Content marketing can be likened to the tree that falls in the woods. In both instances, if there’s no one around to witness it, it’s unclear whether it makes an impact. A study commissioned by Edit Optimization, a U.K. SEO company, estimates that businesses will spend an average of 76 percent of their annual marketing budgets on web-based and digital marketing. A portion of that money will likely go toward generating digital content (blog posts, online video, podcasts, whitepapers and more). But it will all be for naught if the companies generating that content fail to distribute it to a wide audience.
If you are considering or have already launched a content marketing campaign, take time to strategize how you will disseminate those thoughtful blog posts, podcasts and other digital assets via different channels to deliver the highest return on your investment.
Structure content so it gets noticed
Search engines offer the best vehicle to promote the content on your website and associated platforms. The idea of search engine optimization – using deliberately placed keywords and formatting tactics to make it easier for search engines to find and catalogue your web pages – has continued to gain strength over the years. As consumers become more accustomed to finding information online – via search engines – utilizing a few SEO best practices may help spread awareness of your business and its quality content.
Think of some of the main keywords that an ideal client would search online to find out more information about your business’ area of expertise. Are those words that correspond to the kind of content you would naturally post to your website? If so, start working the terms into blog post headlines, URLs, photo captions and other areas of the page. It is important to remember that the keywords you choose cannot be too vague or a broad term such as “Investments” or “Insurance” since it is unlikely you will be able to rank very high on those search words or compete with the large institutions that target those search terms. Make your headlines “social friendly,” meaning they grab the attention of the reader and are catchy enough that they would be shared on social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter.
If you have invested time and energy into developing podcasts, slideshows or videos, consider creating captions or transcripts that make it easy for search engine algorithms to pick up and cache your content. Small efforts such as these simplify the process for your audience and make it more likely that they will find (and linger) on your company’s website.
