Recycled Sabre image circa 2010: “Everything to do with getting the point across”
Remember the days when you could simply write blogs, toss in the keywords, and rank on Google? If you’re one of the many businesses out there feeling the frustration of content marketing, you’re certainly not alone. In fact, only a small percentage of companies today feel like their content marketing efforts are working. So what gives? Should you jump ship or stay put?
Like all products and trends, there is a life cycle with most digital marketing strategies as well. Marketing trends, fads and even the best strategies out there will come and go as consumers change their behaviors. One of the most significant challenges in marketing, and the reason for new and innovative strategies is anticipating the needs and behaviors of potential customers. What worked with tremendous success yesterday might not yield significant results today. Take the natural food industry as an example. Just a few years ago artificial sweeteners were all the rage, but today, the natural and organic brands are dominating. So, how does this relate to content marketing specifically? Let’s explore what’s been going on over the past few years.
Why Content Marketing Has Declined
After a few years and billions of articles and blogs later, consumers started to feel the over-saturation of content online. And who can blame them? Unfortunately, many businesses began writing for search engines and not for their audience. The hype of keyword stuffing and the quantity over quality approach to search engine optimization left a bad taste in mouths of many consumers, and businesses.
Today, consumers are savvy to fake news and blogs stuffed with keywords and no real substance. This presents both a challenge and opportunity for marketers. We can no longer rely on the old ways of marketing, content marketing specifically, to land on the beloved page one of Google.
How To Use Content As Marketing Fuel
Just because a trend is declining from its peak does not mean it’s worth tossing. In fact, the more savvy marketers today know that a well thought out and high-quality content marketing strategy is still a very effective tool to increase rankings on search engines and help turn curious consumers into life-long customers.
Remember that content is still key in ALL marketing efforts. In some capacity, you’re always going to use content, whether written, spoken, or otherwise, to create new and fresh marketing strategies.
Here are a few ways to freshen up your content strategy and rise above the noise of the online space:
Tip #1: If you’re still furiously writing articles and blogs every day but your rankings aren’t moving, take some focus away from writing new content. Recycling old content is not a new phenomenon, but it’s worthy of discussing. You can reintroduce old blogs and articles that were published a long time ago but that still hold relevance and interest today. It’s like a fixer-upper, add a fresh coat of paint, and it feels new! From a marketing perspective, because most search engines favor high quality and relevant content, your recycled posts can become a powerful marketing tool with minimal effort.
Tip #2: Use your data and analytics to help develop new and innovative ways to reach your audience. Collecting data, within the new GDPR guidelines, of course, is the best way to tune into the needs and behaviors of current customers and potential customers. You can then use this information to understand what your audience is most interested in and thus spend your efforts in generating, or recycling, the content that is going to be enjoyed or used. You can look into your company’s social media analytics, opt-in forms on your website or Google Analytics to find this data.
Tip #3: Humans are always seeking more personal interactions with people and brands. It’s part of why we love to follow brands or celebrities on social media. That personal connection helps create a new understanding of the values and methods of a specific company. Think of some ways that your business could interact with customers in a more personal manner:
– Could you add a chat feature to your website?
– Is it time for a product or service survey?
– How about writing more posts on social media that truly engage with your audience?
Taking time to make that connection, again this is through your content, is going to add tremendous value to your company, more than spending hours stuffing a post with keywords.
Are you ready to take a new approach with content marketing? If it’s time to overhaul your marketing strategy, give us a call at (508) 652-0012.