If COVID has driven your business online, you may suddenly be conscious of all the warts in your website, 应用程序, 电子邮件 programs and/or 社交媒体. Maybe you’re contemplating a digital revamp. If you are, this “Stepping Up 数字” series is meant to you help you tackle that project.
In this series so far, you’ve learned from my colleagues why it’s important to audit your digital assets 和 设立明确的目标 为改进. Next comes content planning. Your digital content needs to be relevant, 可搜索的, and compel action.
Here are key questions to help you launch effective content marketing:
- Are your messages on-brand? Content should support your larger brand strategy. Make sure you first clearly define your organization’s brand promise, competitive claims, rational benefits, 情感上的奖励, 和个性. As part of our marketing mix, we offer a 品牌研讨会 to help clients define their brand. Messaging 和ne will grow out of this foundation. A clear brand architecture will keep all content cohesive and “ringing true,” whether it’s sales, 抵押品, 一个网站, or social platforms. Here’s the framework we use:
- Does your content guide a journey? In 一个网站, content drives navigation, and navigation drives design. Organize content in a way that leads customers through an intentional journey. 在DKY, the web designer and content writer plan navigation hand-in-hand, mapping logical journeys that lead to desired discoveries and actions. 为 ADM Farmer Services 例如, DKY created authoritative pillar pages with related content that’s easy to find and consume.
- Are you using keywords? Keywords are a crucial part of your content strategy. To make your content 可搜索的, utilize a keyword tool and find the most relevant search terms that your audience is be likely to use. Avoid buzzwords or insider terms like “value oriented” when your searchers will enter the word “cheap.” Understanding the role of keywords can be complex, but a good start is this recent blog by my colleague Tim Karlberg.
- Have you balanced data and 故事? 大脑研究 shows that emotions play a huge part in purchasing decisions, even in the business-to-business realm. We tend to make choices with our gut, but then use evidence to justify or confirm a choice we’ve made. This means you need a mix of content that appeals to both right and left brains. You’ll want to substantiate your claims with the strongest facts and data you can collect, but then also put a human face on the argument with case studies, 奖状, 和概要文件
- How will you stay relevant? Gone are static websites that are basically digital brochures. Approach your site as a publishing platform for dynamic news, 故事, and insights that continue to accumulate and add value. Build in a blog or newsroom that you can frequently update, then leverage those posts with 电子邮件, 文本, or social outreach. Discipline your content engine with an editorial calendar that commits to topics, 作者, and publish dates. Start small and build. Once you’re in the groove of interviewing subject matter experts for regular blog content, it can be a fairly easy progression to a podcast or video series.
- Who’s your editor? It’s probably clear by now that you need a good storyteller on your marketing team. Hire or partner with someone who can serve as content editor-in-chief, such as a public relations pro or a freelance brand journalist. These folks (speaking from personal experience) are wired to watch industry news and help your organization stay relevant with timely content. Their ideas can also be leveraged in pitches to the media.
数字 content is truly king 在市场营销. You have the power to be your own publisher, engaging and deepening relationships directly with customers. Our integrated digital team at DKY would love to help get your content, 社交媒体, inbound marketing, and website all working in concert.
为 more on the social side of your digital upgrade, stay tuned for the fourth and last blog in this series – Stepping Up 数字: Socializing Your Brand.