The Crux of the Content-Marketing
Shahidullah K.
Digital Marketer & Developer | Creates Digitals using Django | Flutter | WordPress | Google AppSheet | ESL Enthusiast
This article is all about written content that converts. It argues that written content is the kernel of content marketing. Machines or software (algorithms or crawlers) can’t see visuals as humans do. They can only compare two visuals’ pixel records in the memory, but pixel records exist in the form of binary data. They only read written content with the help of an AI-powered language model to understand its meaning. That is why written content is considered the base of communication and marketing on the internet. So this article focuses on optimized written content, i.e., copies, blog posts, and articles. It discusses the qualitative characteristics of written content that search engines consider for ranking in the result pages.
Table of content:?
Introduction to Copywriting
Copywriting is a sales and marketing or business development device. It refers to a persuasive piece of writing that describes entities – brands, organizations, search engines, products, services, blog posts, articles, events, functions, profiles, tools, causes, images, videos etc.?
It pitches entities (pages) described above to multiple stakeholders, including existing and prospective buyers, employers, partners, funds providers, students, followers, etc.
Examples of copies:
Difference between blog writing and copywriting
Blog pages are more autonomous than copies. It builds relations through internal and external links and has rapport because of its quality, and relationship.?
The difference between blog writing and copywriting is that a blog post is not usually the direct description of an entity I just mentioned above. Even a copy sees a blog post like an entity and describes it to search engines and general users in social media posts. That is why its Title, descrciption, headings and images alt text are consider as copies. Blog posts and articles are entities that provide information and follow a strategy to convince a user to take a specific action. The funnel approach is one such strategy.
In the content marketing funnel, the top-of-the-funnel content creates awareness. Here the content-writer keyword the content with the product keywords, and the information keywords. The mid-funnel content urges users to consider the subject. The bottom of the funnel represents the conversion and loyalty stages. In this stage, the content focuses on the conversion. Authors use transactional and conversion keywords in the content in this stage. The loyalty stage is the post-conversion stage down the funnel. In this stage, content focuses on loyalty and after-sale dynamics, i.e., members’ discounts, newsletters, etc. ?
Read more about keywording your content properly here. ?
Commonalities between blog writing and copywriting
Both forms of writing convince their readers to take specific actions. Both contain keywords and hashtags, which make them searchable online. Microblogs are similar to copies, which inform users instantly. In this way, the authors fulfil the informational needs of their followers.? ?
Qualitative characteristics of a written-content ?
A written hosted as page or post should have multiple qualitative and quantitative characteristics for better conversion, including:
Double-E-A-T
Double-E-A-T or E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. It is the quality criteria human quality evaluators use to evaluate the usefulness of content. Experience is the newly added criterion. Experience makes a writer proficient. Expertise is for talent or skill set, while authority is the command over a topic. Trust is the most significant factor of the E-E-A-T criteria. The other information quality factors contribute to building trust. It implies that content should be complete, unbiased, fair, timely, and authored by an expert with proficiency.?
E-E-A-T is not directly the ranking factor, but along with other factors such as context, usability, loading time, relevance, time, etc it increases the chance of a content to be considered up in queue against a user query. Google gives more weightage to content having good E-E-A-T when it comes to YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) – topics that involve health, financial stability, safety, and welfare or wellbeing of society.?
?
ACCURATE is an acronym where:?
A is for Accurate – the information in a marketing content should be fair and free from bias. Free from material errors so that it does not compromise understanding.?
C is for Complete – the information should cover almost all the aspects of the subject so that it helps users make informed decision, i.e., pros and cons, side effects etc. In other words, it should answer properly the particular question it targets.????
C is for Cost-beneficial – the value of the information should exceed the cost of obtaining it. In short, it should be worth it.??
U is for User targeted – it should not be written for search engines or personal interests. Content should be users first, not search-engine first.?
R is for Relevant – It is self-explanatory. It should target the right niche – an area where users' interest reside. Relevance is one of the key factor search engines assess when decide whether to show a content against a query or not.?
A is for Authority – The source should be reliable, and the author should be an expert, having the right talent and skill set.??
T is for Timely – Information should not be outdated.?
E is for Easy to use – In marketing, it implies better user experience. The layout and format should be engaging. Usability is another key ranking factor on the basis of which a factor is returned against a query by search engines.?
7Cs of Communication
For better performance online, a content should have all the Cs describe by the 7Cs framework, I stipulate below:?
Correct – as accurate in ACCURATE framework I explained above.
Concise – means to the point.??
Complete – I already described above in ACCURATE framework above.
Concrete – It should be specific, not vague.?
Clear – The purpose should be clear.
Courteous – Be user-friendly, not search engines first.?
Coherent – It should be in line with the overall strategy and other component of the communication. Related to other supporting content.
4 commonly used copywriting formulas/frameworks
A for Attention
It is the attention-grabbing opening paragraph or sentence, e.g., the preview text of an email, that grabs the attention of the recipient of the email and pushes them to open the email.
Template of the section:
Are you looking for [the service or product you offer] that/who [the needs/pain points of the prospective customer/client]?
Example:
A proposal on Upwork.?
Are you looking for a professional copywriter who could write engaging copies that convert??
I Interest
[Features of ideal product and service that resonates with the product and service you promote].?
A compelling copy not only persuades users but optimizes the content too. A successful copy resonates with the brand's voice, develops an interest in users, and drives them to take the desired action.?
D Desire
The section of your copy that makes readers consider the subject.
[Proficiency as a service provider and the features of the product that match the features you mention in the INTEREST section]
Example:
I am a Google-certified Digital Marker and Data Analyst. I have been providing MSMEs with content writing services for the last five years. I know most of the secrets of inbound and outbound marketing. I am well-versed in design thinking too. SEO is my core skill. A pro digital marketer keeps himself well-versed in the industry's recent development. I know that keyword density and irrelevant backlinks will not work anymore. Search engines value expertise, experience, authority, trustworthiness, and naturally achieved backlinks. I believe in collaborative work and understand the role of a product-managers as far as the promotion and branding of content are concerned. You can review my work through the link that you find here.?
A Action
领英推荐
The section of your copy that lead the prospects to take action.
Action is either conversion itself or convincing the prospective user to try the service on a trial basis for a specific period.?
[Call-to-action, the call-to-action should stand-up]
Example:?
I am open to work, and looking forward to discussing with you the requirements and the values I can transfer through my work.
?
2. Problem - Agitate - Solution (PAS)
A tweet which is written as PAS framework
Problem
Petrol prices spiked to Rs. 283. It was on Rs.150 ten months ago during the last government.?
Agitate
Since the government lacks finances, petrol prices will rise, and the currency devalue.
Solution
Resignation and early general election is the only option.
The tweet follows the PAS framework. The first sentence introduces the problem, the second agitates it, and the third presents the solution.??
3. 4Ps -- Promise, Picture, Prove, Push
It is another very useful copy writing framework. Let’s understand it with an example. Charity organisations use it in donation posts. ?I re-write a post of a charity organization in the following way using 4Ps framework.
Promise
Pakistan Children Heart Foundation (PCHF) aims to provide either treatment or financial support to every deserving baby born with Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) in Pakistan.?
Picture
Sixty thousand children are born with CHD every year in Pakistan.
Awareness, lack of resources, availability of funds, and scarcity of choices in the power echelons are some challenges that deprive children of timely treatment.?
Only a few hospitals provide treatment services to children suffering from this condition.?
Prove
PCHS has supported 3482 life-saving heart surgeries of patients with Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) since its inception in 2012.?
The PCHS is building a large hospital and Research Institute in Lahore, Pakistan.
It will be a specialized hospital and research facility for CHD patients in Pakistan.?
So far, the PCHS has been providing financial support to deserving parents of children suffering from CHD.?
Push
CHD (hole in the heart disease) is treatable if diagnosed and intervened timely.?
Societies thrive when its member has a stronger sense of community. We already have a large base of donors and volunteers, but the task and ask is big. Deserving families need every Pakistani to play their role. It is one of our moral responsibilities to support deserving patients.
Note: I am a volunteer for this cause because my nephew died of CHD. I know the pain. He was a handsome young man of 21. His parent did not treat him early because of a lack of awareness, shortage of resources, and availability of medical infrastructure. Don't only take it as an example, but it is a real cause helping thousands of needy children. Do donate?here.?
4. FAB formula, which stands for Feature-Advantages-Benefits
Features
This section of the framework describes the features of the entity.
Advantages
The key selling points that represent the brand equity and competition edge –? differentiate the entity from others.
Benefits
They are self-explanatory, the usefulness of the product or service.?
Example
Let me create a post that describes a Laundry ERP.
Features
The ERP gives the laundry control over the front-end (interface) and back-end (data and admin). We designed it in AppSheet, which collects data in easily manageable spreadsheets.?
It is multidimensional – can be run on mobile phones, tabs, laptops, and PC.
Intuitive – Easy to use.?
With optical character recognition capability, that makes data entry easy.??
Cost-effective – It will only cost $10 per user and can be run on five devices per user.
It is online – which means it can be operated or reviewed on the go.?
Advantages
It connects laundry to users by email, WhatsApp, and SMS. Which means it takes care of the contact centre of a laundry. This feature increases the value and rapport of the laundry. It generates real-time dashboards and reports, which make data analysis easy, and the owner will make informed decisions for development.?
Benefits
It makes the delegation of decision making easy. Which means greater control, and greater control means extensions of the business. It makes processes more efficient and transparent, which helps minimize costs.?