Content marketing is a vital part of any digital marketing strategy – but it often doesn’t get the attention it deserves. Brands looking to scale up their online presence rely on content to generate interest and send the right signals to ranking algorithms.
For this reason, we strongly advise developing and following a content marketing strategy that targets the right audiences, aligns with SEO best practice and most importantly, represents your brand accurately and consistently. After all, if you fail to plan, you’re planning to fail.
Content marketing – why bother?
All successful brands utilise effective content to capture the imagination of their audiences and move them along the conversion funnel towards purchase. Content marketing is much more than just beautiful images, interesting videos and well-written blogs; it’s about telling your brand story, speaking with your audience and generating interest in your product or service.
As with all forms of marketing, the goal of good content is to help increase sales and generate consumer loyalty – so a data-driven and well-researched approach is key. In the modern era, content can be a viable profit centre in itself. Content should be approached as a core pillar of your digital marketing strategy, influencing the tactics used across all your channels.
Channels to consider
Social Media
Social media posts are nothing without captivating, relevant content. And social media is the best place to experiment. Always start by creating content specifically for your audience, ensuring that what you’re publishing will resonate with them and persuade them to engage.
Read more: Why your business should invest in social media
SEO
Beyond offering content to your online audience that aligns with their interests, content optimised for search engines will improve your rankings and, as a result, the visibility of your website.
Paid advertising
PPC ads can be very effective as creative campaigns that appeal to your target audience. Stellar content can be the difference between a user clicking through to your site or ignoring your ad altogether.
PR
PR content is all about marrying your brand content and purpose, with the context of the moment to persuade users to care. When communicated in an attention-grabbing way, PR content, whether through traditional press office communications or influencer activity, can be a powerful driving force behind reaching new audiences and driving interest in your brand.
The relationship between PR & content marketing
PR campaigns lean on content at every step. From creating newsworthy assets to pitching to the media, content is ingrained in the PR approach.
PR assets must be engaging to firstly grab the attention of the publications you’re outreaching to, and secondly to sustain the reader’s attention when the piece is published. Keep this in mind when producing your content strategy, as you’ll want to assign a fair portion of time to come up with ideas for your campaign.
Final Thoughts
Content marketing strategies must be robust and detailed, placing audience awareness and engagement front and centre. It’s vital to remember you’re not just writing for your audience, though; you must also appeal to search algorithms and news outlets in the case of PR to ensure the best coverage.
The content marketing landscape is constantly evolving, often rewarding experimentation and a singular approach – so don’t be afraid to push the boat out and make some waves in your industry.
Enlist the experts to formulate your winning digital strategy
At Wild Card, our experts are well-versed in a range of digital disciplines. If you’re looking to enhance your brand’s content output, please get in touch with us – we’d be happy to hear from you.
You can also learn more about what we do on our website.