Content Marketing Strategies to Grow Your Audience

Content marketing has become a highly effective lead generation tactic for businesses both large and small. Research shows that content marketing can generate three times as many leads at one-third the cost of traditional marketing methods. In fact, over 90% of B2B marketers now use content in their marketing strategies. If done right, content marketing allows you to build trust, showcase your expertise, and gain qualified leads over time.

When done right, content allows you to position your business as an industry thought leader, demonstrate technical expertise, build trust with target audiences, and cultivate long-term customer relationships over time. Search engine optimized (SEO) blogging, for example, can increase organic traffic by more than 25% after just 6 months of regular posting. Informative visuals like infographics have been found to increase readership by up to 80%, while well-produced video content often achieves astonishing view-through rates above 50%.

In this article, we'll explore several battle-tested content marketing tactics and channels that can meaningfully grow your audience at different stages of the customer journey. From SEO and blogging to visuals, video, and more, we'll outline strategies to cost-effectively attract more qualified readers, customers, and ultimately, increase revenue through your content efforts over the long run.

SEO Blogging:

Write for Your Target Keywords

When starting an SEO blog, the first step is to identify the high-volume, low-competition keywords that are relevant to your industry or products. Take the time to conduct thorough keyword research using tools like Google Keyword Planner to uncover valuable long-tail keyword opportunities in addition to common head terms. Be sure to include your target keywords prominently in your blog post titles, subheadings, and throughout the copy.

Optimizing Blog Posts for Search

It’s also important to properly structure your blog posts to attract search engines. Add your target keywords into the first paragraph and weave them naturally throughout the text. Don’t forget to optimize images with relevant alt text containing keywords. Linking internally to other pages on your site and externally to trusted industry sources helps increase shareability and searchability.

Blog Consistently for Long-Term Traffic

To truly see SEO benefits, you need regular posting over many months. Aim for one to two posts per week on a consistent schedule. Make sure your content covers a spectrum of topics relevant to your keyword themes. Cross-link new posts to older, related articles to boost internal linking. Tracking traffic and search performance over time allows you to identify top-performing posts for optimization and gauge the success of your blogging efforts.

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High-Quality Visual Content

Using Infographics to Boost Engagement

Infographics are a powerful way to digest complex information visually. Create infographics that highlight useful industry or product data in an aesthetic and scannable format. Infographics consistently outperform written blog posts in terms of engagement when distributed on social media and embedded in relevant articles.

Creating Explainer Videos That Sell

Short explainer videos are ideal for introducing your products or services in a visual format. Craft simple, to-the-point animations or live-action videos that clearly illustrate unique features and benefits. Target keyword optimizations and compelling calls-to-action can significantly boost video views and conversions.

Photographs and Imagery on social media

Don't underestimate the engagement potential of high-quality products or lifestyle photos on Instagram and other visual platforms. Professionally shot images that tell a story through your brand's vision increase shares when paired with impactful captions. User-generated images further strengthen authenticity.

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Distribution and Social Sharing

Promoting Content on Social Platforms

Leverage your existing social media followers to boost content visibility. Create optimized posts that preview your newest blogs and videos. Go live to discuss topics and answer questions in real-time. Test different days/times for posting to target peak audience times.

Partnering with Influencers

Outreach to industry bloggers and social media influencers to ask them to share specific pieces of your content with their engaged followers. Look for micro influencers especially aligned with your niche. Offer incentives like early access, giveaways, or sponsorships.

Encouraging User Generated Content

Run contests asking customers to submit photos on your Instagram using a specific hashtag. This sparks engagement while expanding your organic image library. Ask readers to submit questions you answer in your next blog post or video. Their social shares multiply your distribution exponentially.

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Measuring Content Marketing Results

Key Performance Indicators to Track

Establish tracking from the start using tools like Google Analytics. Monitor crucial metrics like website traffic, conversion rates, leads generated and social engagement over time. Obtain ROI information by tracking spending versus new customers.

Analyzing Content Performance Data

Evaluate top performing content pieces by metrics like views, shares and comments. Compare results for different content formats and channels to see what resonates most. Notice trends in topics or styles that tend to over-index.

Testing and Optimizing for Improvement

Regularly test headlines, calls-to-action and descriptions to optimize underperforming content. A/B split-test high performing titles, intros, and conclusion wording. Try promoting the same piece to new audiences periodically. Refine strategy based on data to continually improve ROI.

Creating a Strategic Content Calendar

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Planning Topics by Campaign

Mapping out quarterly or annual content themes aligned to business goals ensures relevance. Build a mix of topics like investigative, how-to and news summary types. Schedule around industry events.

Tools for Management and Production

Use a content calendar tool to lay out your editorial plan. Note idea, topic, format, owner, deadline and more. Assign drafts; integrate reviewers. Many tools automate publishing too.

Staying Consistent for Greatest ROI

Calendars help content teams plan in advance and avoid unpredictable delays. They promote editorial consistency, vital for search performance gains over time. Small businesses especially benefit from focused yet steady output.

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Conclusion:

Content marketing is a highly effective strategy for businesses of all sizes looking to grow brand awareness, generate leads, and increase sales over the long run. However, to truly reap the rewards, it's important to implement tactics in a strategic, data-driven manner. The keys to success include thoroughly researching your target audiences, producing quality content in various formats, optimizing for search and social sharing, measuring performance, and continually testing and improving based on analytics. With the right combination of informative, engaging content promoted across channels on a consistent basis, you can become a trusted industry leader that draws in qualified leads and customers month after month. Always remember that content should complement, not substitute, other marketing activities. When implemented as part of a holistic plan, content will significantly boost your marketing ROI and take your business to new heights.

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