Content marketing can help your brand stand out from your competitors. It\u2019s a way to boost your search ranking, establish authority, build trust\u2014and ultimately drive revenue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this article, we\u2019ll discuss what content marketing is, and why it\u2019s important. We\u2019ll also show you how to create your own content marketing strategy and how to measure results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Content marketing is a marketing strategy involving the creation and sharing of relevant materials, such as articles, videos, social media posts, and emails, to attract and engage audiences, establish expertise, promote brand awareness, and drive sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It has an attention-grabbing headline, and it\u2019s visually appealing. But most of all\u2014it\u2019s useful. Useful content gives your brand more staying power with potential customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For instance, a Facebook ad linking to a product page may deliver quick conversions among the sliver of your target audience that\u2019s ready to buy now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A content marketing campaign builds relationships with your audience, whether they\u2019re ready to buy or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Giving readers valuable content positions you as a wise friend. It keeps you top of mind, so you\u2019re the brand they think of when they need your product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Improving the customer experience: Content helps customers see how others use your product, understand what\u2019s going wrong, and more<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anyone can write a blog post or record and upload a video. But to achieve marketing objectives, you need a strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now that we\u2019ve covered the content marketing definition, let\u2019s explore the most common types of content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Content comes in many shapes and sizes. It can be written, visual, or a mix of both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Blog posts and articles are two of the most common content formats. Mainly because there are minimal barriers to creating and sharing them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s the landing page of the Alien Road blog, where we share high-quality articles about SEO and marketing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Consistently updating this page helps build our authority with SEO and nurtures relationships with our readers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If your audience knows your blog is an expert source of information, they\u2019re more likely to trust your advice and recommendations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They offer a deeper dive into a topic than blog posts. They explore more complex subjects, highlight a company\u2019s products or services, or share the research that drives its solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These in-depth types of content can also help you generate more leads when you offer them as gated assets. This means readers need to share personal data or pay to view them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For instance, if you want to download The Alien Road Content Writing Workbook, you\u2019ll need to sign up for our newsletter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gated content offers a fair exchange to interested prospects\u2014users get your best content and you get a lead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Email marketing drives a very high return on investment (ROI). Sources vary, but some estimate you see a return of as much as $36 for every dollar spent on email marketing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So it\u2019s not surprising that nearly three out of four marketers use email newsletters to distribute content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, when users sign up with Salesforce, they immediately receive an email with links to helpful resources:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These roundup emails are great introductions for new customers. Companies can answer common new customer questions proactively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ecommerce company Snowe keeps content fresh by using their email newsletter to push timely products for holidays like Father\u2019s Day:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Email marketing is a great way to keep your brand top of mind for customers. And encourage recurring business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wyzowl found that 92% of marketers saw a good ROI from video content\u2014and 53% said video marketing helped reduce support queries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Podcasts are also gaining popularity as business-to-business (B2B) content assets. They rank in the top ten most popular types of B2B content :<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Each type of content has its merits and resonates with different types of audiences. Now, let\u2019s look at the overall benefits of creating and sharing content as a part of your marketing strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What specific benefits do these top effective content types bring to the table? Let\u2019s take a look at a few of the reasons so many marketers rely on high-quality content:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Engaging with readers in the places they frequent gives you access to more potential leads at the top of your funnel . And posting consistently and branching out to more channels expands your audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, Logo designers Looka created a YouTube video version of their written guide on choosing a logo font :<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For many marketers, effective content marketing management produces more leads. More eyes on your brand\u2019s useful content\u2014paired with an effective call to action (CTA)\u2014means more people willing to try your product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Make a social post about an upcoming webinar you\u2019re hosting with directions to click the link in your bio for more information (and to submit an email).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When you\u2019re a source of expert knowledge and valuable content, your brand becomes a trusted authority. And when people trust you, they\u2019re more likely to buy from you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For instance, one startup founder created an informative Twitter thread to share what he learned from his journey:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To fuel business growth, you need to gain new customers and keep existing customers happy. Your content marketing plan can help you accomplish both of these goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, you could reach out to your user base and ask for quotes to use in a new blog post. Or you could encourage users to post videos of your product in action under a branded hashtag .<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Producing engaging content can help save time and maximize productivity. This way, there\u2019s no need to start from scratch with every piece of content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You could turn a podcast interview into a blog post. Or turn study results into a whitepaper and infographic. The options are endless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When you repurpose content, you don\u2019t need to come up with 100% new ideas every time. So you can save some budget and divert it to other areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A content marketing strategy is a roadmap to keep your marketing efforts on track. It details why you\u2019re creating content, who it\u2019s for, and how and when you will implement it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An effective marketing strategy will help you set goals, define clear success metrics, and create processes for improvement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In our 2022 State of Content Marketing report , content marketers shared their top goals. These were some of the popular answers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For some businesses, success may look like increasing daily views on Instagram by 10,000 views per post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For others, it may mean driving 50% more traffic to their site over the next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Determine what you want ( goals ) and how you\u2019ll define success ( KPIs ) relative to your own or competitors\u2019 current results ( benchmarks ). This first step will help you keep your efforts focused.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your target audience is the group of people you want to attract to your site. You need to know who they are and what they\u2019re interested in if you want your content to speak to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ask your sales team . Get specific. Ask for a breakdown of those with the highest conversion rate or the highest average order value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Use Google Analytics data . Check out the \u201cAudience\u201dreport to see who\u2019s visiting your site and where they\u2019re from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Check out social media audience insights . Use your platforms\u2019 built-in tools or Alien Road Social Analytics tool to learn about follower breakdown, growth and unfollows, top locations, age range, gender, active times, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dive into competitor data . Alien Road Organic Research tool can help you discover new competitors, explore your rivals\u2019 keyword rankings, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Survey or interview customers . Ask how customers prefer to engage with your brand (e.g., website, social media, blog posts).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Explore the market . Alien Road Market Explorer Tool lets you check industry insights and benchmark yourself against competitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All this data gives you a unique understanding of your current place in the market and how you stack up against others targeting your same audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Use this information to fine-tune your strategy. Are you missing topics that are important to your audience? Do your competitors cover key ideas better than you do?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once you\u2019ve set your goals and know your audience, you need to reach users in the right place with the right content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Aligning your content with where users are in the funnel (also called content mapping ) will help you create relevant, timely content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, how do you help those ready to make a purchase? What content and channels would be most useful for those still assessing and considering their options?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Consider all the different stages of the buyer\u2019s journey as you plan your content formats and channels:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Serving the right content at each stage of the customer journey also means delivering that content in the right format.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let\u2019s look at the top formats marketers used in 2022 according to HubSpot\u2019s State of Inbound Marketing Trends . Plus the merits of each:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to HubSpot, short-form videos (like TikToks and Instagram Reels) are the most effective type of social media content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
San Diego Zoo\u2019s TikTok , for instance, helps viewers feel like they\u2019re part of the team with funny behind-the-scenes footage of working life:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Video content doesn\u2019t have to be super polished or professional-looking. Often, an unscripted look helps your brand appear more personable and relatable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Blogs are a great way to drive traffic to your site. Long-form content like blog posts and articles can help you build trust and authority with your target audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Take personal finance company NerdWallet . They post financial planning, management, and education articles on their site:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Prospects with questions about wealth management will find answers and also recognize NerdWallet as an expert in the field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Infographics are a specific type of image where lots of valuable information is put into an easy-to-read graphic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, e-learning platform TalentLMS created a visual to help users see the benefits of using a learning management system (LMS) at work:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This infographic uses clear icons and scannable statistics to quickly communicate the widespread use of LMS platforms in today\u2019s workplace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Case studies showcase customer success stories and act as social proof to prospects investigating your product or service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Slack uses customer stories to stand out in a market that has exploded since 2020 (remote communications).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Showcasing your work with other brands helps customers see that you\u2019re experienced in working with people or companies just like them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Customer stories are easy to host on your site or share with leads to show specific ways your solution can help solve their pain points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A content calendar (or editorial calendar) organizes the timeline and destination for your content. It summarizes what you\u2019ll be publishing and when. It\u2019ll help you:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A content calendar template can help you create your own . Or you can try Alien Road ready-made Marketing Calendar .<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following a content calendar will help you stay on track and consistently deliver high-quality content. Which is key to keeping readers and followers engaged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Content distribution is the process of promoting your content on multiple platforms to address different audiences and demographics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A content distribution plan is crucial to ensuring your content gets in front of your intended audience. For example, Headspace distributes relevant blog posts in their email newsletters :<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This directs email list subscribers back to Headspace\u2019s site (which subscribers may not have visited in a while) for deeper insights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Use data about your audience and what channels they prefer\u2014as well as your own goals and KPIs\u2014to determine which channels to post on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Content marketing analytics is the final piece of the puzzle. These metrics let you see how well your content is doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Use this data to show your progress and help you allocate budget to the right places. Or catch any issues before they get costly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here are some key measurements you can track in Google Analytics , Alien Road , and similar platforms. And how each can help you understand how well your content is performing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What works for one company may not work for others. But it\u2019s helpful to learn from successful content marketing examples .<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Spotify users are eager for their Wrapped report to drop at the end of every year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since 2016, the company has provided an annual report that visualizes the following data for each listener:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s a hot topic on social media in the weeks leading up to it. Then widely shared because of its optimized story format.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wrapped is part of an online content marketing campaign that opens up conversations that continue through the year. And that people are constantly talking about Spotify.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Airbnb\u2019s Design Personality quiz is a perfect example of interactive content. They\u2019ve also partnered with a relevant brand (interior design experts Domino) to give both companies more reach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After answering eight visual questions, users find out their design personality. It doesn\u2019t take much time and the results are highly shareable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The results also lead users to recommended Airbnb stays and blog posts based on their style.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This kind of content is a much softer way of selling. And the personalized results enhance the customer journey while helping the brands collect relevant data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They help students get financial aid for college tuition. And they use their blog to answer student questions with accessible articles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mos hones in on topics that resonate with their readers, like what to do if you\u2019ve \u201cblown your tuition money on spring break.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Finance can be a complicated topic. But Mos keeps the language simple and explains any jargon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This ensures readers understand the content and gives students confidence that they know what they\u2019re talking about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Content can be one of your most powerful marketing tools. So don\u2019t just write something for the sake of it. Get to know your audience and base your decisions on reliable data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Keep your message simple but empathetic. Create content that helps your audience see you as a trusted partner and collaborator, not just a supplier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Build and document a content strategy so you won\u2019t miss a thing. And always take note of what\u2019s working and what you can improve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Need some help with that? Take the pressure off with some automation from Alien Road Content Marketing Platform . We\u2019ll walk you through every step to make sure you\u2019re providing value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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