When we talk to business leaders who are looking at implementing a formal content strategy, they’ll often ask, “What kind of content do I really need and what’s optional?” Their goal is to make sure that they’re dedicating enough time, personnel, and budget to cover the fundamental elements of content marketing so that they don’t miss out on the kind of online engagement that attracts leads, drives sales, and retains customers.
Now, if you’re asking this because you want to know how to do the bare minimum to check the “content marketing box,” that’s clearly the wrong approach! But, if you want to understand the basics of content marketing because you need a starting place to help shape your content strategy before you invest more to scale up your efforts, this quick guide will give you the information you’re looking for without overcomplicating things.
Now, if you’re asking this because you want to know how to do the bare minimum to check the “content marketing box,” that’s clearly the wrong approach! But, if you want to understand the basics of content marketing because you need a starting place to help shape your content strategy before you invest more to scale up your efforts, this quick guide will give you the information you’re looking for without overcomplicating things.
The most important types of content that a business needs to survive (and later thrive) are:
1. Helpful Website Text and Visuals
Your website is typically the first impression people have of your business, which means it’s the first (and possibly only!) chance you have to make a good impression. Sure, you want the design to look cool and polished and professional, but most importantly, you want the content to be compelling.
Use the text and images on your website (especially your homepage and product/services pages) to give your audience the information they need to decide if they want to do business with you. Tell your story. Explain what makes your business offerings unique. Put a face to your brand.
Provide value before you ask for the sale. Put your customer first. Only utilize content that will truly add value for your audience and leave off anything that is self-serving. Include helpful information, images, videos, tools, and other resources.
If you don’t know how to phrase what you want to say or what kind of content should make the cut, hire a copywriter or digital marketer to generate content for you. They will be well poised to create compelling text that aligns with your business goals.
2. Engaging Blog Articles
If your company’s website doesn’t have a blog, it needs one! Regardless of industry or size, every business has some kind of insight to offer that people genuinely want to read and hear. Whether it’s expert advice, real-world stories, technical compatibility, software functionality, DIY hacks, industry recommendations, or something else entirely, your team has something to say that people want to hear. Leverage that by maintaining a company blog that addresses the kind of things that are being talked about in your industry.
And if your team doesn’t have the time needed to maintain a blog themselves, hire a copywriter with industry expertise to turn their insights into written content for your audience. Remember, it doesn’t matter if your blog articles are written internally (by your team) or externally (by a professional writer) as long as the content you’re publishing adds value for your audience!
3. Strong Calls-to-Action (CTAs)
A call-to-action (CTA) tells a visitor to your website, social media follower, or email recipient what to do next. Whether it’s “Sign Up”, “Buy Now”, “Download for Free”, “Get Started”, “Start a Risk-Free Trial”, or “Learn More”, your CTA offers the next step to make a visitor into a lead or customer. Every piece of content that you generate should provide a way to keep the engagement going.
CTAs on your website pages can help direct visitors around your site to move them through the sales funnel. CTAs on your social media posts set up an expectation for what they should do next to start a conversation or keep a conversation going. CTAs in your marketing emails create a way for recipients to engage with your company on its website or social channels.
Creating effective CTAs is as simple as succinctly telling your audience what you want them to do next. Your CTAs with the highest visibility (like those on your homepage above the fold or in an email that goes out to a large subscriber base) should be regularly tested to optimize performance. Experiment with the wording, color, location, size, and shape.
Many website providers and email platforms offer automated A/B testing so you can improve the performance of your CTAs over time. But if you’re using a platform that doesn’t have this kind of functionality, you can run manual tests on individual components and analyze the results to hone your efforts. Either way, don’t just set a CTA and forget it. Always be looking for ways to improve performance!
4. Authentic Reviews/Testimonials
Nothing is more persuasive to prospective customers than reading the positive feedback that existing customers have shared. Including customer reviews and testimonials on your website is a wonderful way to tell your audience what you want them to hear about who you are and what you do but with added credibility because it is coming from a third party.
For products/services that need a more detailed explanation of their benefits a case study or white paper can offer that same social proof that buyers want in a format that resonates well with leads that are further down the sales funnel. You can either make these case studies/white papers available on your website as freely available content or set them up as gated content, requiring contact information before they can be accessed. Additionally, you can provide these content pieces to your sales team for use as a selling tool to help them close more deals.
5. Regular Social Media Posts
Being active on social media creates additional visibility for your company as well as humanizes your business. The result is greater brand awareness as well as increased leads on the front end, but the benefits don’t stop there! Companies that have a strong social media presence also perform better on the back end of the sale. Social media channels offer a great platform for receiving customer suggestions, answering questions, and resolving complaints – all of which encourage customer loyalty and advocacy. With all these benefits, it’s no wonder today’s top brands invest heavily in their social media strategies!
If you don’t have the time or expertise needed to maintain an ongoing social media strategy, hire a content specialist to handle your company’s social media efforts so you don’t miss the opportunity to engage with your audience.
6. Business-Aligned Marketing Emails
Email marketing can be used to keep leads engaged throughout the buying process, foster the customer relationship after a sale has been made, keep subscribers at all stages informed of business happenings, and highlight promotions to sell more. Whatever your business goals are, email campaigns can help align your marketing efforts to help you achieve them.
With trigger-based emails (“if this happens, then send this email”), you can follow up with leads and new customers automatically to give them the resources they need exactly when they need them. You can even create a trigger-based email series to roll out content to leads and customers incrementally over a longer timeframe to match their changing needs.
The most effective email marketing campaigns are those that bring your other content activities together – announcing important company news, delivering your recent blog articles, highlighting reviews and testimonials, and sharing your social media posts. If you need help bringing these pieces together, hire a content strategist or email marketer to help you craft the kind of emails that ensure everything you’re doing is working in unison.
If your company is missing or underutilizing any of the content types listed in this checklist, reach out to us today! We would love to start a conversation around how we can help you improve your content strategy. Every day our experienced digital marketing team helps businesses develop the kind of content that improves their visibility and credibility to increase audience engagement and drive sales. We partner with you to create a custom digital marketing solution to fit your business’s needs on your timeframe. Contact us today!
1. Helpful Website Text and Visuals
Your website is typically the first impression people have of your business, which means it’s the first (and possibly only!) chance you have to make a good impression. Sure, you want the design to look cool and polished and professional, but most importantly, you want the content to be compelling.
Use the text and images on your website (especially your homepage and product/services pages) to give your audience the information they need to decide if they want to do business with you. Tell your story. Explain what makes your business offerings unique. Put a face to your brand.
Provide value before you ask for the sale. Put your customer first. Only utilize content that will truly add value for your audience and leave off anything that is self-serving. Include helpful information, images, videos, tools, and other resources.
If you don’t know how to phrase what you want to say or what kind of content should make the cut, hire a copywriter or digital marketer to generate content for you. They will be well poised to create compelling text that aligns with your business goals.
2. Engaging Blog Articles
If your company’s website doesn’t have a blog, it needs one! Regardless of industry or size, every business has some kind of insight to offer that people genuinely want to read and hear. Whether it’s expert advice, real-world stories, technical compatibility, software functionality, DIY hacks, industry recommendations, or something else entirely, your team has something to say that people want to hear. Leverage that by maintaining a company blog that addresses the kind of things that are being talked about in your industry.
And if your team doesn’t have the time needed to maintain a blog themselves, hire a copywriter with industry expertise to turn their insights into written content for your audience. Remember, it doesn’t matter if your blog articles are written internally (by your team) or externally (by a professional writer) as long as the content you’re publishing adds value for your audience!
3. Strong Calls-to-Action (CTAs)
A call-to-action (CTA) tells a visitor to your website, social media follower, or email recipient what to do next. Whether it’s “Sign Up”, “Buy Now”, “Download for Free”, “Get Started”, “Start a Risk-Free Trial”, or “Learn More”, your CTA offers the next step to make a visitor into a lead or customer. Every piece of content that you generate should provide a way to keep the engagement going.
CTAs on your website pages can help direct visitors around your site to move them through the sales funnel. CTAs on your social media posts set up an expectation for what they should do next to start a conversation or keep a conversation going. CTAs in your marketing emails create a way for recipients to engage with your company on its website or social channels.
Creating effective CTAs is as simple as succinctly telling your audience what you want them to do next. Your CTAs with the highest visibility (like those on your homepage above the fold or in an email that goes out to a large subscriber base) should be regularly tested to optimize performance. Experiment with the wording, color, location, size, and shape.
Many website providers and email platforms offer automated A/B testing so you can improve the performance of your CTAs over time. But if you’re using a platform that doesn’t have this kind of functionality, you can run manual tests on individual components and analyze the results to hone your efforts. Either way, don’t just set a CTA and forget it. Always be looking for ways to improve performance!
4. Authentic Reviews/Testimonials
Nothing is more persuasive to prospective customers than reading the positive feedback that existing customers have shared. Including customer reviews and testimonials on your website is a wonderful way to tell your audience what you want them to hear about who you are and what you do but with added credibility because it is coming from a third party.
For products/services that need a more detailed explanation of their benefits a case study or white paper can offer that same social proof that buyers want in a format that resonates well with leads that are further down the sales funnel. You can either make these case studies/white papers available on your website as freely available content or set them up as gated content, requiring contact information before they can be accessed. Additionally, you can provide these content pieces to your sales team for use as a selling tool to help them close more deals.
5. Regular Social Media Posts
Being active on social media creates additional visibility for your company as well as humanizes your business. The result is greater brand awareness as well as increased leads on the front end, but the benefits don’t stop there! Companies that have a strong social media presence also perform better on the back end of the sale. Social media channels offer a great platform for receiving customer suggestions, answering questions, and resolving complaints – all of which encourage customer loyalty and advocacy. With all these benefits, it’s no wonder today’s top brands invest heavily in their social media strategies!
If you don’t have the time or expertise needed to maintain an ongoing social media strategy, hire a content specialist to handle your company’s social media efforts so you don’t miss the opportunity to engage with your audience.
6. Business-Aligned Marketing Emails
Email marketing can be used to keep leads engaged throughout the buying process, foster the customer relationship after a sale has been made, keep subscribers at all stages informed of business happenings, and highlight promotions to sell more. Whatever your business goals are, email campaigns can help align your marketing efforts to help you achieve them.
With trigger-based emails (“if this happens, then send this email”), you can follow up with leads and new customers automatically to give them the resources they need exactly when they need them. You can even create a trigger-based email series to roll out content to leads and customers incrementally over a longer timeframe to match their changing needs.
The most effective email marketing campaigns are those that bring your other content activities together – announcing important company news, delivering your recent blog articles, highlighting reviews and testimonials, and sharing your social media posts. If you need help bringing these pieces together, hire a content strategist or email marketer to help you craft the kind of emails that ensure everything you’re doing is working in unison.
If your company is missing or underutilizing any of the content types listed in this checklist, reach out to us today! We would love to start a conversation around how we can help you improve your content strategy. Every day our experienced digital marketing team helps businesses develop the kind of content that improves their visibility and credibility to increase audience engagement and drive sales. We partner with you to create a custom digital marketing solution to fit your business’s needs on your timeframe. Contact us today!
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