You may have heard the phrase “content is king.”
This famous quote can be traced back to a 1996 essay by Microsoft founder Bill Gates, in which he predicted that the internet would evolve into a marketplace driven by content. He was right, and his words ring more true today than ever before.
Online platforms, ideas, and strategies come and go. But the relevance of content has never wavered. Storytelling is essential in human society and in business. Great content can engage, educate, inspire, persuade, and convert.
Whether you’re a small business owner or an established industry leader, the stories you tell online are essential to your success in marketing and beyond. Keep reading to learn the essential rules of content marketing!
Why good content matters
The modern digital landscape allows for the open exchange of information, which comes with many benefits. Unfortunately, it also means there’s a lot of online content out there that is:
- Poor quality
- Badly researched
- Lazy
- Misleading
- Unsubstantiated
- Plagiarized
The rise of AI-generated content has further complicated things. AI content is quick and easy to produce. But since it draws from human-written content, it’s susceptible to these same issues. It often leads to disinformation and copyright infringement.
Simply put, great content is rare. This creates a unique opportunity to stand out as a diamond in the rough and earn a truly loyal audience. With the right approach, you can do just that.
1. Know your audience
In order to develop a successful content strategy, you first need to know who your readers are. In a recent survey, 47% of marketers cited audience research as a major factor that contributes to successful campaigns. Your audience is made up of potential customers, so you should always keep their needs at the core of your approach.
Start by gathering information like demographics, psychographics, pain points, economic data, and purchasing behavior. Here are some examples of tools that can help you do this:
- Google Analytics, CRM analytics tools, and social media analytics tools
- Internal research efforts, such as customer surveys, interviews, and feedback
- Industry research reports
- Organic audience interactions, such as conversations on social media, blog comments, and online reviews
These insights help you tailor your marketing content to your audience.
2. Have a purpose
Your objectives should go beyond just selling products and services. What additional value can you bring to your audience? You can establish a reputation as a thought leader in your field by publishing content that educates and engages readers with content that’s relevant to their wants and needs.
It’s also important to establish specific goals and parameters for your content. Set up a dedicated budget for your marketing efforts, and consider publishing articles and social media posts on a set schedule.
3. Always be transparent
Trust is essential in business. It’s extremely difficult to win back the trust of readers and customers once you’ve lost it. Fully disclose business relationships to your readers. For example, if you sponsor influencers to market your products on social media, don’t try to hide this. Make it clear in each and every post.
4. Give more than you take
People hate ads, especially online. New survey data shows that not only do 70% of consumers find ads annoying, but intrusive or pushy advertising also makes people less likely to engage with content or buy a product.
It’s never a good idea to engage in pushy marketing. For every ad-style blog or social media post that directly markets your products or services, you should have at least 10 others that provide helpful or educational content to your readers.
5. Don’t overpromise
While making grand, difficult-to-deliver promises is a good way to get clicks, it’s also a good way to damage your reputation. When you make a claim, people expect you to deliver. Disappointing your paying customers will inevitably hurt your business in the long run.
Building a loyal customer base requires trust. While painting your business in a positive light is a good strategy, you should always be honest and transparent.
6. Quality over quantity
Have you ever followed someone on social media only to find your feed immediately filled up with posts from their account? Even your most loyal readers will want to see a variety of content from different sources.
One of the most important rules of content marketing is that less is usually more. You don’t want to overwhelm your audience, even if your content is informative and engaging.
It’s a good idea to develop a content publishing schedule. For example, consider publishing four blogs per month and two social media posts on each platform per day. In many cases, you can even schedule posts to publish at set times. Whatever schedule you follow, always give yourself enough time to keep the quality consistent.
7. Be sensitive to your audience
There are numerous examples of brands trying to take advantage of trends, world events, and social movements to sell their products – only to offend their audience in the process. One of the most famous and egregious examples of this is the Pepsi ad featuring Kendall Jenner that was accused of trivializing Black Lives Matter protests.
Be sensitive in what you post and when. Read the room. Don’t try to jump on bandwagons or take advantage of people’s deeply held views, values, or beliefs to try to seem “cool” or incorporate a trending hashtag. It’s also a good idea to pause your usual publishing schedule when a major world tragedy is overwhelming social media.
A good rule of thumb is this: If you’re questioning whether or not it’s a good idea to post something, wait.
8. Don’t use jargon
One of the most important rules of content marketing is to ensure content is readable. Even the most novel and informative content is useless if your reader can’t understand it.
Overly complicated sentences and industry jargon can throw readers off. Unless you’re writing for an expert audience, avoid these mistakes. The Bureau of Internet Accessibility recommends writing between a 7th and 9th grade reading level to ensure accessibility for a general audience.
Here are a few tools that can help you assess the readability of your content:
- The Hemingway App
- Microsoft Word
- Yoast SEO in WordPress
9. Listen to feedback
Digital marketing is a two-way street. You communicate with your audience through the content you publish, and they communicate with you through comments, online reviews, and metrics like:
- Web traffic sources
- Leads
- Page views
- Returning visitors
- Conversion rates
- Bounce rates
- Click-through rates
The audience feedback you get is important. Not only does it help you respond to people’s concerns more effectively and directly, but it also helps you anticipate future needs and interests, so you can adjust your strategy accordingly.
10. Edit, edit, edit.
Any writer will tell you that editing is one of the most important elements of the process. Completing an initial draft is the first step. But editing lets your content really shine.
From rewording clunky sentences to proofreading for spelling and grammatical errors, editing your work is essential to creating a good piece of content. But simply skimming over your writing will only go so far. Good editing often requires several sessions.
Multiple rounds of editing will help ensure your content:
- Flows well
- Is easy to read
- Is factual
- Is organized and structured
- Is free of errors
Elevate your content marketing strategy
Content creation offers undeniable benefits for businesses. From increasing brand recognition, to generating engagement, to expanding your customer base, a good content marketing strategy can be the key to reaching your full potential.
But you don’t have to be a great writer to show off your skills and build your brand. At Pitkin Writing & Editing, content creation is our specialty. Our team of freelance marketing writers are ready to help you spread your message and drive conversions.
Contact us today to learn more about our services.