The phrase “content is king” is one of the most known phrases in the history of content marketing. It’s also one of the most misinterpreted.
When Bill Gates wrote those words back in 1996, he wasn’t just talking about the importance of content; he was reiterating that without great content, there would be no internet as we know it today. In other words, great content is what makes the internet tick.
So, if you’re serious about marketing your business online, you must create great content. But what exactly is great content? And how do you go about creating it?
What is Great Content?
Great content is any form of interesting, useful, and informative content. Your content should be well-written, accurate, and engaging to reach your target audience and increase sales and profit margins.
How to Create Great Content
Creating great content isn’t easy. It takes time, effort, and a lot of trial and error. But it’s worth it. If you are just creating an online profile for your business and don’t know where to begin, here are some tips:
1. Create the content for your audience rather than yourself
Now that you know who your target audience is, it’s important to keep them in mind when creating content. Write pieces that are interesting and useful to them. If you’re unsure what type of content will appeal to your target audience, look at what other businesses in your industry are doing.
However, an easy way would be to look at the product or service you intend to provide. For instance, if you want to provide a service that helps people save money, your content should be focused on tips on how to save money. Similarly, if you have run a site like Everygame online casino, your content should focus on gambling strategies.
2. Know your audience
Before you start writing any content, you must take the time to understand who your target audience is. What are their needs and wants? What are their pain points? The main aim of understanding who you are marketing to is to tailor your content to appeal to them and represent your brand appropriately.
There are several things to consider when understanding your target. They include:
- Age
- Gender
- Location
- Income level
- Occupation
- Education level
Once you understand your audience, you can begin creating content that appeals to them.
3. Write catchy headlines
Your headline is the first thing people will see when they come across your content. For your content marketing strategy to prove effective, your content should be attention-grabbing such that your audience won’t hesitate to click on it. So, you must make it count.
Here are some helpful tips for writing catchy headlines:
Use power words: Terms like “amazing” and “incredible” tend to grab attention.
Make it benefit-driven: Tell your audience what they stand to gain by reading your article. For instance, “5 Tips to Help You Save Money.”
Use numbers and lists: People love lists. They are easy to read and provide value. For instance, “10 Ways to Improve Your Content Marketing Strategy.”
4. Keep your content short and catchy
In today’s social media environment, people have attention spans of about 8 seconds. So, you must make your content short, sweet, and to the point. Fluff or filler words will distract your target, and they might leave your site before they even get to the meat of the content.
Some ways to keep your content concise include:
Use short sentences: This will make your content easy to read.
Use active voice: Passive voice is wordy and can make your content monotonous.
Use simple words: Complicated words can be confusing and might turn off your target audience. Keep your sentences short, and avoid using jargon.
5. Use images, videos, and infographics
Images, infographics, and videos are a great way to break up text and make your content more visually appealing. People are more likely to engage with content that contains images or videos.
When selecting images, ensure they are high quality and relevant to the topic of your article. Also, avoid using too many images, making your content look cluttered. A good rule of thumb is to use one image for every 100 words of text.
6. Optimize your content for SEO
If you want your content to be found by people searching for information related to your business, then you need to optimize it for search engines. That means using the right keywords throughout your content so that it ranks higher on search engine results pages (SERPs).
Some tips on how to optimize your content for SEO include:
Do keyword research: Use tools like Google AdWords Keyword Planner to find keywords that are relevant to your business.
Use keywords throughout your content: Include them in your title, meta descriptions, headings, and body.
7. Make it original
To stand out from the competition, you need to create original content. That involves writing pieces that haven’t been written before or taking a different angle on a popular topic.
To make sure that your content is original, you can:
Check for plagiarism: Use online plagiarism checker tools to scan your content for plagiarism.
Study your competitor’s content: See what topics they are writing about and try coming up with something different.
Conclusion
With these tips, you should be well on creating a successful content marketing strategy. Remember to keep your target audience in mind, create catchy headlines, use images and videos, and optimize your content for SEO. If you do all of this, you’ll surely see better results from your content marketing efforts.