In last week’s blog, we went over the “in’s and out’s” of SEO and PPC digital advertising. It’s important to start with a foundation of knowledge when choosing how you want to spend your time and money advertising online. Now that we know the basics, it’s time to look at creating digital content for your website visitors. After all… how can you advertise without any ads?!
That said, it’s not just about creating advertisements. Let’s start by understanding the difference between a digital content campaign, and the general use of graphics, photos, email, and videos (all forms of digital content). As we learned in the last blog, it’s best to have a plan.
What is Digital Content?
Digital content is any content that exists in the form of digital data – Also known as digital media. Forms of digital content include information that is digitally broadcast, streamed, or contained in computer files.
A digital marketing campaign is an online marketing effort put forward by your company to drive engagement, conversions, traffic, or revenue. This can include the use of social media platforms for contests, pay-per-click campaigns, and SEO development to reach specific goals.
The difference here is ‘a plan’. When we post selfies on Instagram or write comments on Facebook, that’s technically creating digital content. But, when it comes to your business, creating content is only the first step. It’s important to take a step back and consider how you might use that content to create a campaign.
Why Content Matters
When you get online, do you like ‘only’ reading text? Probably not. Visuals play a HUGE role in the overall experience people have online. It’s that simple. That said, it can be difficult to know how SEO or PPC marketing is related to content. You ‘can’ add keywords, or pay for clicks, without the use of images, but let’s look at some information on the use of visual digital content.
One of our favorite examples comes from neilpatel.com.
Another way to look at it is like this — SEO makes demands. Content marketing fulfills those demands.
Think of it as a conversation between two people.
There is no such thing as SEO without content. You need words, articles, substance, keywords, verbiage.
And what is content marketing all about? It’s about creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience. The practical application of SEO (content) is the very substance of content marketing.
When SEO shouts, “We need more content!” content marketing responds, “Gotcha taken care of!”
Google likes fresh content, and they have for a long time. If you know SEO, you know that fresh content gets rapidly indexed, and registers higher in the SERPs (Search Engine Results Page) than older low-value content. When this fresh content appears on a site with historic authority, you can be sure that it’s going to have a SERP boost.
Good SEO, then, means a consistent output of content. Consistent output means that you’re doing content marketing, and you’re doing it right. There isn’t any way around it.
Creating a Campaign
It’s best to start with the customer in mind.
In marketing and product development, there is often so much emphasis placed on the product and the “numbers” surrounding it (profits) that sometimes people lose sight of the need that the product fulfills.
What truly matters is who you are marketing to, and why. You need to understand their pain points in order to know what they’re ultimately doing with your product. In other words, when you demonstrate the post-buying moments, they’ll then remember why they need it in the first place.
To help build a foundation for your digital content campaign, let’s look at what the Digital Marketing Institute has to say.
Use Content for Lead Generation
There are many ways of generating leads, but one tried and tested method is by providing valuable written content and distributing it appropriately. When you tie your blogs and articles to a specific offer via a landing page, you boost your conversion potential. According to Entrepreneur, bloggers are 13 times more likely to have a positive ROI, and companies have the same type of results.
Use Content to Show Authority & Authenticity
Don’t just use social to “post” – you want to share your own company’s values and mission no matter what channel or method you’re using.
A few tips on this:
- Get personal with live videos. Provide interactive elements and behind-the-scenes looks at the company or product whenever possible.
- Offer ongoing learning and education as a part of your brand’s mission, whether it’s about the brand itself or about a cause it’s close to.
- Post your live and other videos to your website and even embed them in ads. Video is one of the top-converters, and it doesn’t require a high budget to use well.
Don’t forget the emotion-based storylines. Stories that appeal to the real people behind your company can be beneficial. They make your company appear more personable and approachable, building trust. Consumers are looking for more meaning behind their purchasing habits. Give them a good reason to continue choosing you.
Bringing it All Together
With any digital marketing campaign or strategy, it’s important to stay aligned with your core purpose, not just your products. Focus on benefits, address customer’s real needs, and understand what makes them tick. If you can, stay on top of which social trends are affecting various demographics. Remember that it’s really your job to “follow” the customer and not the other way around.
As we continue with our 5-week blog series on Digital Marketing, remember that we’re always here to help.
If you’d like to discuss digital content, SEO/PPC strategies, or any of the other topics we’re including in the series, please reach out to us. Our goal is to help your business grow.
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