We have been dealing with the subject of content marketing for ages now. At times I may not mention it specifically but most of what we discuss pertains to it. Content marketing is a marketing approach where you draw, engage, and retain an online audience by sharing with them relevant and engaging content. In essence, you want to attract prospects, turn them into leads, get conversions, and turn them into repeat purchase customers. If your business or startup has a website and social media accounts (as should be) you should do content marketing. If you have not yet started it is high time you do. In order to achieve the best content marketing results in 2023 take note of the following:
Employ Customer’s Tone Or Voice
The basis of this stems from how people search for content online. You need to know the types of keywords or phrases they key in when searching for content. That way you can tailor content that will appeal to them. This also goes to the general personality you exude in your content. Just a simple example: you cannot necessarily use the tone (or voice) you use on LinkedIn on Instagram. Your target pool of people has a particular tone or voice they resonate with. You need to figure it out and craft your content with that in mind. Your engagement rates are heavily dependent on you putting out content that aligns with your customers’ tone or voice.
A Content Marketing Model You Must Use (Hub And Spoke)
Do not be stunned by the hub and spoke terminology. The principle or model is actually quite simple. The ‘hub’ idea implies that you build an audience around a particular topic. That would have to be a topic relevant to the products or services that you offer. The ‘spoke’ implies creating content around that topic using the customers’ tone or voice. When you do this consistently you end up building online authority on a particular topic.
This would mean that whenever people search for content on that topic they will most likely come across your content. Ultimately that will generate leads because that content will be tied to your business offerings. Thus the idea is to regularly put out relevant and engaging content on topic(s) that relate to what you are selling. This is miles ahead of just hard-selling which drives away prospects.
Search Result Types Are Evolving (Stay Abreast – Optimize Your Content)
Many people may not know that search results evolve over time. The assumptions you may have worked with before may not apply now. Search engines operate based on artificial intelligence and machine learning so things are not static. Keywords or keyphrases may change over time. That is why you should always actively check the search results being returned for your content area.
For instance, video content (particularly short form) now typically ranks higher in search engine searches. That would mean you have to consider putting out video content if you are to rank high. You need to stay updated so that you tailor your content with the latest dynamics in mind. This will help you ensure your content is always optimized to rank high in search engine searches.
Measuring ROI Is Important
Desist from the habit of just putting content without evaluating later. You have to measure the performance of your content to see if it is bearing fruit. It is possible to regularly put out content without any meaningful results if you do not monitor and evaluate. At the end of the day, you will just be wasting money, time, and resources. You need to measure your return on investment (ROI) for all the content you put out. This will also form the basis for you to note areas that need attention for future content. Come up with metrics that you can measure every time you put out content. This is much easier if you use paid ads or promote your posts. You will have access to data analytics insights you can work with to calculate ROI.
Repurpose Some Content (Old Or Did Not Do Well)
You will be amazed at the results you can achieve from repurposing your content. This you can do by reposting what you once posted before. You can also redo content from before by just making alterations and posting again. You could even use it as a basis to build new content. You can choose basically old (i.e. outdated) content or content that may not have done well before. Many times you can get surprised by how that content can get more attention now than it did before. If you over time have been regularly posting content, go through it and see the content you can repurpose.
Be Wary Of AI-Generated Content (Not Always The Best)
Lately, you may have been hearing a lot about AIs such as ChatGPT. It is remarkable what you can do with such AIs. However, do not make the mistake of basing your content creation on AI. Of course, it is easier and faster but it is not the best approach. Remember that AIs are not sentient so they can never fully operate as a human does. It is also vital to appreciate that AIs tailor content aimed at appealing to algorithms. After all, they operate based on algorithms. This means they may not produce content that is useful and relevant to people. Personally, I made a commitment that I will never create content solely using AIs; so should you.
These are some of the things you should keep in mind as you do content marketing in 2023. These 6 aspects are what you will need to produce the best content marketing results in 2023. Every time you put out content you must use that as a learning curve. How the content will perform well and must inform your subsequent content. Do not just blindly and aimlessly put out content; be deliberate and strategic.
