The only way to win at content marketing is for the reader to say, “This was written specifically for me.” –Jamie Turner (60SecondMarketer.com)
A quick guess as to why you would be reading this article would yield two answers:
You are either:
1) a novice at content marketing or
2) at a constant loss as to how to boost your online rankings.
Either way, you are here because you want a good content marketing strategy that delivers results. And results that would get you somewhere dig deeper than a traditional marketing strategy.
Novices at content marketing would often be guided by the hackneyed adage that has repeatedly been proclaimed and lauded in quite a lot of articles online. Though content is an integral factor in content marketing, relying on it alone barely scratches the surface of the essence of real content marketing. Great content, albeit a significant fraction of content marketing, should not be the sole thing a content marketer should rely on. You may have written the most compelling and riveting articles, but it would all be for naught if you have not established an online presence.
Your online presence is akin to building a custom home. Before adding the desired embellishments and adornments, one would need to dig a hole and put in a foundation. Similarly, an ideal content marketing strategy would be the same. Before you can be successful in this area, it is important to aptly lay the foundation of your online presence by utilizing the four marketing principles. These four marketing principles consist of four C’s which would serve as guiding pillars and precepts to beginners and are namely:
- Create,
- Captivate,
- Community, and
- Convert.
It should not stop there, however; any self-respecting professional content marketer employed in an SEO company in the Philippines or wherever would first apply the question “Why” to these four pillars before they can begin the creation of a functional and efficient content marketing strategy. These four C’s are your guide and together, they form a cohesive and efficient online strategy. If you can successfully utilize and exploit all four, then you will undoubtedly find success online.
Create
The first principle in content marketing is incredibly straightforward. Content marketing is called such because the content is the main thing that propels it forward. In a sense, it is the meat of the entire strategy and to be an effective marketer, you would need to consistently produce and create authentic and riveting content that would keep your audience and readers coming back for more.
Blogging is not dead, so it is important that you create original content on a platform you own. Original in a sense that it relates to what you do in your business and hiring a copywriter or a freelance content marketer would be an excellent way to do this. Your website, blog, social media posts and email marketing should all have a distinct voice and should provide unique value through original contents.
Unfortunately, some businesses did not start out to become publishers, but with competition so stiff, it can be become rather difficult to hold the attention your business would need to make it through traditional methods. This makes it imperative to publish and create original content. It is also crucial to note that content must not only be original but high quality as well.
Captivate
It is a business’s fatal mistake to create content and leave it at that. Apparently, most businesses are under the mistaken impression that a constant flurry activity translates to success, but the persistent generation of contents is not sufficient to succeed—you must create content that captivates your audience as well. The simplest and most straightforward way to do it is to be human.
Your contents must capture the transparency, vulnerability, humility, and authenticity that would allow you to have a real connection with your audience. This is achieved through teaching through stories, sharing case studies, highlighting audience members, answering common questions regarding your business or industry and providing behind-the-scenes access.
Peppering your content with various media such as videos and images would assist you in this endeavor. When it comes to this pillar, it is important to take note of the very definition of the word “Captivate” which is to attract and hold the interest and attention of. If you build on this, then your audience will soon trust you.
Community
The community is essential in content marketing as this would assist you in building trust with your audience and it is crucial to the long-term success of your content marketing strategy. Without question, your audience will come for your content but stay for the community. Sure, you may have a flurry of attention by creating a new product with a compelling sales copy, pay for ads that would attract attention.
Doing this will inevitably move your product and would make sales. But this kind of attention would be temporary and fleeting as it does not have a sense of community. A short burst of attention is all you would get and eventually, it would die out. Attention given in haste would be attention hastily taken away as well unless you build a good community and introduce your captivated audience to one another.
Give your audience a reason to come back by having them congregate and network. Keep in mind that your ideas are the fuel while the community is the engine. Building a community requires you to assemble repeat customers as well as brand evangelists. Remember, the community keeps your content marketing thriving.
Convert
The last but certainly not the least important pillar of content marketing is to convert. After establishing a consistent creation process, captivating your audience and having a community comprised of audience members, conversion becomes the relatively easy part. This is because the hard work has already been done as the first three foundational principles of content marketing are all laborious.
To successfully convert, it is important that you test. No one is certain what is going to convert prospective audience members into customers—not unless they test the various elements of a conversion focused on landing page. There are a lot of tools which would assist you in accomplishing just this; all you would need to do is find the appropriate platform most suitable for you.
The most important thing for you to remember is conversion would work if your audience trusts you.
The Internet is riddled with so many articles as regards how many social media posts you must generate everyday or recipes for blogging success. Everyone has a different strategy, but all things considered, if you just focused on the four C’s of beginner content marketing, you need not bother yourself with these things. If you persistently follow the four pillars and principles of content marketing, then you would not have to stay as a novice for too long.
