Content marketing strategy has always been a key topic of discussion with my years of social media coaching and consulting over the past 15 years. No matter the marketing goal or how well-built the “rails” of the system are, it is content that is king and is the fuel that will make the “train” run and a strategy succeed.
I have found that this social media filter is a useful before-you-press-that-send-button tool to make sure that you are delivering the best messages possible for your readers, customers, and prospects!
9 Ways To Make Your Content Marketing Better
- Make your content sharable. Is your content interesting enough that users pass it on and post about it? Also, is it in the right form and packaging to make it sharable? For instance, are you tweeting with 100 characters or 280 characters? That decision alone makes a big difference!
- Think about the reader’s native behavior. Do your readers typically do your message address and complement behavior. Make sure to write about what your audience is actually doing or asking them to do something in the way that is in their realm since most people will not stay engaged with advice or news that does not add value in a way that they feel they can or want to “pull off.”
- Tactfully use promotion. If you are promoting an event, asset or sale, are you doing it tactfully and including some value to the readers?
- Linking to the right place. If you are sending a link, does its destination match the value proposition or message that Does my link connect with my post? We have experienced this bait-and-switch experience where the tweet is educational and relevant to us, but the landing page is like a fourth-removed cousin!
- Provide Genuine utility. There is a reason why Batman has a utility belt. It adds value! Does your post add value for the reader? Make sure your messaging provides a general use to your audience.
- Make your message as simple as possible. Readers like simple ideas, like using a content marketing checklist to make my social messaging better. So, does your post promote a simple idea?
- Customer-centric keywords. Are you using the best keywords and hashtags to maximize exposure? Keywords are critical to a successful content marketing strategy. Your readers are following hashtags on Twitter and Instagram and searching on keywords on Google to find blogs! Make sure you use keywords to reach an audience beyond your followers. THIS is how you build your community!
- Make sure your message so your readers come back for more. Is your content interesting enough for them to return for more content? Have you sold them enough on the value of your blog that they will give you their email address for your blog updates? Will my reader like my post so much that they will read my next one?
- Best Asset Use. Are you leveraging video, photos, and other mechanisms like polls and quizzes that drive engagement? If not, you need to be using them to keep your target audience engaged!
What tips do you have to add to this content marketing checklist? I’d love to know! Please share them below on this post or contact me directly at gerry@marketingthink.com
Sometimes it’s not always best to use a filter, but this think-before-you-act filter exercise will increase the odds that your content is valued by your readers. Good luck developing and deploying some killer content to support your content marketing strategy!
