Tag: content strategy

Creating a Content Strategy

About The Author


Kyle Marino

Areli's marketing guru. Wears a lot of different hats. Has worked with various agencies and startups on everything from social media management to national campaign rollouts. Started from the bottom. Now he's here.

There’s a common thread that all companies share. Regardless of if they’re a startup, mom and pop business, or corporation – their success is determined by the demand of their buyers. It doesn’t matter if they are a B2B or a B2C, at the end of the day, a customer is a customer. Even though the web has made it extremely easy to capture the attention of more leads, it also has opened up the floodgates for many competitors to do the same. So here’s the ultimate question you and every other company faces: How do I stand out from the crowd? The answer is so simple it’s most likely a bit redundant at this point. It comes down to your content strategy.

Content is key.

Content has the power to steal the light from big budget companies and can also be the last nail in the coffin for others. While the concept of creating content is simple, it comes down to the overall strategy and execution that separates one piece of content from another.

We’re firm believers in the power of content and a strong content strategy. It can be a double edged sword though, so we’re going to offer some tips and tricks to make your content work for you rather than the reverse.

A Content Strategy for the Win

Let’s discuss how content plays a key role in your success. Through your website’s copy, blog posts, ads, social media and more, the words and images you use can affect how potential consumers see your brand. If you’re focusing on one more than the other you can miss opportunities. If you focus on them all without the right strategy or manpower, you can spread yourself too thin and can miss deadlines. Hence why we call content a double-edged sword.

A strong content strategy has the power to make your brand seem larger than life. You can rub shoulders with other big name influencers even if you’ve only been around a fraction of the time they have. Your content strategy should be your plan or a roadmap. Before you even start writing a blog post or adjusting your website copy, you should ask yourself, ‘What am I trying to accomplish?’ Consider what your overall company goals are and how you could make your value proposition shine throughout. Another factor we think about before drafting anything is the types of questions we have received or issues we have come across ourselves. From there, a list of topics and ideas begin to form, giving you a blueprint of pieces of content you can create.

When people see the term ‘content’ they tend to think of just simple text or website copy. The truth is, your web content should extend beyond the realm of copywriting. Images, videos, infographics, and more are all considered content and should all be utilized within your overall content strategy.

Keep it Diverse, Keep it Fresh

A well-formed content strategy surpasses blog posts and website content. As I mentioned above, content is more than just text, and your strategy should reflect this. There will always be a situation where a picture speaks louder than words. Branded images are a great way to catch a follower’s eye and keep them engaged. Something else to consider is the goals of your strategy. If you want to increase conversions, you may want to create an incentive that you can gate for their contact info, such as an eBook or white paper.

Different Types of Content Formats

Infographics
The days of boring Excel pie charts and scatter graphs are over. Visually data representation needs more of an artistic flair to stand out. This gives creative teams the ability to flex their design chops and create engaging pieces of content out of boring data. They’re a great way of offering valuable data and information to your followers without putting them to sleep.

Click here to see the full infographic

 

Videos
With so much content at the fingertips, there are going to be instances where people would choose a more condensed version than what you’re offering. We’ve got short attention spans, and only serious followers will read your 10-page post on a topic such as link building. The fact of the matter is when a shorthand like tl;dr (too long; didn’t read) becomes mainstream it’s time to make content as easy to digest as possible. Many times this can be solved through the creation of a video or video series on certain topics. You’re able to cover a lot more ground in less time while using visual aesthetics to keep the audience engaged.

Memes & Gifs
Unless you’re a straight-laced corporate business, throwing a little whimsy and fun into your social and online strategy is always good to try. They’re usually fun and silly, shining a spotlight on some of the more relevant aspects of society. There are some instances though where you can use a GIF to demonstrate an action or function which helps those who fall into the category of visual learners. Use them sparingly and try to keep them to blog posts and social.

Ultimately there’s a time and place for all of these types of content. When creating a content strategy it’s definitely something to keep in mind. Don’t overcomplicate it either. There’s nothing wrong with taking a written blog post from a year ago and creating a video out of it. The same applies to infographics, case studies, eBooks, etc. If you are already taking the time to create the content, why not use it in as many formats as you could?

Consistency is a MUST

Focus on keeping your content strategy on a consistent schedule. When it comes to your content strategy and posting schedule go for the tortoise’s approach rather than the hare’s. Focus on the content you are producing, take your time and follow a schedule that is manageable with all of the other daily tasks you may have. Instead of going hard and posting every day or week and running out of time to produce quality pieces, do what you can maintain. It’s always easier to scale up and increase your posting schedule. With the hare’s approach, scaling back can actually be detrimental and affect how audiences perceive your brand. A content calendar can help you remain focused on your weekly and monthly tasks. You can find an example of one here.

I’ve mentioned this before but it remains true. Quality over quantity will always win. You should never sacrifice the quality of a blog post for the sake of a deadline.

TL;DR

To sum it up content is key. It’s the life force of your brand and the best way to engage with your audience. Quality should always remain ahead of quantity as you create content, schedule posts and maintain consistency. Use diverse content formats like infographics and videos to accommodate the various preferences of your audience. Most importantly, enjoy what you’re doing. You should be psyched about your content strategy! You’re on your way to becoming an industry influencer, so enjoy this process!

Getting Started: Website Development and Design Basics

About The Author


Kyle Marino

Areli's marketing guru. Wears a lot of different hats. Has worked with various agencies and startups on everything from social media management to national campaign rollouts. Started from the bottom. Now he's here.

Whether you currently have a website or are in the process of creating one, there are a lot of basic fundamentals your finished product must contain. While many will look for the ‘cost-effective’ routes of doing it in-house with limited platforms like Wix and Squarespace, those who want to really succeed will understand that more effort and capabilities are needed to stand out among the competition.

At this point, everyone is connected to the web in one way or another. From smartphones and mobile devices to services like telemedicine and mobile payment processing, everything is connected to the constant stream of data surrounding us. While this makes it easier for brands to connect with their consumers, it becomes a double edge sword when you consider the amount of time and effort required to remain ahead of the competition. This post will give you an idea of website ‘must-haves’ to stay competitive.

The process of creating or even redesigning a website can be overwhelming, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be. In this post we’ll cover the basic fundamentals your website should definitely possess while offering some insight on how to actually get it accomplished:

  • Choosing a CMS Platform
  • Content Strategy
  • Responsive Design
  • Search Engine Optimization
  • Brand Alignment

Where to Begin? Website Development Core Basics

Let’s start off by discussing how to choose the right CMS platform to use as the foundation of your website. A CMS platform is a content management system, a software that is used to create and manage, you guessed it…content. You have your basic platforms, your custom CMS infrastructures and even those that are created for high volume, enterprise levels of content.

There are a lot of great options out there with different capabilities, including:

Our preferred CMS is WordPress.

When you’re looking for the right CMS for your brand, consider what your needs are. What are you trying to accomplish? Unless you’re a big brand looking for enterprise level integrations and capabilities, such as churning out a ridiculous amount of content across multiple websites WordPress tends to be the ideal choice. The amount of customization, open integrations, and capabilities of the platform makes it a powerhouse CMS in the right hands.

Now that you’ve selected the right foundation for your brand, you can dive into the structure or layout of your site, which lays the blueprints for the overall design and aesthetics. For us, we use Coggle to create sitemaps and outline the content for each page. A mind map is a great tool to use so you can focus on the specific purpose of each page while remaining mindful of the bigger picture goals. Here’s an example of how we use Coggle during the planning phase for most of our projects.

Once you’ve adjusted your sitemap based on your needs and have a CMS platform in hand, here are the other four key components of any killer website:

  • Content Strategy
  • Responsive Design
  • Search Engine Optimization
  • Brand Alignment

Content Strategy

Regardless of what you may read or what you have experienced in the past, content is king. Without it, the result would be similar to a ‘big-beautiful Cadillac with no engine.’ It may look amazing and snappy on the outside, but there are no guts to hold it together. In future posts we’ll definitely be focusing on your content strategy but until then, here’s what you need to keep in mind:

  • Your Target Audience
  • Overall Goals
  • What’s Your Value Prop?
  • Keeping Content in the Queue

The Content Strategy Quad, copyright Brain Traffic

Your content strategy spans across your entire brand, with your website being one of the cogs in a larger machine. After you’ve identified the right messaging for the right audience, there’s much more work to be done. As you create or redesign your website, consider how your messaging will play a larger role in your content strategy. Each of your value props should be a running theme for all of your blog posts, social media plans and more. Every message, line of copy or blog post should serve an overall purpose, whether it’s solidifying your brand as an influencer, increasing your followers or improving your conversion rate. You should never go into drafting blind, and you should always have a clear idea of how this piece fits into the puzzle.

Responsive Design

We’ve spoken on this topic before, but it remains true and will only continue to increase as the years go by and technology improves. Having a ‘mobile-first’ type of mindset will allow you to create an overall positive experience for all of your visitors regardless of their preferred device. Using a responsive design approach gives you the ability to ensure your website looks just as good on any mobile device as it does on a desktop. That’s the ultimate goal, isn’t it?

Consider how often people are on their smartphones and tablets versus on their desktops. We always have our phones on hand, and will constantly use it for research and browsing purposes. When creating or revamping your website, you need to consider how you can provide ALL Of your visitors with the best web experience regardless of the device. Keeping your information easily accessible is the best way to increase your page on-time and engagement metrics.

Search Engine Optimization

There’s so much noise out there on the web, it’s difficult to differentiate yourself even with all of your experience and credibility. One aspect that many companies fall off with is in their rankings. What are you doing to keep your website at the top of search results? Are you being found for the right terms and keywords? Search Engine Optimization is a fickle mistress, constantly changing her needs and wants based on the habits of consumers. What may have worked years ago is not guaranteed to work now, especially if it was closer to black hat techniques. That being said, it’s absolutely necessary to keep your finger on the pulse and identify the best tactics that will help your brand stand out.

At the very least, your website should have all of your meta-information optimized, a focus keyword for every page and overall configuration for efficient loading times. That’s only the beginning. Looking at the bigger picture, your overall content strategy and your SEO efforts should be working in-line, as you can’t have one without the other. Well, you can but it won’t really do jack for you. The more optimized content you produce, the more links you have pointing back to your website, the higher you will go in search rankings. More importantly, search engines like Google then consider you a much more credible source, which also affects your search performance.

Be sure to lookout for our upcoming post on best practices for SEO to learn more about how to get started.

Brand Alignment

If you’re going to take the time going through the entire web design or redesign process your ultimate goal should be to keep your overall strategy and approach aligned. If you have any silos within your brand working on different things, take a moment to understand how this can result in a disjointed, inconsistent appearance and actually hinder your brand in the long run. You create a stronger brand when you are all on one page rather than working on your own goals.

A unified approach gives all of your teams the perspective they need to understand how their responsibilities fit within the company’s overall plan or vision. It’s a great way to keep your team engaged and more importantly, will create more effective results than you were receiving prior. If you’re going to invest the time and money into a website or a redesign, it’s imperative that you also align your strategies to follow the launch and capitalize on the momentum.

To Sum it Up

In the end, the most important aspect of any web redesign or build is to remain focused on the big picture while taking care of the specific tasks at hand. Any distractions or loss in momentum can affect how cohesive the finished product is. Your overall goal should be to ensure a seamless approach with your other efforts when launching. Finding the right CMS platform, creating a strong content strategy, and keeping mobile in mind when designing will get you started on the right track. By using the insights offered above you can make sure you are taking care of the core fundamentals to your website.