Is Content King? 10 Steps to Better Content Marketing

In 1996, Bill Gates wrote an article called “ Content is King,” and today many content marketers have adopted the title as their mantra. But is it still true today - more than twenty years later? The answer: yes and no. Today, there is more content online than anyone could have imagined. All this content makes it difficult for bloggers and other content marketers to be heard above the noise. Add to that Facebook’s algorithm changes, a significant decrease in social shares, and declining engagement, and you may find a few frustrated content marketers. But it isn’t all bad news. It turns out that there is still a demand for well-researched, well-written, informative content. In fact sites like the Harvard Business Review and the Economist – both known for their in-depth articles - are seeing an increase in content sharing.

Last year, social referral traffic declined, but that doesn’t mean that social media is dead. Social media continues to be a great platform to build brand awareness and increase engagement. But don’t just focus on shares and links. Decide what your content objectives are and determine which metrics are relevant to your objectives. One of those metrics might end up being shares, but then again, conversions or traffic metrics may be a better indicator of what is and isn’t working for you.

Simply jumping on a trending topic without having already established yourself as an expert in that field, may not drive much traffic to your website. But if you’ve already established yourself as the go-to site for all things about that topic, it can help set you apart from the sea of articles. You become a trusted expert on that topic, and people will turn to you for accurate information.

You can also use that expertise to discover the next trending topic. You need to spot those emerging areas of interest and start writing about them before the web is flooded with articles from your competitors.

If you find your social shares falling, it’s tempting to try to create viral content and headlines, but people quickly tire of seeing the same material with similar headlines and formats. And, Facebook is punishing businesses that are posting headlines that withhold information or use extreme language.

Instead of focusing on going viral, focus on your target market by providing content that they will be interested in reading. Consistently providing good content over time will attract more people who may be interested in your product or service than trying to go viral.

The web is flooded with bad information, and people have become hungry for good, quality content they can count on. Make sure that everything you post is well researched, well written and that it includes long-form content and original information and ideas.

There’s evidence that creating and promoting a few high-quality articles creates more engagement than creating and promoting lots of low-quality materials. Promoting a new piece every week is a lot easier than trying to promote something every day. If you have the resources to do both – create high-quality content frequently and promote it – go for it. If not, focus on quality over quantity and then promote the heck out of that content.

Just because you build it doesn’t mean they will come. You need to let people know your content out there. You can do that by using tools such as paid promotion, outreach, influencer sharing, and staff sharing. Social media is still an important platform for your content, but with the decline of organic reach, you don’t want to overlook other communication channels such as emails or messenger groups.

In a world with fewer social shares, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has become more critical than ever. Plus, Google’s algorithm rewards authoritative content that gains links, so it’s crucial that you have an SEO strategy to drive people to your content .

Every business has a limited amount of resources to create great content, so why not ask your audience to write some content for you? Build campaigns, such as surveys, competitions, and feedback that encourages and rewards your users for creating relevant content and engaging with you. User-generated content usually drives engagement better than anything you can create. So to go back to the question, “Is content still king?” I would say, YES ; however, the strategy behind the creation and promotion of that content has changed, so you need to do it right if you want to keep that crown!

PMI can create a smart content strategy for your business and even write and post content that drives new customers to your website. Give us a call at 484-297-6395 or contact us online to learn how you can use content marketing to attract new customers and retain existing ones.