How To Create Content That Sticks

February 20, 2018

According to HubSpot, 53% of marketers say blog content creation is their top inbound marketing priority—as it should be. The internet isn’t going anywhere, and Google keeps getting smarter, filtering more data and grading your website on the quality of your content. You need a solid content strategy in place if you want to make any headway with digital marketing. But while most marketers know they need to focus on content creation, few actually know what content marketing success actually looks like. So how do you create clickable content that works in your business’s best interest?

It’s a more difficult question to answer than you might think. Yes, ROI is the top priority of any marketing effort; we obviously want our time and energy to be spent helping the bottom line. But how do we get there? Let’s explore how Parqa has been effective in our content marketing strategy so far by taking a look at creating content that sticks.

1. Clearly define the purpose of your content

The most important question to ask yourself is Why am I creating content in the first place? Are you simply trying to keep up with the times? Is your website lacking the same marketing materials you’ve identified in your competitors? Are you creating content that will inform your web visitors and engage them? Do you want to establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry? Determining the purpose and goal of each piece of content will help you more clearly organize your thoughts. Instead of just writing about whatever happens to be on your mind in a disorganized fashion, you’ll have a clear idea of what you want your content to accomplish going forward.

2. Identify common challenges

Determine common challenges that people in your business or industry face and empathize with. As you direct traffic to your various content offerings, remember that visitors are looking for an answer to their problems. You may be an expert—you may have a brilliant sales and marketing team—but the main goal of your content is not to be overly promotional. It’s an opportunity to help someone solve a problem, not hype your business. Create content that will identify and empathize with common pain-points to attract potential leads to engage with you.

3. Use your first-hand experience

Share personal experience from within the industry. Take some time and brainstorm. Write out your top 10 to 20 questions YOU asked over the years, that helped you get to where you are. Before you were managing your firm, think of all the experiences you had that shaped your understanding of your industry. Think of all the questions you faced, maybe asking colleagues or mentors how to navigate through, or learning the tough way through trial and error. Your potential clients and candidates want to hear from someone who’s been on their same journey and become successful.

4. Audit your content

Getting started with a content strategy can seem overwhelming, but a final way to get started is to reuse old marketing projects. If you’ve used specific collateral in the past and it was effective, you may not necessarily have to reinvent the wheel. Repurpose that material, even if it can just serve as a starting point when building a blog campaign or ebook outline. It will help expedite your content creation process and help you start brainstorming potential content ideas in the future, as well.

two people looking at a macbook pro on desk

5 Content Marketing Mistakes – That Give Competitors the Edge

June 26, 2017

Content marketing has emerged as one of the most effective ways to build your business’s brand and voice. Additionally, it can also help generate customer loyalty and improve your company’s website ranking on online search engine results pages. As a business owner, content marketing is one of the best tools in your toolbox, but you can’t reap the benefits by aimlessly churning out content without a strategy and authenticity.

To benefit from content marketing, you have to do it right, otherwise it may be working against you and could be giving your competitors the edge. A finely-tuned content marketing strategy can help establish your authority in the marketplace, bring in new business and raise awareness for your brand, if you avoid the common but critical mistakes listed below.

1. Hiring Ghost Writers to Write for You

The bottom line is that the content you publish cannot be authentic if it does not come straight from the mind of a relevant expert. I see companies on a daily basis who publish content blatantly written by a ghostwriter and, in my experience, it detracts from the business’ overall credibility. In one instance, an US based competitor published a number of blogs containing words with British spellings, which made it obvious that they didn’t write it themselves.

From the customer’s perspective, if the content you’re putting out appears “fake” and doesn’t capture authentic thoughts and feelings, how good can your services be? Without the involvement of a genuine thought leader who has real expertise, using a ghostwriter is a shortcut that appears as a red flag to customers. You have to ask yourself: What does my content say about my company? Am I simply putting out content for the sake of doing it, or do I want to offer valuable and authentic content that people can learn from?

2. Over Promoting Yourself and Your Business

When the majority of your posts focus on personal accomplishments or newly retained assignments, you’re missing out on what makes social media so valuable: sharing and promoting the work and accomplishments of others, especially your individual employees. Promoting personal and overarching company accomplishments has a place, however, when you do it too much it gives off the impression that you’re only concerned about things that benefit or relate to you.

Rather than focus on your company and yourself, start sharing and talking about others more. Keep in mind that prospects are always watching you on social media, not necessarily your company. When they see that you are sharing and supporting others, it reflects positively and shows that you care about the success of your employees and learning from your peers. For example, rather than post about your company’s newest client, consider a post congratulating a loyal employee on their recent accomplishment.

3. Post and Pray, Not Tracking Metrics

Not tracking the effectiveness of your content marketing and thought leadership efforts is one of the most counter-productive mistakes you can make. If you don’t track key performance indicators (KPIs), there’s no way to know whether or not all your hard work is paying off. Without analyzing data and evidence to show what’s working and what isn’t, you’re simply guessing when it comes to your content strategy.

You’ll be far better equipped to make informed choices about how to approach content marketing if you know which types of content are resonating with your audience, which platforms are generating the most engagement and so on. It can feel tedious, but tracking basic analytics metrics such as clicks, visitors, and conversions (and analyzing that information) is important when it comes to refining your marketing strategy over time.

4. Writing for the Wrong Audience

You may also be writing to the wrong audience, or taking a guess on what they’re interested in. Your thought leadership can fall flat if you have the wrong people write or target an irrelevant audience.

Getting your intended audience right and properly defined can work wonders. Understanding who you’re writing for gives you a better understanding of the perspective you should take, the tone you should adopt and the level of knowledge your audience has. Additionally and perhaps most importantly, you’ll know what the pain points of that particular audience are so you can speak to them in your writing. For example, if your business is B2C, you’ll want to write directly to customers, but if your business is B2B, you’re more likely going to write to business owners and high-level decision makers. These two target audiences are very different and content needs to be finely tuned to resonate with any niche.

5. Don’t Allow Your Content Strategy to Work Against You

Above all, my point is that there’s truly no shortcut for building a great brand, owning rankings in search engine results pages, or becoming an authority in your market. Simply pushing out content without a plan is not enough and, unfortunately, can actually work against you if customers walk away with a bad taste in their mouth after reading it.

The key to avoiding this common pitfall is ensuring your content is authentic and comes straight from the mouth of a respected and experienced thought leader with genuinely valuable advice to give. While ghostwriters are convenient, they can’t deliver this. If you avoid these mistakes, share and support what others are posting about, and establish a way to track the effectiveness of your thought leadership, you’ll be able to build a strong brand based on memorable customer experiences.

How Can Parqa Help?

Digital marketing continues to evolve at a constant pace, so it helps to have a team on your side to navigate the latest changes and help you get solid results based on your unique objectives.
Parqa is a Digital Marketing Agency that specializes in SEO, SEM, Marketing Automation, Social Media and content creation. We help grow your brand and drive leads through inbound marketing.

Content Marketing Strategy