content marketing strategy - Express Writers

How to Win with Zero-Click Search SEO Adaptation

July 22, 2025July 18, 2025 by Rachel Moffett

The rise of AI-powered search engines and zero-click results is reshaping the online space, forcing marketers and content strategists to rethink how they measure success. You’re not alone if your website traffic is dipping, but your conversions and on-site engagement are increasing. And you’re not doing anything wrong. That’s what you can expect in the era of zero-click search SEO adaptation. We’ll explore zero-click searches, why they matter, and how to optimize your content for this evolving search environment. We’ll also discuss why traditional metrics like click-through rates (CTR) are becoming less relevant and what marketers should focus on to stay competitive and drive meaningful results. Zero-Click Searches: Explained What are zero-click searches? Let’s break it down. Zero-click searches are queries answered directly on the search engine results page (SERP), so the user doesn’t need to click through to a website. Think of Google’s featured snippets and the AI-generated answers now populating the platform. These days, a majority of Google searches result in zero clicks. The data above shows that, in 2024, 58.5% of Google searches in the U.S. and 59.7% in Europe did not generate clicks. In other words, zero-click searches often mean users get their answers instantly, and usually don’t need to go further. It’s convenient for the user, but potentially frustrating for the publisher who invested in that content. Yet here’s the twist: this shift isn’t necessarily bad. It just requires a change in strategy. The New SEO Strategy: Adaptation Is a Must Traditional SEO focused heavily on driving clicks. There’s nothing wrong with still wanting to generate traffic. However, with AI-generated summaries and snippets giving users instant answers, we must adopt a new strategy: zero-click search SEO adaptation. This approach acknowledges that success can’t be measured solely by traffic volume anymore. Instead, it looks at other metrics to determine how your content is performing. This includes: Time on Page: How much time are they spending on a single page? Scroll Depth: Are they scrolling to the bottom of the page or stopping halfway? Conversion Rates: How many people convert by completing a form or purchasing? On-Site Engagement Metrics: How many people are engaging? How many are returning visitors? How many pages are being viewed per session? Why would we want to track these metrics? When traffic is low, we want to learn about the behavior of the users visiting your site. Those who click through are often further down the funnel. They’re more informed, curious, and ready to act. The Reality of Declining Top-of-Funnel Traffic With AI surfacing top-level queries right on the SERP, fewer users visit your website for basic information. Before you panic, it isn’t all bad news. This means your site may see: Lower traffic overall Higher engagement per visitor Lower bounce rates Higher conversion rates This isn’t a decline, necessarily. You’re reaching people who are further along in their decision-making process. As a result, you may see people exploring your website more or making purchases. Your Guide to Zero-Click Search SEO Adaptation How can you adapt your strategy to zero-click search optimization? Let’s break it down. Step 1: Restructure Your Content Strategy If most zero-click search results address the top-of-the-funnel questions, you need to invest more in middle and bottom-of-funnel content. The way to pivot is to create content for different search intents. For example: Top-level content (e.g., “What is X?”) should still exist but can be shorter, more concise, and optimized for AI or snippet capture. Middle-funnel content should answer comparative or evaluative questions like, “How does X compare to Y?” or “What features should I look for in X?” Bottom-funnel content should target purchase-related or decision-making keywords like “Best X for [use case],” “Where to buy X,” or “[Product] reviews.” It’s also smart to use a pillar-cluster model. Create pillar pages exploring high-level topics, then link to more focused cluster pages with specific keywords and subtopics. This helps AI and search engines understand the depth of your expertise. Step 2: Focus on Conversion-Ready Users Remember: not all traffic is created equal. One engaged, ready-to-buy user is worth more than 100 casual browsers. So, you’ll want to use on-page signals to nurture leads. You can do that by: Including clear calls-to-action (CTAs) based on visitor intent Offering downloads, checklists, or calculators to encourage engagement Embedding videos or interactive content to increase time on page Rather than focusing on impressions and CTR alone, you should start prioritizing: Engagement Rate: How many users engage with something on-page? Dwell Time: How long are they staying? Lead Conversion Rate: How many take the next step? These are the accurate indicators of content success in a zero-click world. Step 3: Make Peace with the AI Layer AI isn’t going away. It’s becoming the first touchpoint for many users. That means your top-level content isn’t wasted, but it’s being repurposed by AI to answer questions. That visibility still builds trust, even if you don’t get the click. For example, if your content is used in a featured snippet or quoted in an AI-generated summary, users may recognize your brand and return when ready to engage more deeply. To optimize for AI, try: Using clear headers and structured content Answering questions in the first few lines Writing with a natural, conversational tone Providing concise, factual, and trustworthy information Step 4: Reevaluate Your Keyword Strategy AI search is increasingly semantic and contextual, meaning it’s not just about matching keywords. It’s about understanding intent and creating your content with that in mind. Instead of stuffing the page with exact-match keywords repeatedly, try using variations naturally throughout the text so you don’t get penalized. Also, structure content in a way that answers a question, offers an opinion, or presents data. Let’s use this blog post as an example: Overusing the “zero-click search SEO adaptation” keyword would turn off Google and readers. So, it helps to use similar keywords such as “zero-click search” and “what are zero-click searches.” This post is also formatted with H2s and H3s, as well as bullet … Read more

AI is Not the Tool for SME Content Creation – and Google Knows It

March 28, 2023 by Korilynn V.

AI is here, and there is no denying it. While AI can share the workspace with a traditional writer and editor for content marketing, there is one thing it cannot do – SME content creation. The only genuine SME (subject matter expert) out there in your niche is, well, you – and the talented freelance writers out there that know your field just as well as you. More importantly, Google knows it and expects to see that in your content. What is AI Content Generation? It seems like almost daily another AI content generation tool is launching. Some are free, others are paid, but are any of these tools able to truly replace a genuine expert? TechTarget lists 36 AI generation tools in their 2023 guide, and while there are loads of tools to choose from, they are all based on the GPT-3 model. AI content generation is content that is created by a platform utilizing the GPT-3 model. The content is generated and while marketed to be “new,” it really is not. Think about how AI generators work. Generative AI tools take keywords, themes, and even voice/tone preferences, and it works to generate a blog, web page, or even a social media post, but it is not creating them out of thin air or using any expertise in the field to offer unique opinions and insights. Instead, AI generates your content by pulling information from the internet. It searches and scours the thousands of web pages and blogs already out there to piece together information and generate copy. But, AI Doesn’t Understand What it is Creating…. While it is fascinating to watch AI work, AI has no clue what it is writing. It is solely based on an algorithm pulling data based on your input. Only a Genuine Industry Expert Knows the Content for their Industry AI is incredibly fast and can write a blog post quicker than any writer, but because of its limitations in terms of understanding and having any expertise in the niche, it is not a specialist. Here is where you may hit a speed bump or two, if you are using AI generation for your content marketing: Let’s Talk about E-E-A-T and How AI Falls Short for Industry Professionals Seeking SME Content Creation In Google’s February release, they mention guidelines for using AI generation in your content, and make it clear that they reward high quality regardless of how it is produced (whether human-made or AI-generated). Many took that as a green light to go ahead with AI, but that is not what Google conveyed. Let’s go back to the double update released in December 2022 when the extra “E” was added to the E-A-T standard, making it now E-E-A-T. Image Source: Google Update, December 2022, Page 26 What was that extra “E” for? Experience… Trust is crucial with Google. Some websites may fall short of the bar, no matter how experienced, professional, or even authoritative they are if they don’t have the reader’s trust, and one example given from Google within their update reveals the most consequential sentence that websites need to pay attention to: “…the content creator lacks adequate experience” means they will have a low E-E-A-T score. For example, if the content creator reviews a restaurant, but never ate at the restaurant, they are not experienced or trustworthy, which means they have a low E-E-A-T to Google. Let’s break it down further by looking at each component of E-E-A-T. Experience Experience, in Google’s eyes, offers another level of dimension they can use when evaluating content. Content must demonstrate it was assembled with a degree of experience – after all, a reader will value a person’s content more if they have life experiences on the topic and they are not basing it exclusively on research. AI has no experience with your topic. Let’s take a look at divorce law, for example. You want to write a blog for your law firm on the latest guideline changes for calculating child support, but you will find a few speed bumps along the way using AI to do so: AI typically doesn’t access the latest data – so it may not even know or find the latest guidelines for calculating child support. Worse, it could create a blog on outdated guidelines that it notes as “updated.” AI has no actual understanding of handling child support cases. AI hasn’t had to calculate what a child support payment would be based on your state, the local laws, or the parent’s income. It has definitely never filled out the child support worksheets – but you have. If you go off the premise of why “experience” was added by Google, you can see why AI might not meet the mark. AI is not an attorney or a financial expert, and therefore, there is no SME content creation happening when you use AI to draft your blogs. Expertise SME content creation comes down to one important factor: credibility. A person without qualifications should not be writing a topic out of their realm of expertise. Period. Why? Google is unlikely to rank a website with content not written by a credible source over a website they know has content written by a believable source. In areas where a subject matter expert is required, such as healthcare, Google has a higher level of scrutiny than things based more on personal opinion and less on facts. Authoritativeness Authority means you have proven you belong in the niche your website represents. Sure, backlinks to relevant and authoritative sources will help build that authority, but only so far. If you only have quality backlinks, but don’t meet the other areas of E-E-A-T – well, you don’t have much to go on. There’s not much more to say there. Authority is a building block, and it requires more than one block to finish your foundation. Trustworthiness Now, we’ve already covered where AI falls short for SME content creation, but the biggest area you are going … Read more

6 Steps to Building a Successful, Profitable, Results-Focused Content Marketing Strategy

June 19, 2024July 3, 2019 by Adam Oakley

I’m often asked the same question – how did Express Writers get where we are today? The journey to becoming a leading content creation and writing agency wasn’t easy. It came with all the sacrifices you’d expect – long hours, lack of sleep, and learning from every ups and downs I encountered. But if I were to point to one thing that made our approach to content marketing so successful, I could sum it up in a single word – strategy. I’d been in the business of creating content for years. However, great content wasn’t enough to get us to a seven-figure status. For that, it required a strategic approach to researching, building, and promoting content that audiences can benefit from. I’ve got an entire book and a comprehensive course about content marketing strategy – but today, I’ll give you a preview in the form of a six-step process you can start implementing right away. 6 Steps to Build Your Winning Content Marketing Strategy 1. Define Strategy and How it Relates to Content Marketing 2. Understand Your Audience and How to Reach Them 3. SEO: Learn It, Master It, Implement It 4. Build Brand Authority (and Use It) 5. Combine Strategy with Content Creation 6. Keep the Momentum with Smart Content Management [bctt tweet=”@JuliaEMcCoy shares the 6 best steps to build your winning #contentmarketingstrategy ” username=”ExpWriters”] 1. Defining Content Marketing Strategy: Framework for Success Content marketing is undoubtedly a must-have in the modern marketer’s toolkit. The numbers don’t lie. Over 90% of B2B marketers use content marketing, and over 85% of B2C marketers call it a key strategy. But in terms of content marketing strategy, also called content strategy for short, we’re talking about a process that begins with planning and extends all the way through management. Content strategy could be thought of as your knowledge base for creating and promoting great content. It involves knowing the following: What is your area of expertise where you can offer the most valuable information? What is your differentiating factor that makes you stand out from other content marketers? Who is the audience you’re trying to reach and what are they looking for? Strategy will help your content get discovered easier, stand out better, and deliver results more efficiently. I’m talking real results – traffic, leads, subscribers, and of course, ROI. [bctt tweet=”Over 90% of B2B marketers use #contentmarketingstrategy, and over 85% of B2C marketers call it a key strategy. – @JuliaEMcCoy” username=”ExpWriters”] 2. Who Is Your Audience? How Can You Reach Them? One of the main struggles many content marketers face is something I went through, too. Pumping out blogs every day and sending out emails to everyone on my list – trust me, I’ve been there. It’s a content rat race. Roughly 60% of people find consistency to be one of the hardest parts of content creation. If you want to see more results from each piece of content you publish, make sure you know your audience. The key to knowing others is to know yourself. That isn’t just a philosophical-sounding word salad. It’s the foundation behind building a successful content marketing strategy framework. How does your current audience view you? Where in the marketing lifecycle do most of your audience members land? Remember, today’s “buyer journey” looks a lot different than the funnel of yesteryear. You can’t always predict what stage your buyer will be at. Their footsteps could lead backward, forward, up, down, and all around before they make a final decision. A content marketing strategy is about making sure your content gets to the people who could benefit most from it. They’re out there. They want to learn your knowledge, buy your products, and become ambassadors of your brand. The seven-figure question is, how do you reach them? [bctt tweet=”Roughly 60% of people find consistency to be one of the hardest parts of content creation. If you want more out of each piece of content, make sure you know your audience. – @JuliaEMcCoy” username=”ExpWriters”] 3. Understanding SEO: A Cornerstone of Content Marketing and Strategy Content marketing and content strategy are forever intertwined – and search engine optimization (SEO) plays a major role in both. From a strategic perspective, knowing what your target audience is inputting into search engines is a great way to help them find your content. With the right keyword strategy, you can climb search rankings and get more traffic to your content. Good SEO practices involve having the right keywords – plus having them in the right frequency and the right places. There’s an added benefit to understanding SEO. Not only will your content get more views, it will get quality views. People won’t just find it by accident and think “what the heck is this?” They’ll find it and think, “this is just what I was looking for.” [bctt tweet=”With the right keyword strategy, you can climb search rankings and get more traffic. Good SEO practices involve having the right keywords – in the right frequency and the right place. – @JuliaEMcCoy” username=”ExpWriters”] 4. Build Authority for Your Content, Brand, and Website The benefit of having good strategy is that people who are looking for your content can find it – and luckily for us content marketers, search engines pick up on that sort of thing. When your content consistently gets good views, repeated engagement, and positive feedback, it gains authority. What does this mean? Your content will be viewed as more trustworthy, and therefore able to rank higher. Authority also means search engines could give you priority in some cases – we don’t fully understand the inner-workings of Google, we do know they prioritize older sites with a lot of credible links. The more great content (backed by strategy) you have, the better you’ll do. I like to explain the concept of building online authority like a content house. The stronger your website is (and remember, you need to build on your house – not someone else’s platform), the better and stronger your presence and house is. With … Read more

How to Throw Down Your Best-Ever Content Marketing Spread: Thanksgiving Style (Infographic)

March 23, 2022November 21, 2017 by Adam Oakley

It’s Thanksgiving week, and content marketers around the U.S. are preparing for a delicious, tasty week of family, food and relaxation, and definitely no content marketing or strategy for at least a couple days. 😉 But in the days that lead up to T-Day, it’s wise to soak in all you can about creating your best content marketing strategy, so you return empowered and armed to take on your marketing for killer results. We’re here with a fun map for you, just in time for the holiday: How a perfect content marketing strategy is very much equal to the best Thanksgiving dinner you’ve ever partaken in. To serve it up, you need the right recipes for success, tried-and-true tools and techniques, and winning dishes created with flair. Here’s your ultimate guide, Thanksgiving-dinner style — baked and cooked up into a visually entertaining infographic by our team at Express Writers. Enjoy! Don’t forget to share if you found this useful. And…happy Thanksgiving! How to Throw Down Your Best-Ever Content Marketing Spread: Thanksgiving Style (Infographic) 5-Star Content Dinner Tools and Equipment For a five-star content “dinner,” you’ll need: Planning Creativity Research Strategy Good-ol’ elbow grease Don’t Forget: Just like any great feast, your content meal should move seamlessly from course to course. Your audience should tuck in with vigor and keep coming back to refill their plates. If you can make your audience feel warm, happy, and content, not to mention implicitly trust your cooking skills, you have succeeded. Needless to say, you can’t wing this kind of perfection, but we’re here to guide you through. Ready to learn how to create a legendary Thanksgiving content spread from start to finish? Put on your apron – let’s get cookin’. Create a table-like design for the below 9 Essential Steps and Recipes for a Fabulous Content Marketing Feast The time you spend carefully and lovingly preparing your content marketing feast will pay off tenfold. That dedication will carry through to your audience down to the very last bite-sized sentence. Here’s how to make your content dinner table legendary: Set the Table for Content Success Every great content marketing spread begins with a perfectly set table. Your place settings and decorations need to match up with what you know about your audience, your kitchen, and your food. This is how you create a foundation that sets off your whole spread. Keys for setting the table and planning your content feast: Who are the guests that could show up? What are your specialties? What kind of content will your guests prefer? What tools will you need to serve them the right way? (Are your kitchen and pantry properly equipped?) During the meal: When your guests are happily chowing down, check in with them from time to time and see how they like the spread. Continually go over your recipes and techniques. Measure, analyze, and update your methods for an even better dinner. Now that the table settings are planned, you can get busy in the kitchen! Whip Up an Audience-Pleasing Side – Mashed Potatoes or Dressing, Anyone? Every delicious Thanksgiving content dinner should start with a crowd-pleaser. To make it, you must know your audience and what they’ll love. To find out what will please your guests most, ask them! You can also imagine your ideal dinner guest to decide what to serve them. Think of them as a real person with distinct preferences. Once you figure out what your audience craves, you’ll whip up dishes so delicious, everybody will go back for seconds (and thirds). Tip: Give the people what they want. Serve content that performs like whipped mashed potatoes, sausage and apple dressing, or green bean casserole. These disappear like magic into hungry bellies. Prepare and Roast Your Content Creation Turkey The meat of a fantastic content marketing spread is your content creation turkey. It’s the star of the show and the vehicle that drives the whole meal. As such, invest in the most high-quality bird you can afford. The best content creation needs careful preparation, plus plenty of time in the oven. Give it an ample amount of both so the end result is incredibly juicy, succulent, and mouth-watering. If you rush it or season it wrong, it will come out dry and tough to swallow. Make enough content creation turkey to use the extra meat in guest blogs and other content types, and don’t forget the final spices: creativity, readability, and great writing. Tip: To put your content creation over the top, add a special spice that is unique to you as a cook. Your content turkey will be irresistible, even if your guests can’t put their finger on the secret ingredient. Simmer Perfect Keyword Gravy What’s a content marketing spread without keyword gravy? The right amount really makes your entire meal sing. This is the link juice that takes your content creation turkey to the next level and makes your meal more desirable. The scent alone should draw your guests to the table, and, depending on how well your keyword gravy flows, Google might add you to the top of their list of V.I.P. cooks. Tips: Be careful not to make too much or over-season it. You want just the right amount to drizzle and spoon over your content and tempt your guests. Dump too much keyword gravy on the spread, and your audience won’t be able to taste any other flavor. Google, especially, will give your meal the thumbs-down. Avoid a lumpy gravy by using only all-natural keywords. Serve Fresh Cranberry Content Sauce It’s time to finish off your content marketing main dishes. A sweet side of zingy, fresh cranberry content sauce is the perfect addition to a savory spread. Tip: Cook up the freshest content you can for the best taste – try using ripe cranberries and a hint of orange zest for originality. Canned, regurgitated content is no substitute for fresh. Your guests will surely turn up their noses at this inferior fare. Send Out RSVPs to Promote Your Thanksgiving Content Feast … Read more

#ContentWritingChat Recap: Content Marketing Strategy

December 31, 2020November 17, 2017 by Rachel Moffett

Did you catch our latest #ContentWritingChat? We had our monthly community chat, which is when we skip having a guest host and allow our audience to choose the chat topic. We ran a poll the week before and the winning topic was Content Marketing Strategy! If you could use some help putting together an effective content marketing strategy for your brand, you’re in the right place. We’ve compiled some of the tweets from this week’s chat into a handy dandy recap! #ContentWritingChat Recap: Content Marketing Strategy Join us for #ContentWritingChat on Tuesday, November 14th at 10 AM Central to talk about #ContentMarketing Strategy! ? You won’t want to miss this one! pic.twitter.com/fGtQ2YRg8j — Express Writers (@ExpWriters) November 10, 2017 In Tuesday’s community chat, there were some amazing tips shared by our participants. You’ll learn the basics of a great content marketing strategy, tools and resources to help, and how to measure your success. Keep reading to check out all the advice! Q1: Why is it important to have a content marketing strategy for your brand? To kick off the chat, we asked everyone to share why they feel it’s important to have a content marketing strategy in place. If you need a little convincing that it’s worth the investment, you’ll want to read through these tweets! A1 A content marketing strategy is EVERYTHING to the success of your content. Strategize for success = succeed. No strategy = higher chances of content failure. #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/3LOvG7NtnB — Julia McCoy | ? New book out Nov 30! (@JuliaEMcCoy) November 14, 2017 As Julia said, a content marketing strategy is everything to the success of your content. When you have a strategy in place, you have a much better chance at succeeding in your work. A1 Without a strategy in place, how can you hope to meet your goals and make good progress? Your content marketing strategy should be the foundations to your campaign’s success #contentwritingchat — Iain G. Scott (@IainGScott) November 14, 2017 If you don’t have a strategy in place, how you can expect to make progress and reach your goals? Iain knows that having a strategy is a must. A1: For the same reason a compass is helpful when navigating the Pacific. You need guidance to stay on course and headed toward your goal(s). #ContentWritingChat — Andrew Roberts (@ARoberts021) November 14, 2017 When you have a strategy for your content marketing efforts, it provides the guidance you need to keep moving in the right direction. A1: a strategy helps define a purpose, brand, and breaks down the steps to reach a goal. it puts everyone on the same page. #ContentWritingChat — Independent Retailer (@indretailer) November 14, 2017 A strategy helps define the purpose of your brand. Plus, it helps you break down all the steps required to help you reach your goals. A1: You need a strategy for ANY type of marketing endeavor…need to know what you’re aiming for, after all!#ContentWritingChat https://t.co/zF8WkU7GUg — ThinkSEM (@ThinkSEM) November 14, 2017 As Sarah said, you need a strategy for any kind of marketing you’re doing. This tells you what you’er aiming for so you can stay on the right path. A1: Content strategy gives you measurable actions, cohesive messaging and makes sure you aren’t scrambling to throw together something for your community. #ContentWritingChat — Brandie McCallum (@lttlewys) November 14, 2017 Having a strategy gives you measurable actions, cohesive messaging, and ensures you aren’t scrambling to throw something together at the last minute. A1: Having a plan allows you to produce better content and align your message across various channels. Plus, it puts your team on the same page. #ContentWritingChat — TouchConvert (@touchconvert) November 14, 2017 You can product much better content when you have everything planned out in advance. Plus, it’ll keep your entire team on the same page, which is very important. A1: Content strategies are the driving force behind the channels that do the outreach. They are the how behind the what when it comes to marketing goals. #ContentWritingChat — Maureen Jann (@MaureenOnPoint) November 14, 2017 Maureen said your content marketing strategy is the driving force behind the channels that do the outreach. Q2: What are the essential elements of every successful content marketing strategy? To get started with a strategy of your very own, you need to know where to begin. These are some essential elements you’ll want to have in place: A2: Successful content strategies are bolstered by a deep understanding of the brand’s best customers and your understanding in the market. #ContentWritingChat — Maureen Jann (@MaureenOnPoint) November 14, 2017 A great strategy all goes back to knowing who your audience is and understanding them. A2: Good research, resources & tracking. Need to know your audience, how to reach them, fulfill deadlines, & monitor!#ContentWritingChat https://t.co/7Iean2y9m1 — ThinkSEM (@ThinkSEM) November 14, 2017 Sarah feels good research, resources, and tracking are essential. She also pointed out that you need to know who your audience is and how to reach them. Don’t forget to set deadlines, meet them, and monitor your efforts. A2 Here are the four keys I teach for content marketing strategy success in my course (basic foundation, not skillsets). #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/F07ridIlxO — Julia McCoy | ? New book out Nov 30! (@JuliaEMcCoy) November 14, 2017 Julia shared a helpful graphic of the four keys she teaches in her course! A2. Your #brand‘s goals, a timeline of when to share #content, understanding who your #audience is and what kind of content you’re going to share. #ContentWritingChat — SourceMedia (@SourceMediaCo) November 14, 2017 Knowing who your audience is, what kind of content you’re going to share, and what your goals are make up just a few of the essentials of a great strategy. A2: Target audience. Desired outcome (e.g. conversions, engagement). Platform selection/prioritization. Pipeline & capacity building; how & when is content being produced, recycled, repurposed. #ContentWritingChat — Andrew Roberts (@ARoberts021) November 14, 2017 Andrew also agrees that knowing your target audience is a must. He also mentioned that it’s important … Read more

#ContentWritingChat Recap: Content Marketing Strategy 101 with Julia McCoy

December 31, 2020June 23, 2017 by Rachel Moffett

Do you have a content marketing strategy in place for your brand? If not, it’s time you create one! However, you might be wondering how to get started and that’s where we come in. In this week’s #ContentWritingChat, we talked all about the basics of creating a content marketing strategy of your very own. Keep reading for the recap! #ContentWritingChat Recap: Content Marketing Strategy 101 with Julia McCoy Join us for #ContentWritingChat on Tuesday, June 20th at 10 AM Central Time with our CEO, @JuliaEMcCoy! pic.twitter.com/RGlMdp1ndP — Express Writers (@ExpWriters) June 13, 2017 Our guest host this week was our very own CEO, Julia McCoy. As a content marketing expert herself, it’s no surprise that she had some amazing advice to share with everyone. Q1: What is a content marketing strategy and why is it important for today’s brands? To kick off the chat, we asked everyone to share their own definitions of a content marketing strategy. We also wanted to find out how important they felt it was to have a strategy and why. Check out a few of the responses we received: A1 A content marketing strategy drives the guidelines, creation, execution and tracking of your content marketing. #ContentWritingChat — Julia McCoy ? (@JuliaEMcCoy) June 20, 2017 A1b A content marketing strategy is absolutely necessary to achieve ROI and make goals happen with your content. #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/08Ou9oaKO0 — Julia McCoy ? (@JuliaEMcCoy) June 20, 2017 As Julia said, a strategy will drive the guidelines, creation, execution, and tracking of your content marketing. She knows it’s necessary if you want to achieve ROI and make goals happen with the content you create. A1) Content Marketing Strategy is crafting a consistent schedule of content to tell your brand’s story to win customers. #ContentWritingChat — Kyle Murray (@TheKyleMurray) June 20, 2017 Kyle feels it’s all about crafting a consistent schedule of content to tell your brand’s story to win over your customers. A1: A CM strategy is an established process for why you’re doing what you’re doing and guidelines for how you’ll do it. #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/7YjrYkLvcn — Annaliese Henwood? (@MktgInnovator) June 20, 2017 Annaliese said having a strategy in place gives you an established process for why you’re doing what you do, plus guidelines on how to do it. A1 It’s knowing what to say, how to say it, where and to whom. Having a plan and executing it. #ContentWritingChat — Maria Tereza Dickson (@terezadickson) June 20, 2017 As Maria pointed out, having a strategy is partly about knowing what you want to say, how to say it, where to say it, and who you’re saying it to. These are all essential things to figure out. A1a: It’s your road map from where you are to where you want to be. #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/DTkM1mv276 — Jeff Reno(e) ? (@Renoe) June 20, 2017 This is a great way to look at it! Jenn said your strategy is your road map from where you are to where you want to be. It’s important to set goals and create a plan of action to help you get there. Q2: Before you can begin creating content and planning your strategy, what do you need to figure out? Now that you know what a content marketing strategy is, you’re probably feeling ready and inspired to create one of your own. But before you can get started, there are a few essential things you need to figure out. Take a look at these tips: A2 First, figure out what makes you different than everyone else. I’ve defined that as a CDF: https://t.co/UUj8jJWyZP #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/PX9WyheRU0 — Julia McCoy ? (@JuliaEMcCoy) June 20, 2017 A2 Secondly, focus on discovering your audience with these 4 keys (which I teach upcoming in https://t.co/SWusmMGFiC). #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/cg8zpRBBU6 — Julia McCoy ? (@JuliaEMcCoy) June 20, 2017 Julia’s first tip is to figure out what makes you different from everyone else. When you know what your Content Differentiation Factor (CDF) is, you can embrace that and stand out from the crowd. (Read her Search Engine Journal article she linked to if you want to learn more!) Next, she encourages you to discover who your audience is. She shares four key tips in the graphic she included with her post. You can learn about this more in-depth in the content course she’s creating. A2: Your ideal audience! What do they need? Where do they hang out? Where do they CONVERT? Need to know that first.#ContentWritingChat https://t.co/zub1Uhj19c — ThinkSEM (@ThinkSEM) June 20, 2017 Sarah knows it’s important to know key information about your audience. Who is your target audience and what do they need? Where do they hang out? What will make them convert? This is all important to figure out so you can create content accordingly. A2: You need to figure out your audience. Learn who they are then you can determine what type of content to create. #contentwritingchat — Netvantage Marketing (@netvantage) June 20, 2017 Lexie agrees that it’s crucial to know your audience first. Once you know who they are, you can create the type of content they need in their lives. A2: You need to know why you want to do this. What are your goals? What are you looking to achieve from your content? #ContentWritingChat — Annaliese Henwood? (@MktgInnovator) June 20, 2017 Don’t forget to figure out what your goals are. When you know what you want to achieve, it’s going to dictate the end result of your content. A2) What’s your goal? Brand awareness? Conversions? What is it about your brand that your demo NEEDS to know? #ContentWritingChat — Kyle Murray (@TheKyleMurray) June 20, 2017 Kyle also agrees that it’s important to know what your goals are ahead of time. Are you trying to increase brand awareness or land conversions? Is it something else? Figure that out beforehand so you can create the content that will help you get there. A2: Know what success looks. Benchmarks? Goals? Objectives under goals? Tactics under objectives? #contentwritingchat — ??Jonathan Payne (@SocialGamePlan) June 20, 2017 … Read more

#ContentWritingChat Recap: Creating a Content Marketing Strategy 101 with Doug Kessler

December 31, 2020March 10, 2017 by Rachel Moffett

It’s no secret that every brand needs to have an effective content marketing strategy if they want to see results within their business. However, many brands feel unsure of how to get started when creating a strategy of their own. This week’s #ContentWritingChat was all about the basics of creating a content marketing strategy, so there’s no more excuses. You can get started on yours today! #ContentWritingChat Recap: Creating a Content Marketing Strategy 101 with Doug Kessler Join us for #ContentWritingChat on Tuesday, March 7th at 10 AM CST with @dougkessler! pic.twitter.com/PdfmUbT1ec — Express Writers (@ExpWriters) February 28, 2017 For this Tuesday’s #ContentWritingChat, our guest host was Doug Kessler. Doug is the is Co-Founder and Creative Director of Velocity. He shared some great insights with our audience about content marketing, so you’ll want to read through these tips and start implementing them. Q1: Discuss the importance of content marketing for brands in 2017. So, how important is it for a brand to develop their own content marketing strategy? And what kind of results will it provide once they have? Check out these tips from Tuesday’s chat: A1 Content marketing has gone from niche tactic to mainstream strategy. #ContentWritingChat — Doug Kessler (@dougkessler) March 7, 2017 Doug said that content marketing has turned into a mainstream strategy. A1 Content marketing is the lifeblood, breath, heartbeat of great brand marketing. Check out these #stats. #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/4Df0vU1fwN — Julia McCoy ? (@JuliaEMcCoy) March 7, 2017 Julia knows just how important your content marketing strategy is when it comes to marketing. The stats she shared are pretty impressive! A1: Content marketing isn’t optional anymore. It’s expected. You’ll build an interested audience + thought leadership #ContentWritingChat https://t.co/G4lPT2jA54 — Annaliese Henwood (@MktgInnovator) March 7, 2017 As Annaliese said, content marketing has become expected of brands. She feels it helps you to build an interested audience and can establish you as a thought leader in your industry. @ExpWriters A1: Content marketing is crucial to build relationships with customers which will lead to more brand loyalty #ContentWritingChat — LAVIDGE (@lavidgeco) March 7, 2017 Content marketing can help you build relationships with your customers, which can ultimately lead to more brand loyalty. You’ll see these kinds of results when you do your content marketing strategy the right way. A1: Content marketing is now quintessential. It establishes trust and value for your clients above most other things #contentwritingchat pic.twitter.com/bvPkP8WLfQ — Digital Natives Cast (@DgtlNativesCast) March 7, 2017 The Digital Natives team said it’s key for establishing trust and adding value for your clients. Q2: What’s the first major step(s) of a solid content marketing strategy for any business/industry? When creating a content marketing strategy for your brand, there are a few steps you’ll have to take in the early phases. Here’s what you need to know in order to get started: A2 1st step: know your audience. Inside out. #ContentWritingChat https://t.co/YbGww9u2in — Doug Kessler (@dougkessler) March 7, 2017 Doug said that the first step to creating a content marketing strategy is getting to know your audience. If you don’t know who your audience is, you can’t create the right kind of content to attract them. A2: Research. Understanding who you are, who you audience is, and how that works together = Success. #contentwritingchat pic.twitter.com/rQfZUXgDHK — Digital Natives Cast (@DgtlNativesCast) March 7, 2017 To get to know your audience, you’ll need to do some research. It may be time-consuming, but it’s a must before you can get started with anything. A2: Knowing your goals and knowing your AUDIENCE. THEN you can plan on how to get them to connect. #ContentWritingChat https://t.co/hmUx0XsQ0U — ThinkSEM (@ThinkSEM) March 7, 2017 Know your goals and who your audience is. Once you’ve figured out those two things, you can start planning how you’ll connect with them and what kind of content you’ll create. A2: Have a SMART goal that will help guide your strategy development. Without a goal, you can’t have a path. #ContentWritingChat https://t.co/9ZJZAne4nZ — Annaliese Henwood (@MktgInnovator) March 7, 2017 Annaliese agrees that it’s important to set goals before you begin creating your strategy. A2) Customer journey mapping. What plan does each piece of your content serve for your audience AND your brand? #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/L7Dcb0xTZ0 — Jason Schemmel (@JasonSchemmel) March 7, 2017 Take the time to map out the journey you expect a customer to take. This is very beneficial to your success! A2 Start by listing your business objectives and your audience’s needs/desires. Where they overlap is key. #contentwritingchat — Bill Skowronski (@BillSkowronski) March 7, 2017 Bill’s advice is to list out your business objectives and the needs of your audience. This will help you start planning. A2 Understand why your audience is coming to you as a brand, find ways they like to read/access content and deliver!! #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/MnkGEPtg8f — Tony Stephan (@OmnipoTony) March 7, 2017 Tony recommends finding ways your audience likes to read and access content. Once you’ve figured that out, you can create exactly the type of content they’re looking for. Q3: Content marketing vs. traditional marketing (i.e., TV spot): Your thoughts? Is one higher ROI? Today’s brands still invest in traditional marketing as part of their content marketing strategy. There’s no shortage of ads on television. But is it really the most effective tactic or is content marketing the way to go? Here’s what our chat participants had to say: A3 CM = higher ROI. I explored #contentmarketing vs. a #superbowl ad a few weeks ago: https://t.co/nb3JBZeUGZ #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/90fNzMzfmP — Julia McCoy ? (@JuliaEMcCoy) March 7, 2017 Julia shared a link to her post that showed just how effective content marketing can be when compared to a Super Bowl ad. A3: All depends on who your audience is. Find your customer base, get the word out wherever their eyes are. #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/ajLDgJywlo — Kevin Breindel (@KevinBreindel) March 7, 2017 Kevin’s advice is to figure out who your audience is and where they’re spending their time. Once you know that, you’ll be able to create content and put … Read more

ALS Ices Out Content Marketing For 2014: The Story

June 19, 2024August 28, 2014 by Adam Oakley

Photo credit: Juan Carlos Reyes The ultimate goal of content marketing is to draw attention. The signal of successful content marketing is when that attention results in action. The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge has literally iced out content marketing, providing one of the most incredibly perfect examples of the legendary power of compelling promotion for 2014. There’s a great deal for marketers and business owners to glean from this trending phenomena. How It All Began Would you believe that the popular challenge did not start out as an ALS Association fundraiser? According to Geoff Herbert of Syracuse.com, the roots of the phenomena date back to last winter when professional golfers were on a mission to gain support for various pet charities. According to The Guardian, the ice bucket craze hit the national radar when golfer Greg Norman issued the challenge to Matt Lauer, host of “Today,” and he accepted on live television. The challenge comes with simple rules. Once received, you must make a video of dumping a bucket of ice water over yourself, post it online, and then tag Facebook friends and family, challenging them to do the same. Per the rules, you have 24 hours from being “nominated” to take the challenge or your subsequent forfeit demands a donation of $100 to a cause of your choice. The challenge has gone viral, and ALS has become the overwhelming standard. What’s the connection between ALS and ice water? Just how did it become the overwhelming standard? It all goes back to the family of Pete Frates, a baseball player diagnosed two years ago with ALS. Their campaign fueled the standard and the results…well, they speak for themselves! Let’s consider the scope of this event. The Legendary Scope According to the ALS Association, from July 29 to August 27 of 2013 a total amount of 2.7 million dollars in donations was raised. As of August 27, 2014, the ice bucket challenge has rasied $94.3 million since July 29, 2014 from existing donors and 2.1 million new donors. Icono Square Blog has been tracking the challenge since it went live on TV via Matt Lauer back on July 15, 2014. Using their hashtag tracking tool, they tracked the number of mentions of the two official hashtags: #icebucketchallenge and #alsicebucketchallenge. After logging a total of over 3 million posts, they broke the mentions down per hashtag: Geologically speaking, the mass response to the ALS ice bucket challenge has been primarily rooted in the United States. But it has spread globally with participants from Canada, the United Kingdom, Turkey, Brazil, Israel, Lebanon, Hong Kong, China, and Malaysia. Icono Square Blog also graphed geological stats per hashtag, which show the massive response from the US: Just who has participated in the challenge? The support from some of Hollywood’s favorite celebrities has greatly contributed to its success and viral natural. A few of our favorites who have accepted and passed on the challenge include Robert Downey Jr, Oprah, and Steven Spielberg. And who can forget Tom Hiddleston’s nomination of Benedict Cumberbatch (television’s Sherlock), resulting in this hilarious continuation of the challenge that really captures the fun and reminds nominees to be punctual: Even Google Jumped On Board We all know Matt Cutts. He’s the Google guru. We track his tweets and stalk his site because he’s the go to guy for the latest and greatest Google news. He’s the first and last say on almost everything SEO, and when this guy does something, it’s usually followed by everyone and their Uncle jumping on board. On August 22nd, Matt did his challenge and nominated members of the search quality team, including Brian White, Evan Roseman, and Michael Wyszomierski (aka Wysz). Not only did he say he’d write a check to donate, but he also “earned” his nominations: With so many credible folks jumping on board, and the results of new awareness raising such a large donation total thus far, there’s just one unanswered question: Are You Icing Out? Don’t worry! We’re not going to ask if you’ve accepted the challenge and dumped a bucket of ice water over your head to raise ALS awareness. We’re not even going to ask if you’ve donated. But while we’re on the subject, if you haven’t at least donated to this profound cause, swing over to the ALS Association’s website and make a donation—every penny helps. And if you’ve accepted the challenge and caught it on film, feel free to share your awesomeness with us in this blog’s comments or via our social media. The truth is the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge has been a legendary example of epic content marketing in action. Crowd-based business models and marketing aren’t anything new, but this challenge has shown the potential benefits for non-profits. The question we’re asking is whether you’ve “iced out” your content marketing this year? And as we fly toward yet another new year, are you going to grab the takeaway lessons from the ice bucket challenge that can bolster your marketing plan? Never underestimate fun and a good cause. Wikipedia notated some of the criticism that has surrounded the ice bucket challenge. It was issued as a means of raising awareness and encouraging donations. It combined a bit of fun with a profoundly good cause. In fact, it’s a safe bet that the majority of people undertaking the ALS challenge had little to no idea of what ALS was until it was issued. While critics like Williams Foxton almost insultingly label it as “a middle-class wet-T-shirt contest for armchair clicktivists,” there’s no denying the phenomenon created since the challenge went viral. It has literally become an international event as everyone from America to the UK take part. Takeaway: Never underestimate what a combination of good old-fashioned fun and a good cause can do. Imagine the publicity if your company had originated the ice bucket challenge and helped raise awareness and donations for such a good cause? Create the moment. The ice bucket challenge wasn’t originally made for ALS, … Read more

7 Essential Ways to Market Your Content

January 1, 2021April 18, 2014 by Adam Oakley

Your content is written, but your funds are limited. So what do you do? Clearly you would think that you should start looking for marketers to market your content, but those limited funds come right back up. This is a chance for you to save some money and begin marketing on your own. You can still utilize the services from other companies, but this blog is going to help you learn several nifty ways to market your content without breaking your bank account. To Market or Not To Market Believe it or not, there are people who wonder if marketing is important. In fact, you might be one of those! We can tell you that marketing is of the utmost importance when it comes to getting your content and product out there. How else will people find you? How else can they learn about your amazing products and services? Just because you have published your content does not mean it stops there. You have to market or else your other efforts will fall flat and you will notice your site going downhill fast. There are many ways in which you can market your content and according to Convince and Convert, some of these are: Emailing employees on an internal network. If you do not have an internal network, you can still do this via Google+ or sending out an employee newsletter. Social Media news release. Traditional news releases. Appearing on local news stations. YouTube demos for apps and other products. These are based on what one company did when creating a nifty app to help parents find the best car seat for their children. The app was successful because of the marketing this company did. Instead of treating the release as the end of the line, they advertised their product as much as they possibly could. While some of their methods may not work for your business, following some of what is listed above will help you. Do not neglect marketing or you will live to regret it. Now, we are sure you are wondering how to market your product, content, and services. We will discuss a few handy tips and products that can help you immensely as you begin your marketing campaign. 1. Great Strategies and Strong Foundations. In order to market your content, you need to have solid content foundation. You cannot just jump into the content marketing game, you need to have a plan and follow it. Strategy is the best way to make sure your content will be noticed. If you do not have a strategy for your content and your content marketing campaigns, you will see it slipping. Once you have a strategy and a strong foundation, you can begin to publish great content and market it wonderfully. A good strategy will help you keep up with your marketing needs, but bad strategy will make you lose more customers and money. Never underestimate the power of great strategy! 2. Street Teams. These have proven to be pretty effective for a lot of groups and companies. Street teams rely on clients to give out information regarding a company or group. These can be done in numerous ways. For example, the International Geek Girl Pen Pal Club (IGGPPC) has several street teams throughout the world. Their teams give out postcards, pins, stickers, pencils, and other things that relate to letter writing. This is a great way for people outside of the IGGPPC friend circle to hear about this group. Because of the street teams, this group has approximately 45,000 site views a month. The street teams combined with social media get the information out there to a huge audience, creating a tremendous success for this year old group. Utilize your social networks and start creating a street team that will be appropriate for your business and content, you’ll be amazed at how much your name will get out there by getting clients to give out information around their towns! 3. Social Media. One of the biggest helps in marketing your own content is social media. It is so important that you have read it a thousand times over, but we keep saying it because a lot of people are ignoring this. Social media is a great marketing technique. A big help in social media is that share or retweet button. When you have an active social media marketing campaign, you will see more and more of your information being shared on the basic social media sites. It is really great when your info starts being shared a lot; it means you are one step closer to going viral, which is absolutely perfect in the world of the Internet and marketing! While Facebook and Twitter are great ways to market, there are some other social media sites and tools that will help you in your marketing campaign. It is time to start thinking outside of the generic social media box. (And do not worry; we will be discussing these awesome tools in this blog!) As we have said and will continue to say, social media is the greatest way to self-market and promote your content and product, as it gets to a wider audience and can be shared many times over. 4. StumbleUpon. This is a great resource for marketing. StumbleUpon users will “stumble upon” various webpages that have been added. They then rank the web page as being something they are interested in or not, which will help StumbleUpon streamline the web pages the user sees most. This is a great opportunity for your marketing campaigns. Firmology gives a few examples of how StumbleUpon can be used in your content marketing: Add a Page. This is an easy way to promote your page. Go to the drop down menu beneath your profile photo and locate the link that is appropriately titled, “add a page.” From there, you can add links to pages from all over your website. Be sure to add applicable tags so users can … Read more

6 Ways to Convince Your Clients & People to Invest in Content Marketing

December 31, 2020February 27, 2014 by Adam Oakley

Content marketing is an incredibly powerful tool that will yield a high return on the investment. Especially in today’s online era—and as long as it’s done properly and thoroughly. But, you cannot convince someone to use a strategy or sign up for your services if you cannot express the benefits of why (in other words, the benefits of content marketing). Showing the benefits, however, doesn’t mean spouting off a list of advantages. It is all about backing up your ideas with facts and presenting your sales pitch in a beautifully wrapped package. If delivered properly, your recipients will be ecstatic to start using content marketing by the end of the pitch. So, to help get those customers clawing at the doors to get access to your genius powers, we’re going to help you better understand those benefits and more importantly, show you how to demonstrate them. You can take the credit. It will be our little secret. First, Help Them Get Over The Assumption It Doesn’t Work Unfortunately, even in today’s internet age, there are still plenty of people that don’t embrace content marketing. The reason you aren’t getting traction with this group is likely because you don’t exploit the benefits of content marketing, and there’s plenty of them to use. KISSMetrics came out with an insightful blog that highlighted why content marketing strategies are failing. If you think content marketing isn’t worth it, or your clients are rejecting the idea, it is likely because they’re committing a deadly marketing sin of their own. We’ve also written a guest piece on SiteProNews with more on the subject. What are those sins? 4 Reasons Content Marketing Isn’t Working (So You Can Stop The It-Doesn’t-Work Argument In Its Tracks) Before we go into the six major do’s (how to convince), let’s talk briefly about the don’ts, so you’re not unconsciously scaring anyone away. 1. You Don’t Have A Refined Strategy If you haphazardly threw something together and then prayed it would work, you’re going to be disappointed. Content marketing requires constant changes, innovations, and updates. If your strategy is even three months old, we recommend changing it up. You’d be surprised at the progress you will make by doing so. 2. You’re Not Putting In The Effort Again, content marketing requires work. It doesn’t self-automate here. If it did, we’d all be billionaires. In the content marketing world, you get what you pay for. So, if you don’t see any improvement, look to see where you’re spending your money and see if you can squeeze more out of the budget to put it toward content marketing. 3. Your Content Sucks, Sorry Bottom line, content marketing will never succeed when the content holds no ground. Your content needs to be on point, relevant, interesting to read, and worthwhile for today’s reader with the epically short attention span. 4. There Are Too Many Brand Inconsistencies A brand should be definitive. If you read one piece of content from a particular brand, it should have the same tone, flow, and style with every other piece out there. When everything appears disjointed, mismatched, and doesn’t meet up with the mission statement, it won’t be effective, according to Mike Templeman at Forbes. Now, Let’s Move On To The Good Okay, now that we’ve dispelled some of the reasons you think content marketing doesn’t work (or the reasons your clients assume it doesn’t work), now we’re going to dive right into why you need to use it. 6 Ways You Can Encourage Anyone To Use Content Marketing Sure, you need a compelling sales pitch. But, you can’t just say “content marketing works,” and expect the world to jump on board. Instead, you need to deliver a convincing pitch that makes it almost seem as though without content marketing, the internet world would fail. 1. Sites With Excellent Content Marketing Grow 7.8x Faster Content marketers are the leaders in site traffic. You could be one of those leaders. According to Aberdeen and mentioned by Neil Patel, each year, unique website traffic is 7.8x higher for content marketing leaders than followers. The team at Search Engine Journal is one you can reference. (I love them and write for them consistently.) They keep up with consistent, high-quality content (there’s that quality content reference again), and they are at the forefront of content marketing. Even better, they churn out over 900,000 unique visitors per month according to their LinkedIn profile. So, how could you implement this fact and amplify your content marketing strategy? Start working on high-quality blogs. We’re talking long-form, short-form, research and newsworthy reads. Be a leader that sets the standard for your field. Whether you’re blogging about peanut butter muffins or your love for coupons, you need to establish yourself as the authority in that area. Track what other leaders do in that industry, see what they write about, and learn from their examples. 2. Sharable, Great Content Is What Is Trending Content that people want to read is the cornerstone of a great content marketing strategy. After all, what is the point of churning out all that content if no one shares it? A great offering for content marketing managers would be creating shareable content and then actually sharing it on social media for their customers. This means sharing on brand-owned social media channels, sharing content at the right time on social media, linking up with other similar or competing brands, and providing valuable information that people will continue to share. According to Pew Research Center: 65 percent of adults now use social media networking sites. This was a ten-fold jump from last decade. So, if your websites aren’t going viral, you need a strategy to help them capture at least a handful of those millions of people engaging on social media. Here’s another fact to chew on: DemandMetric states that 78% of content marketers believe custom content is the future of marketing. It’s true. With everything trending online, you need content that is unique, custom and … Read more