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AI in Content Marketing: How Will it Impact Content in 2023?

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When you hear the phrase “artificial intelligence” (AI), you might imagine sentient machines determined to take over the world. In reality, AI has become a useful tool many of us use every day – think Siri or Alexa. AI in content marketing has also become widespread. This technology has benefits and drawbacks, both of which can be significant. A late 2020 survey from Gartner shows that 41% of respondents reported increased revenue after incorporating AI tools into their marketing campaigns. Another 38% added more personalization to their content with AI, which led to better customer satisfaction. While AI can produce some impressive content, if used too extensively, the lack of humanity in the pieces you write is likely to be extremely noticeable. If you’ve been thinking about using AI in your content, this is the article for you. We will explore the history of AI in content marketing, how content writers can use it today, and why humans will never be replaced by AI. A Quick History of AI Artificial intelligence used to be something relegated to science fiction. Fans of the genre could watch a human-like robot explore the final frontier in Star Trek (Data) or kill off its human overlords in 2001: A Space Odyssey (Hal). But, in the real world, AI is used as a versatile tool across many industries. Over the last century, the theories around AI, or artificial intelligence, have evolved wildly. In fact, the term “artificial intelligence” was first coined by John McCarthy in 1956. Additionally, scientist and mathematician, Alan Turing, created what we know today as the Turing Test in the 1950s. This series of questions is used to determine if a computer is capable of human-like thinking. These days, many researchers disregard the Turing Test today because it is too simple and has too many limitations. Then, in the 1960s, the United States Department of Defense started investing in artificial intelligence research. Since then, AI has expanded to nearly every industry around the world and continues to evolve rapidly. When used correctly, artificial intelligence is an impressive and versatile tool. It is capable of making our lives easier, regardless of how it gets shown off in movies or television. Source: https://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2017/history-artificial-intelligence/ In recent years, we have seen incredible feats of AI from IBM’s Watson besting Jeopardy champions to Google’s AI reading lips better than professionals. AI has also become adept at predicting the future with MIT’s AI predicating actions two seconds before they happen. With innovations like these, finding ways to use this advanced technology in content marketing is a no-brainer. There’s even been a big breakthrough in the use of AI in marketing with the evolution of “big data.” Now that computers can store massive amounts of information, machine learning and AI capabilities have skyrocketed. These advancements are great for AI in content marketing because they can allow for more in-depth research and assistance while creating content. Types of Artificial Intelligence Artificial intelligence is used in much of the technology we interact with every day. AI is generally split into three categories based on capabilities: Narrow AI: Also known as Weak AI, Narrow AI is typically limited to one task with predefined functions, for example, Alexa, Siri, or Google Translate. General AI: Also known as Strong AI, General AI can learn and perform many tasks that humans are capable of, such as driving a car, creating a digital painting, or writing a novel. Super AI: Super AI has surpassed human capabilities and can make rational decisions. Human beings have yet to create super AI. How AI is Used in Content Marketing When used well, AI can be a powerful tool for content marketing and even offer a competitive advantage. As the amount of data we produce continues to grow, AI is a necessary tool to stay on top of informational changes. Moreover, AI has the potential to revolutionize content writing, providing automated assistance and enhancing productivity in creating compelling and engaging content. Here are some of the most useful ways to use AI in content marketing. Personalized Content Reading content that feels like it was created for you can make anyone feel special. In fact, one study by McKinsey shows that 71% of consumers expect personalization in their interactions with businesses, and 66% of them feel frustrated when they don’t get it. Using AI when you automate some forms of content can help you keep things personalized at a larger scale. Doing this ensures that you avoid being overwhelmed with frustrated customers that leave you for a business with more of a personalized touch. Personalized content is most evident in email marketing. Click through a small handful of promotional emails in your inbox. How many of them include your name in the header? Or reference an item you looked at on a company’s website but did not buy? Source: Email from BuzzSumo Streaming services like Netflix use AI to personalize your home page with recommended content based on what you have previously watched and liked. Personalized content can help increase customer engagement and revenue with minimal human interaction needed. Automated Content Some large-scale news agencies like Washington Post, Fox, and Yahoo have started using AI to generate articles for the latest news updates. AI can instantly learn the information it needs and produce an article covering the topic.  This software won’t necessarily replace journalists or writers, but companies use the tools to share stories more quickly as they happen. They are then able to free up employees for other tasks and avoid the loss of hours and the expense needed to have a human write the content with a very short turnaround time. Data-Driven Insights Computers can take in and understand vast quantities of information in small fragments of time. This data -devouring behavior is helpful in learning new insights about your customers. What might take your marketing team weeks of analyzing, an AI-powered system can get through in minutes. With these powerful insights, you can create more useful and … Read more

How to Use Google Trends for Content Marketing & SEO

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Content marketing is recognized as one of the most effective ways to grow a business and attract new customers. To be successful with content marketing, you need to share high-quality content regularly. But it can feel difficult to constantly think of useful and insightful topics that attract the right audience. This is where online tools like Google Trends come in handy. Learning how to use Google Trends for your content marketing gives you a valuable resource for relevant, trending topics that people want to engage with. As you read on, we’ll explore how to use Google Trends for SEO and improve your content marketing strategy. What Is Google Trends? Google Trends is a search feature offered by Google that shows you the most popular search terms for a specific period. Current trends are from the past 7 days, while past trends date back to 2004. The Google Trends site also allows you to check the frequency of specific search terms. On the results page, you can see the interest over time, interest by subregion, and related topics. You can also adjust your search based on the industry, category, time frame, location, and type of search (image, shopping, news, web, or YouTube). Google Trends can be a valuable tool for conducting market research. It gives you insights into the seasonality of search terms or even helps you gauge how much interest your products have in a certain geographic region. Query vs. Topic in Google Trends Google Trends gives you information on both search terms and topics. A search term is a specific word or phrase, while a topic is a group of search terms that fit into the same general concept. Google Trends measures and ranks these categories differently, so accurately comparing search terms and topics is difficult. Instead, you should compare search terms to search terms and topics to topics. How to Use Google Trends: 11 Innovative Ways With the help of Google Trends, you can create better, more relevant content that your audience will want to read. Try these 11 ways to use Google Trends for content marketing. 1. Conduct Market Research Google Trends is a valuable tool for conducting market research. It can give you insights into the seasonality of certain search terms or even help you gauge how much interest there is for your products in a geographic region. For example, let’s say you are a brick-and-mortar business based in Columbus, Ohio. You are considering building a second location in Indianapolis, Indiana. By checking Google Trends, you can find the popularity of terms relevant to your business in specific locations. If the search volume is low, you might need to reconsider your plans. 2. Discover Relevant Trending Topics If your team struggles to find fresh topics for content each month, Google Trends is a great resource. You can explore the most popular searches nationwide or narrow it down to a specific location or timeframe. Use the charts to help visualize and compare terms. When choosing your Google Trends topics, make sure the topic: Is something you can write about with authority. Is relevant to your business. Is something that would interest your target audience. 3. Improve Your Keyword Research While creating high-quality, relevant content is the most important part of content marketing, you should also consider your search engine optimization (SEO). SEO strategies help improve your search rankings for specific keywords. And Google Trends can help you do better keyword research. Use the Explore feature and enter a keyword or phrase you are considering. You will see a breakdown of interest over time, along with the interest by subregion. Then you can try various search terms to see which are the most popular. More popular search terms will give you better results. This is because more common keywords increase the chances of someone discovering your content and are more likely to be used in regular conversation. When creating content, you’ll want to use these keywords naturally. Keep in mind that other businesses are likely to use similar keywords, so you should narrow down some long-tail or focus keywords that are more specific to your business and content. The “Related Topics” section on the Explore page is a good place to brainstorm similar topics and keywords. It can even help you discover a topic or angle you hadn’t thought of before. 4. Create Your Content Calendar A content calendar helps you organize your content strategy around the types of content you create and when you post. Engagement is a huge metric to consider as you plan the release of your content. Knowing how to time your content to trends and what people search for is a great skill to cultivate, and Google Trends can help you plan and schedule your content calendar accordingly. For example, if you want to write content about cooking, the Google Trends results show significant search peaks in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving and Christmas. The weeks before these holidays would be the ideal time to share your relevant cooking content so it’s easy to find when someone searches for it. Another example is the term “wedding invitations.” This term shows a surge between early January and the end of February. That’s because there are likely a lot of couples who get engaged between Christmas and Valentine’s Day. While some keywords get used more often at certain times, other keywords will show you when to avoid talking about certain topics. This could be because of a lull during one season, like the summer, for certain keywords that are relatively popular the rest of the year. Utilizing Google Trends data for each topic on your content calendar will help you plan the best times to post your content. 5. Enhance Your Branding You can also use Google Trends to check the popularity of your brand. While this feature might be more effective for larger brands, even small businesses can use this feature by limiting the search to your local area. When you use … Read more

Content Marketing Budgets: Avoid Cutting Quality While Keeping Costs Down During Economic Downturns

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Studies show content marketing generates three times as many leads as traditional marketing methods and costs 62% less. That means content marketing is consistently one of the most reliable marketing tactics. So, if you’re considering cutting your content marketing budget, you might want to pause first. Making that decision can feel heavy during economic uncertainty. However, Harvard Business Review notes that companies that continued to prioritize marketing bounced back strongest after an economic downturn. These brands take up more space in a less saturated market because their competitors take a break from marketing. That means when you avoid cutting your content marketing budget, you’re able to maintain visibility that others don’t. You probably know that long-term content marketing success comes from continued and sustained effort ­– not in fits and spurts. It’s not a get-rich-quick gimmick but a powerful tool that improves over time. Still on the fence about your content marketing budget? Read on to learn more about: How content marketing can increase profits. The versatility of content marketing. Ideas for implementing content marketing successfully. We’ll show you how you can maximize ROI, so your content marketing pays for itself while you build customer loyalty and attract new audience members. A Consistent Content Marketing Strategy Means Better Budget Use Under economic pressure, leaders prioritize short-term solutions. But standing your ground by advocating for your department and its budget is essential. When you establish goals for your content from the start, you can justify the paths you take to bring visitors to your site. With over 50% of trackable website traffic coming from organic search, you can’t discount the importance of optimizing content that encourages folks to stay on your site. That means understanding Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is essential so your site has a better chance of bringing in visitors. The more content you have on your website, the more opportunities there are for keyword placement, links, and people-first content through SEO. Though Google continually modifies its ranking factors, we know one of the chief characteristics of high-ranking pages is high-quality content. Google will see right through web pages that lack substance. By having high-quality pages, users spend an increased amount of time on the page, the page has a lower bounce rate, and the content offers the reader solutions to a problem they have. So, if your competitors decide to reduce the intensity of their content marketing budgets, then competition for Search Engine Results Placement (SERP) will diminish. Fewer competing search results make it more likely that your content gets on the top pages in search engines. In order to take advantage of this decrease in competition, you need to have a content marketing strategy. Instead of posting content whenever something strikes your fancy, create a content marketing calendar to establish the topics that you’ll write about and a consistent schedule. This schedule provides structure and stability, whether you’re pushing out content once a week or once a month– it also gives your audiences something they know they can look forward to. Focus on the content marketing methods your brand finds success with. It’s not necessarily the time to go out on a limb with the newest experimental social media platform, but you could find that taking a risk pays off in the long run. By focusing the bulk of your content on the things your business does well, you have that space to try a few new things, which helps you expand your strategy without losing steam. Should Your Content Marketing Strategy Include Paid Search? Overall, content marketing executed correctly results in higher ROI than paid search advertising. But it can be important to know the difference, especially during a recession or down economic year. Advertisers only pay for these ads when they get clicked, so paid search essentially comes with a built-in ROI tracker, while content marketing proves notoriously tricky to attach directly to revenue. However, Kraft did show that its content marketing had 4x better ROI than traditional advertising. The most significant financial advantage of relying on organic search results is that they cost nothing. Once you’ve paid for the content, it exists on the internet and anyone who uses the right search term can access it. As long as the keyword is relevant, you can pull your target audience directly to your site. In contrast, paid ads only show up if you’re willing to pay for them. For example, Google ads uses a bidding system that prioritizes larger ad spend when targeting a keyword. When you’re thinking about this from a budgetary perspective, it might not be the most helpful way to keep costs low. Organic content is also seen as more trustworthy since trust in advertising continues to decline. Content marketing often reaches audiences in the awareness phase of customer lifecycle marketing and builds rapport with audiences. Even if they aren’t ready to purchase, your brand will be top-of-mind when the time comes. Try not to get caught up in reaching whatever metric or measurement you think will impress at next week’s budget meeting. Instead, stick to long-term solutions to bring in continual dividends. This gives you the chance to cultivate better relationships with your target audience since you’re taking the time to develop content that actually helps them. Work Smarter, Not Harder with Your Content Marketing Budget During economic lows, people are more likely to change their spending habits to save money. Some even limit spending to only essential items. One strategy that has worked for years with consumers is to offer them something for free. You can capitalize on this when consumers aren’t spending as much money. The goal of this tactic is to get their attention. Offering up information your clients need as a free downloadable gets attention on your brand and builds trust with your readership. They don’t feel that you’re only trying to sell them something. The attention theory holds true regardless of the world’s financial state, but during less prosperous times, it can be even more beneficial. … Read more

Why Use Content Marketing to Build Brand Loyalty

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Many businesses are so focused on gaining new customers, that they sometimes forget about the ones they already have. Your loyal customer base is one of the most valuable resources you have. Show your customers you still appreciate them with valuable content. Content marketing for brand loyalty is a great way to invest in your customers. Research from the Harvard Business Review shows that a 5% increase in customer retention leads to a 25% to 95% increase in profits. With statistics like this, it just makes sense to use content marketing to build your brand loyalty. If you’re wondering how to use content to connect with your customers, we will show you how. In this guide, we will explore why content marketing is so important and offer 10 tips you can use to improve your content marketing strategy. What Is Content Marketing? Content marketing is marketing focused on creating and publishing valuable content (blogs, videos, social media posts, infographics, etc.) relevant to your brand and your customers’ experiences. This content is created for and targeted toward a specific audience with the goal of attracting new customers, retaining existing ones, and building brand recognition. One of the most important keys to a successful content marketing strategy is creating content that your target audience wants to read, watch, and share. Ideally, your content should add value to your products, entertain your audience, and keep your customers engaged with your brand. How Content Marketing Builds Brand Loyalty Your existing customers likely already enjoy using your products and services. Marketing statistics show that current customers are 50% more likely to try new products than new customers. With content marketing aimed at your current customers, you can introduce them to new products while getting a better return on your investment. Loyal customers want to read and watch the content you produce. These interactions create a strong bond between your business and your customer base. This, in turn, leads to a better bottom line. 10 Tips to Use Content Marketing for Brand Loyalty There are numerous ways you can communicate with your customers through content. These are 10 of our favorite tips to build brand loyalty. 1. Connect with Your Customers on Social Media According to the Pew Research Center, 72% of Americans use one or more social media platforms to connect with the people and things they love, including businesses. Focus on a couple of the most popular social media platforms based on your customer demographics. For example, if most of your customers are young Millennials or Gen-Zers, you should probably open a Tik Tok account. Or, if your audience tends to be a bit older, you will likely find them on Facebook. Social media content should be eye-catching and engaging. Check out the latest trends to see if they will work for your brand image. Social media is also an excellent place to share your latest content from other platforms, like your blog or YouTube. You can break down long-form content into shorter, more digestible segments better suited for social media. 2. Create an Automated Customer Communication System Whether your customers are contacting you or you are reaching out to them, you should have regular communication. Use a customer management system (CMS) to keep track of your interactions. If too much time has passed after the last communication, program your system to automatically reach out to your customers with a pre-written email (this counts as content). It could say something like, “We miss you! Come check out our latest products with 10% off your purchase.” A message like this shows your customers you still care about them, and a discount may entice them to make a new purchase. 3. Produce Regular, High-Quality Content Producing as much content as possible is not the key to success. You need to focus on high-quality content, especially content that appears on your website and blog. Search engines like Google, along with your customers, can tell the difference between high-quality content and something that adds little to no value to your website. The more value you offer your customers, the more likely they are to come back for more. In addition, create content in a variety of formats: Blogs Product demos Videos Podcasts FAQs How-to guides Onboarding materials Infographics If this many formats feel overwhelming, keep in mind that you should repurpose your content. For example, if a blog includes numerous tips and statistics, this could be reworked as an infographic. Or, you can create a YouTube series where one of your product experts works through your FAQs in a visual format. Some customers will prefer learning through video instead of text. High-quality content also works best when you have a plan. Have regular brainstorming sessions with your marketing team to create a list of upcoming content ideas along with a content schedule. If your business struggles with creating the caliber of content you need, outsourcing your content is always a respectable choice. This gives you access to experienced, professional writers who understand SEO and other content marketing principles. 4. Look at the Customer Journey Ideally, you should have content that addresses every stage of the customer journey. The typical stages of the customer journey include: Awareness Consideration Purchase Service Loyalty Offering valuable content at each step reduces the effort your customers must put in to interact with you. When customers find it easy to do business with you, they are more likely to come back and spend more. 5. Show Customer Appreciation from the Beginning Earning a new customer is a critical stage in the buyer’s journey. Show your excitement and appreciation for them from the start with engaging onboarding materials. This should include a welcome email and some basic instructions on how to use the new products or services they just bought. You can also include links to how-to videos or introduction blogs. Keep these customers engaged with regular communication that gradually introduces them to new features and products. The onboarding process lays the foundation for … Read more

Do Online Content Marketplaces Really Work?

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A crucial part of modern digital marketing is content marketing. To use content marketing effectively, you should regularly add content, like blogs and videos, to your website and other channels. While some businesses can manage their content marketing on their own, others prefer to outsource this writing. One choice for outsourced content marketing is online content marketplaces. Using a content marketplace gives businesses access to freelance writers and other content producers. It can be a valuable resource if you get the right person. However, content marketplaces do have some drawbacks that might make them a poor choice for some businesses. Today, we’re exploring the benefits and drawbacks of content marketplaces and comparing those to a professional writing agency. Read on if you’ve ever wondered how online content marketplaces work. What Is a Content Marketplace? A content marketplace is an online platform where freelance writers and other creators can offer their services to anyone who needs them. Two popular online marketplaces are Fiverr and Upwork. Marketplaces like these give content creators a safe place to make business transactions while paying a small fee to use the platform. Most marketplaces are open to everyone and there is no quality guarantee. Depending on the platform, you can either browse through writer profiles to find one that matches your needs or post a one-time job offer and sort through interested writers to see who qualifies for the role. Advantages and Disadvantages of Online Content Marketplaces Using a marketplace for content can come with several pros and cons.  For example, if you run a small or medium business, you might find that they’re a good fit because of the access you get to writers. But you might want to weigh more advantages and disadvantages, so let’s explore what those look like. 1. Costs for Content Marketplaces Advantages: In general, the writers and creators you can hire through a content marketplace offer reasonable prices for their services. Content marketplaces tend to be more affordable than professional content services or writing agencies because you cut out the middleman. It should be noted that lower prices do not necessarily mean low-quality work. Usually, it’s a side effect of the high competition in the marketplace encouraging writers to work for lower rates. You’ll still find that the highest-rated writers usually have higher rates. In some online marketplaces, the writer sets the fee for the content they provide, which can help you establish budget expectations if you don’t have any. Other marketplaces have a model that lets you set your prices while freelancers pitch their ideas to you. If you have a strict budget, this might be useful. Overall, content marketplaces can give you more freedom to shop for writer fees that match your budget without being locked into anything. Disadvantages: In a content marketplace, you may not have the option of a regular payment schedule, which can make budgeting for your content marketing more difficult. Additionally, there is an added time commitment that goes into hiring the best freelance writers. It may end up being more expensive than working with a professional agency, so you should consider the manpower costs that go into navigating an open marketplace. 2. International Writers Advantages: Here in the United States, most businesses look for native English speakers for their content. However, if you operate in other countries or serve a specific non-English-speaking population, you might need content in another language. Because content marketplaces are open to anyone, there tend to have more international writers. You can likely find a writer who is fluent in the language you need. Disadvantages: Many non-native English speakers sign up for content marketplaces to earn money. These people may be excellent writers in their native language but struggle with some of the idiosyncrasies of English, especially when writing about more complicated topics. 3. Freelancers’ Skills and Expertise Advantages: Freelance writers tend to have well-rounded knowledge and the ability to write generally on a broad range of topics. Some writers may even offer SEO and keyword research as part of their services. Disadvantages: If you need expert-level writing, you might struggle to find a freelance writer with the right expertise. This lack of industry knowledge means many businesses turn to professional agencies when they have higher-level content needs. Does your business cover multiple content topics? If so, you will likely need to work with multiple freelance writers. This can change your deadlines while waiting on content and you may end up managing multiple sets of instructions. Should you be the only person at your company managing content, you are likely to be pulled away from more important tasks that need your attention. 4. Workload Management Advantages: Freelance writers in a content marketplace have the freedom and flexibility to choose which projects they take on. Since most freelancers only take on the amount of work they can manage well, you can probably find a writer to take on an urgent project. You can also work with them closely so they’ll make it their top priority and listen to your feedback to make any necessary changes. Disadvantages: Some freelancers end up overextending themselves and take on more than they can handle. When this happens, some projects get pushed aside, they miss deadlines, and writing quality begins to suffer. These writers may also struggle with doing even simple revisions because they are overworked. 5. Schedule Flexibility Advantages: Freelance writers are usually not tied down to a typical 9-5 workday schedule. Many prefer to work odd hours. This could be advantageous to you if you have a last-minute project that you need by the next business day. Once you build a working relationship with a writer on these marketplaces, you can work with them again, meaning it’s easier to access them. Disadvantages: Because freelance writers do not work set schedules, you may have more difficult contacting them. The issue could be exacerbated further if there are significant time zone differences. Plus, freelancers might charge extra if you need work done quickly in … Read more

Optimizing Social Media Content: Which Platforms Are the Best to Optimize and How?

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There’s no denying that social media can be a powerful tool for your brand. Showing up consistently with helpful and unique content for social platforms helps you generate awareness for your brand. It also attracts leads and sales. But this can be tricky as you navigate social media algorithms to get your content noticed. That’s where optimizing social media content comes into play. By being strategic with the kind of content you’re creating, you stand a better chance of boosting visibility and engagement. If you’re concerned about catching up on social media optimization, have no fear. We’re covering all of the basics of optimizing content. You’ll learn what it means and how to optimize based on each separate platform. Let’s dive in! Optimizing Social Media Content: What Does This Mean? Since social media generates awareness for your brand through exposure to a wider audience, optimization lets you capitalize on that. You use various social platforms to spread your brand’s message and establish your online presence. You spend time analyzing and auditing your strategy, factoring in social media best practices, and what’s performing well with your audience. Meaning you develop the most effective strategy possible. But what does it mean when you’re optimizing social media content? It comes down to being strategic about the content you publish. When using social media as a brand, you don’t want to post just anything. Your content should still center the interests of your target audience. In addition to considering what your audience is into, you will also want to align your content with what performs best for each separate platform to get better results. Doing social media optimization properly can help you reap a ton of rewards. The benefits speak for themselves about the value of optimizing your content: You’ll Develop an Effective Social Media Strategy: When you know how to create strong content for each social media platform, you can effortlessly craft a strategy that will help you be more consistent with posting. You’ll always know what kind of content to share, where to share, and when. It takes all the guesswork out of managing your social media presence. Your Engagement Will Increase: When your content is optimized properly, there’s a good chance it’ll see a greater reach, therefore, increasing your visibility. This means your brand could get discovered by tons of new people. And you boost engagement (such as comments, shares, and website traffic) to attract new followers. You’ll See a Greater ROI Across Platforms: Odds are, you use social media as a tool to help you achieve some of your larger business goals. Generating sales is a common one, for instance. Another is increasing brand visibility. With successfully optimized content, you increase your chances of reaching those goals and boost your ROI. Plus, seeing those analytics is a great way to see your hard work pay off. At the end of the day, the social media accounts that end up being successful are those that understand trends, the types of people on the platform, and how to take advantage of their existing content library to optimize it across accounts. They become masters at their platforms and create content their audience can’t get enough of. As a result, they’ve built engaged, loyal followings. Which Social Media Platforms Are Best to Optimize? It’s easier than ever to find a social media platform that’s an ideal fit for your brand because there many are available. You want to ensure you invest time and energy into the platforms that showcase your strengths while putting you in front of your target audience. Otherwise, you risk your content going unnoticed or getting seen by the wrong people. Source: Gainchanger If you’re going to be creating content for several platforms, you want to make sure you enhance that content for the different goals of that platform so it stands a better chance of performing well. Once you become a master at social media best practices, this will become second nature to you. To get started, you should make sure that you have defined your business goals for social media. This means choosing strategies that align with those goals. For example, if you want to improve SEO for a B2B business, you might choose LinkedIn because over 50% of companies in the B2B arena find clients on the platform. Alternatively, if you want to increase visibility for your brand, you might go with Facebook. Their ad features make it easy to target the right segments while making sure people still see your content and posts. What are the Best Tactics for Social Media Optimization? Broadly, there are a ton of things you can do to optimize your social channels. By using some of these simple strategies, you can make a big dent in getting your business out there and noticed by the right people. But what are the best ways to optimize your social media? We’ve chosen a few general fixes and high-level improvements you can make to help your business’s pages. Never Stop Thinking About Your Audience Your audience is the most important part of your social media presence. They drive your engagement. This means their interests and pain points should always be top of mind. And the demographics for your audience could be different across your different social channels. That’s why you should regularly take the time to check out the types of followers you have in your analytics. Write Snappy Bios Your bio is one of the earliest things someone will see when they check out your profile. It sets the tone and establishes who you are. So, make sure your bio covers what you do, your industry, and nails your brand tone quickly. Having a great bio can encourage a potential client to reach out to you, so you want to ensure you make a good impression while being aware of their attention span. Consider the Time You Post Tons of hours have gone into studying the best times to post on social media … Read more

What Are the Differences Between Customer Lifecycle Marketing and Traditional Sales Funnels?

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If you haven’t already, it’s time to drop that traditional sales funnel. The association many folks have with the sales funnel is antiquated and leaves out some critical parts of the customer journey. It can also feel cold and sales-y to customers, pushing people away as opposed to drawing them in. So, there’s no time like the present to implement customer lifecycle marketing into your strategy. If you’re unfamiliar, this process is all about serving your audience with valuable content, nurturing relationships, and then encouraging past customers to become loyal brand advocates. Meaning this is a powerful way to build long-term success for your company. Unsure about what a traditional sales funnel looks like? Need some tips to get you started with lifecycle marketing? We’ve put together everything you need to start connecting with your audience and generating more leads. What is the Traditional Sales Funnel? Simply put, a traditional sales funnel maps out the journey an individual takes as they move towards purchasing. By visualizing and outlining this journey, a company can anticipate what will move someone from one stage to the next, increasing the odds they’ll go from being a lead to a paying customer. Although different versions of the sales funnel have been developed over the years, the most common one is associated with the AIDA model created by E. St. Elmo Lewis. In this model, a customer goes through four stages on their way to making a purchase. Those stages include Awareness, Interest, Desire, and Action. William W. Townsend first proposed the connection between the funnel and AIDA models in Bond Salesmanship, his 1924 book. The Awareness stage is when an individual initially discovers a company, typically by finding some sort of content they’ve published online. From there, this person develops an interest in what the company has to offer, expresses a desire to buy its product or service, and ultimately takes action by purchasing. What Are Some Examples of a Traditional Sales Funnel? Now that you understand the ins and outs of a traditional sales funnel, you might wonder what it can look like when a company uses a sales funnel as part of its business model. Creating a successful funnel that converts someone from being a lead into a paying customer can show up in several ways. How a company builds its sales funnel depends on what resonates most with its target audience. Which typically takes some trial and error to get it right. However, it all begins with discovering the brand in question. This most often happens after discovering their content (blog post, social media post, etc.). Then there is some sort of offer to move you along the funnel. Here are some examples of elements that can make up a sales funnel: Exclusive Content: Often, brands offer exclusive content that can be accessed in exchange for sharing your name and email address. This is a great way to provide valuable content and establish yourself as an authority and reliable source of information. You collect data on what people are interested in learning about while gaining an audience for other marketing materials. Free Trial: Offering a free trial is the perfect way to give leads a taste of your offer. This way, they’re able to try out the product or service before committing to an expensive purchase or a long-term subscription. And you eliminate obstacles preventing them from investing in your brand and boost confidence in what you do. Schedule a Demo: Allowing leads to schedule a demo of your product works in the same way as offering a free trial. The only difference is that a demo allows for a one-on-one, personalized interaction. That can go a long way in convincing someone to purchase because humans are more likely to trust your company when they meet a fellow person who works there. Nurture Sequences: Email marketing is a powerful strategy that will help you engage with folks who’ve already expressed interest in your products. Once someone joins your email list, you can trigger a nurturing sequence of emails. These emails will help establish a relationship and build trust with leads. What is Customer Lifecycle Marketing? Before diving in, it’s important to stress we didn’t coin the term “marketing lifecycle.” Ardath Albee, an industry leader in content marketing, talked about a lifecycle on the Marketo blog in 2018. In the post titled “B2B Tech Marketers Make the Shift from Funnels to Lifecycles,” she says: “… Marketers [must] shift their focus from buying journey funnels to full-on customer lifecycle management.” What we have done, however, is create an original concept revealing four key stages to crafting an authentic customer lifecycle marketing journey. This strategy keeps you focused on your human buyer while building a connection and an ongoing relationship with them. Lifecycle marketing walks you through the process of building awareness at the beginning of the relationship to nurturing those connections so you can create long-lasting success. It encompasses the variety of strategies your company will implement to influence customer behavior as they move through each stage of their journey. The Four Stages of Customer Lifecycle Marketing Awareness, Interest & Intent, Decision, and Loyalty are the four stages we believe are essential for implementing customer lifecycle marketing. So you understand this process better, the next section outlines every stage and gives examples of what kind of content to create at each stage. It takes the guesswork out of developing an effective customer journey. Let’s dive in! Stage One: Awareness Much like the traditional sales funnel, the first stage of customer lifecycle marketing generates awareness. After all, it would be impossible for someone to purchase your offering if they have no idea who you are. That’s why you need to prioritize putting your brand out there to gain exposure. During this stage, make it your mission to consistently publish high-quality, valuable content that will appeal to your target audience. Use this as an opportunity to establish your brand as an authority within your niche. … Read more

Understanding People-First Content: What It Is and How to Write It

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It’s always been important that you develop content your audience finds useful, but for years, content that focuses on ranking because of SEO has saturated the pages of search engines. Now, the Google Helpful Content Update has finished rolling out, and the phrase people-first content is everywhere. You might have heard of this phrase before, but if you haven’t, you’re likely wondering why it is so important and how it will impact your marketing. Understanding human-first content is essential for utilizing the Helpful Content Update. But you shouldn’t only be concerned about what this means for the algorithms of search engines. Take this as a sign to step up your content strategy through content that prioritizes originality and helpfulness for your readers. By focusing on content this way, you can bring in an audience that organically resonates with your topics and find better-qualified leads. Still worried you don’t understand people-first content? We’re going to help you understand what it is and why it helps you build authority. Then we’ll cover how to create it to put humans first and the best ways to optimize for search engines. What is Human-First Content? Put simply, Google’s mission with the Helpful Content Update is to reward creators who provide high-quality, people-first content to their readers. Content that dives deeply into a topic and shows a mastery of knowledge is more likely to perform well in the SERPs, while low-value content will rank lower. When combined with Google’s other ranking signals, the algorithm can better detect content that is low-quality content or doesn’t answer the questions searchers have. This content will then be de-prioritized. Content aimed at humans will deliver a satisfying experience to those who visit your site. The focus then becomes providing value and keeping people returning to your site because your content answers all their questions. They don’t need to search anywhere else. Take a look at the content on your site. Do you provide solutions to problems that your niche addresses? Do you have pages that people find regularly and link back to as the perfect source for facts? If the answer remains unclear, your content strategy probably needs an upgrade. There’s no need to worry because Google has provided key questions to ask yourself about the focus of your content. Once you’ve clarified where you need improvement, crafting the perfect content to build an enthralled readership is key. Why Human-First Content is Important for Building Authority Establishing yourself and your brand as an authority in your field is no easy feat. However, if you want to bring people to your site and ultimately turn them into customers, it is essential. We know it can be hard to know what authority looks like for your niche. That’s why you’ll want to research your competition, commit to keyword research, and find the topics your target audience is interested in as you get started. From there, you’ll have a clear picture of what you have on your site already and what you need to add to become a trusted voice in your industry. Setting up your content strategy this way centers your readership from the start. You already know what real people are searching for and where the gaps are. Then you commit to consistently creating quality content and steadily bringing in the right audience. They’ll see your thoughtful, in-depth posts to show them you care about what you’ve put on your site, not just SEO or rankings. Understanding why authority is essential to content can be elusive. Here are a few things to keep in mind: It’ll Showcase Your Expertise on a Topic: Odds are, you know a lot about the topics your brand covers, so share that knowledge. You can do this by creating well-thought-out, detailed, and in-depth guides on topics that interest your target audience. Proving that you know what you’re talking about is a great way to easily build trust with your audience. Readers Will See You as a Dependable Resource: When your readers can count on you for high-quality, factual, and valuable content, they keep returning for more. Not only is that great for boosting website traffic, but those people become loyal readers. From there, they share your content with their audience and friends, helping you build a circle of people who are a great fit for your customer base. Because you nurtured them through your content – whether blogs, email, or social media – they know they can count on you. It’ll Differentiate You from Competitors: You can find a high saturation of businesses online. The best thing you can do for yourself is research the gaps that you fill in your industry. You show your audience that you’re different than your competition by creating human-first content that addresses their needs and provides assistance your competitors can’t or don’t. Keeping these factors in mind while you put together your content strategy will make you a stronger player in your industry. Your readers will take note, and searchers will find you faster on Google, so it’s best to go all in for content you’re passionate about that truly helps your audience. How to Write Human-First Content While your content should always focus on humans first, the Google Helpful Content Update adds some urgency to understanding how to write like this. We’ve put together some tips to help you make sure your content is helpful and valuable for your audience so creating people-first content won’t feel so overwhelming. 1. Ensure Your Content Sticks to Your Niche It might seem like covering a wide array of topics will bring more traffic to your site. But Google doesn’t consider that a way to create helpful content. Your readers are less likely to experience confusion when they visit your site because all your content follows a similar direction. Because searchers often have multiple connected questions when they seek out information online, having your content back catalog connected can keep folks on your site longer and provide evidence that you can … Read more

What Does the Google Helpful Content Update Mean for Content Marketing?

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As an online content creator, it’s essential to pay close attention when Google makes algorithm updates. These changes can directly impact how your content ranks on the search engine results pages (SERPs). This means being prepared to adapt your strategy to the algorithm to secure a spot on the coveted first page of Google. You might think this task is challenging, but it’s all about staying up to date with Google’s best practices. The most recent update, announced in August 2022, is the Google Helpful Content Update. The update seeks to better identify low-value content, meaning high-quality, people-first content will generate more organic traffic and rank higher. And since it finished rolling out on September 9th, we wanted to explore everything you need to know about the Helpful Content Update and dive into what it means for you and your content marketing efforts. What is the Google Helpful Content Update? To better connect people with information that brings them value, Google says that they prioritize ranking “original, helpful content written by people, for people, in search results.” Combined with the rest of Google’s ranking signals, this update will settle into an algorithm that detects low-quality content lacking meaningful engagement. It is a site-wide signal that homes in on sites with a large quantity of unhelpful content before penalizing them by decreasing site traffic. Frustrated users express on social media or blogs that they land on pages that provide no solutions to their search questions but rank on top pages in search engines. So, Google has taken these conversations to heart and wants to use the algorithm to reward creators who provide human-first content to their readers. The Helpful Content Update is just one part of a large effort to make it easier to find helpful content when searching. While this update might not feel widespread yet, it has caused some shakeup in search results as the algorithm works to recategorize sites. What Does the Google Helpful Content Update Mean for Content Marketing? Since websites that engage with their audience to provide helpful content will climb higher in the SERPs and generate more organic traffic, it’s important to know what will affect you as a content marketer. After all, when Google makes changes, you’ll also need to make changes to your content strategy. Here’s what you should know: Focus on People-First Content The term “people-first content” comes directly from Google. But what exactly does this mean? First and foremost, it’s about providing great content and a positive experience for your website readers. If you post content to your site, it’s your job to think about the target audience of your content and write with them in mind. Does this mean you should abandon the SEO best practices you’ve been implementing all this time? Absolutely not. It just means you should focus on creating high-quality content first and then incorporate search engine ranking factors to provide additional value to searchers. To ensure your website and its content have a people-first approach, Google encourages you to ask yourself the following questions. If you can answer yes to them, you’re likely on the right track. Does your intended or existing audience find the content useful because it came directly from your business site? Does your content establish first-hand expertise and in-depth knowledge? Is the purpose or focus of your site clear? When someone reads your content, will they leave feeling they’ve gotten enough knowledge to achieve their goal without needing to search elsewhere? Will reading your content leave someone feeling like their experience was satisfying? Is guidance for core updates and for product reviews kept in mind? Don’t Make Search Engines Your Primary Focus We get it. You want your content to rank, so you implement all the SEO best practices the experts recommend. While there’s nothing wrong with that, it does become an issue when that’s all you’re focused on. If you aren’t prioritizing your human reader, your content (and rankings) will suffer. To determine if you’ve previously been taking a search engine-first approach with your content, Google has shared the following questions to ask yourself. If you answer yes to the majority of these questions, consider reevaluating the content on your site to focus on people first. Does content draw people from search engines over prioritizing content made for humans? Do you produce large quantities of content on different topics in hopes that some could perform well in search results? Do you use automation extensively to create content on many topics? Do you end up summarizing other existing content without adding new insight? Is your content focused on what’s trending instead of topics you’d write about for your existing audience? Do readers finish your content and feel like they need to do another search for better information? Is all of your content a particular word count because you’ve heard or read that Google has a preferred word count? (They don’t.) Are you exploring a niche topic area but lacking real expertise because you thought you’d get search traffic? Does your content promise answers to questions that have no answer, like mentioning a release date for a product, movie, or TV show that hasn’t been confirmed? How to Abide by the Google Helpful Content Update There are a few things you can do to transform your content strategy moving forward. Following these tips will ensure you focus on your readers and keep Google happy by extension. 1. Stick to Your Niche Once you’ve narrowed down your niche, Google’s advice is to stick with it. After all, it would be a little confusing if we started publishing recipes on The Write Blog, wouldn’t it? We know our niche and understand that our audience comes to us to learn everything possible about creating high-quality online content. If you’ve been publishing content outside of your niche, it’s time to make a change. You don’t want Google to think you’re more focused on search engines and rankings than your human reader. From here on out, focus … Read more

12 Copywriting Hacks to Skyrocket Your Conversions

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One of the most important tasks you undertake as a business owner is to convert your website visitors into leads, email subscribers, and paying customers. It sounds like a simple enough task, but we all know how challenging it can be to get people to convert. So, is there some secret to increasing your conversions? A quick Google search will yield tons of articles filled with strategies and tips, promising to improve your conversion rate. And sure, that advice is helpful. But the best way to generate results consistently is through the copywriting featured on your website. Now, if you don’t have a knack for writing, this may shock you. However, the good news is that there are some simple copywriting hacks you can follow to make this process easier. And this article has plenty of practical tips that will make creating powerful copy a breeze. 12 Copywriting Hacks to Skyrocket Your Conversions Whether you’re crafting copy for a landing page, a product description, or writing the perfect call to action to conclude your blog post, these copywriting hacks will come in handy. They’re sure to take your writing skills up a notch to encourage your readers to take action. 1. Always Keep Your Ideal Reader in Mind This advice should come as no surprise, but it’s important to remember. When writing copy, you always need to create with your ideal reader in mind. That’s why you need to know who your target persona is. As you write, envision yourself having a conversation with this person one-on-one. Treat it as if you’re talking to a friend, and the copy will feel more conversational over being a sales pitch. This also means you need to write like they talk, so don’t use complex jargon they don’t understand. 2. Use the Actual Words and Phrases of Your Target Audience Building off that last tip, one of the most powerful copywriting hacks you can use will have people think you’re reading their minds. Now, the way to do this is by using the exact words and phrases they’ve said to you. It’ll basically be like they’re writing your copy for you, making your job easier! To get this information, pay attention to what people say when leaving comments on your blog or social media. You could even send a reader survey to ask about their biggest struggles. Then, when you develop an offering to address their pain points, use their survey responses to write the sales page. 3. Focus on Your Unique Value Proposition Odds are, there are tons of people online who offer the exact same thing as you. If you want to be the one someone chooses to spend their money with, you have to stand out. The best way to do that is by focusing on what makes you and your offer unique. Use your copy to differentiate yourself from the competition and communicate why your offer is the best option. 4. Write Compelling Headlines That Generate Clicks According to Copyblogger, eight out of 10 people will read your headline copy on average. However, only two out of 10 will continue to read the rest of your blog post or web page. That means you need to write headlines that garner attention and generate clicks. Your headlines should leave your reader wanting more, so they have no choice but to click through to your site. To do this, add statistics and numbers to your headline when appropriate. For instance, this blog post has a number in the headline, indicating how many tips the reader will receive. You can also use your headline to evoke emotions or promise to provide a solution to a common pain point. 5. Show Them What Life Could Look Like if They Take Action One of the best copywriting hacks to skyrocket conversions is to take your audience on a journey. You can paint a picture of what their life could look like after they’ve received access to your freebie or purchased your offering. Answer the following – What kind of value will this offer add to their lives? What kind of transformation can they expect to experience? People need to know what’s in it for them. And by focusing on the result, you’ll see more conversions than if you simply focus on the details of the offer. 6. Eliminate Any Obstacles Preventing Them From Taking Action Sometimes you can do everything right, and your audience will still be on the fence. That’s when you need to eliminate any obstacles standing in their way. So, put yourself in their shoes. What questions do you think they’re having when they’re deciding whether to purchase something? Why do you think someone might be hesitating to act? Address those concerns in your copy by directly calling out the emotions they’re feeling. Answer the questions they’re asking themselves. They’ll feel like you’re in their heads, providing an answer to everything they’re wondering. And ultimately, they’ll feel more confident in taking action. 7. Use “You” Instead of “We” When writing copy, it’s tempting to talk about yourself by using the words “we” or “our.” However, that’s not really going to resonate with your reader. That’s because your reader doesn’t necessarily care about your company or your offering in general. Rather, they care about what your offering can do for them. Review your copy before publishing and remove any instances of “we” or “our. “ Instead, try using the word, “you.” 8. Make Sure Your Copy is Easy to Read With Proper Formatting Whatever you do, don’t forget to format your copy after you’re done writing. There’s no bigger turn-off to your reader than one gigantic block of text. It’s overwhelming and hard to follow.  People may be more inclined to leave your site rather than attempt to read your content in its entirety. That’s why you need to format your copy before hitting publish. This can be done by incorporating headings to differentiate each section, bulleted lists, and images to break up the … Read more

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