. And if you’re not, you’ll probably join the gang pretty soon because you cannot stand out on the market if you don’t create a marketing strategy.
If you’re just stepping into this world, you probably don’t know how to create high-quality content and achieve your goals. Don’t worry; you’re not the only one. Most entrepreneurs don’t have content marketing skills. But if you dedicate your time to learning, you can do an excellent job at using your skills to promote your brand.
Whether you’re working at developing your first content marketing strategy or you’re looking for a little help to improve your results, the following article can serve your goals.
What works now in the content marketing sector?
Over the last years, adaptability and flexibility have been central in content marketing. However, no one expects the most popular marketing methods to remain the same. Some trends may see a continuation or evolution, but others fade away, allowing new ones to gain ground.
Building communities
With millions of websites on the internet, you need to look for an innovative way to get noticed. Developing a community can help you stand out in this crowded industry. However, you should know that community marketing isn’t about selling but about building trust and engaging with the public.
Optimize content for long-tail keywords popular in your niche
For a time, the focus in content marketing was on long-form articles. However, over the last year, content marketing switched the focus on niche, long-tail keywords specific to a particular sector and less competition.
Long-tail keywords make it easier to get your website ranked higher on Google. If you optimize your content with niche, long-tail keywords, you gain more organic traffic. It’s not difficult to find the long-tail keywords relevant to your website; you can use a tool like SEMrush, Ubersuggest, or Wordtracker. Please make a list of the most searched long-tail keywords and integrate them gradually into your content. A tool like PDFChef Converter can help you create a PDF document to access the list when you write content.
What do the experts expect to work in 2021 and beyond?
As a content marketing creator, you need to look forward and research the trends that are predicted to impact the industry in the long run. It’s necessary to develop content plans that are likely to succeed in the long run and engage prospects. The industry is expected to experience an increase in trends like Google’s Discover and stories that engage internet users and keep them on the page for long periods.
Discover features
Google Discover is a hot topic in the industry, and Yoast, HubSpot, and Search Engine Land are only some of the web resources that talk about it. Formerly known as Google Feed, it experienced a great transformation during the last years, taking the form of Google Discover that now includes evergreen content, news, and visuals. Google uses machine learning and AI to fill its users’ feed. The tools use the user’s search history to provide them with engaging content.
Over the last months, Google Discover became very sophisticated and picky when selecting the websites that contain content worthy of appearing in the users’ Discover section. Read the guidelines to find out how Google indexes the content it promotes in the Discover feed.
Story features
If you have a Facebook or Instagram account, you’re probably familiar with the notion of stories. Stories have gained tremendous popularity recently because they increase the chances of discoverability. Social media platforms make story creation accessible to everyone by providing them with all the tools they need to develop high-quality content. Stories cater to the public’s lifestyles and provide them with content to match their preferences.
What to avoid in content marketing?
Don’t limit the content to text plus graphics
It’s surprising that most people still equate content with traditional text blogs and an image accompanying it. Video is effectively helping companies to sell sophisticated products and services. The audiences’ attention span has decreased over the last years, dropping from 12 to 8 seconds in 15 years. So, if you don’t provide them with an exciting piece of information, you lose them in less than 10 seconds.
Therefore, instead of writing long-form blogs, switch to explainer videos to create blog content that engages the audiences. Forbes Insights revealed that the average internet user watches 2.7 minutes of an online video before pausing or stopping it. Now think about the amount of information you can convey in 2.7 minutes, compared with how much you can tell in a text the user reads in 8 seconds.
Don’t rely solely on SEO
SEO isn’t the only factor that draws leads to your website. Your competitors are probably counting only on SEO to attract the public, so you have to come up with something new. It would help if you did more than the traditional keyword optimization all websites are doing.
Breaking into the first results on Google isn’t something that happens overnight and implies efforts in different sectors. Content marketing is a long-term strategy that can help you rank higher in search engines. But don’t count on Google’s algorithm to keep you there while you reach the top position.
Besides creating high-quality content on your website, build additional content for your social media platforms to develop a following that promotes your content through various channels. There’s no proven method to work in building a following, but it seems that an effective one implies motivating visitors to check your website and come back.
Final thoughts
2021 is only a new date on the calendar. The content marketing strategies that work this year may not be effective in 2022. Still, if you paid attention to the ones listed in this article, you may create relevant evergreen content that attracts new visitors and retains old ones.