content marketing

5 Content Types to Generate Quality Leads

April 9, 2020 By Ash Genete Leave a Comment

A subset of inbound marketing, content marketing enables you to hit your business targets, including lead generation, through the provision of valuable, helpful content. With only 18% of marketers crediting outbound marketing in providing the highest quality sales leads, it isn’t quite surprising anymore how content marketing has made it to the cut as one of the most powerful marketing strategies today.

This means that as long as you know what content to build your lead generation strategy on, there’s so much more potential to grow your business through content marketing. And with people showing great interest in consuming different content types like articles, videos, emails—the list goes on—you’ll want to make sure that you’re up to speed in content marketing.

Here’s a list of some of the most important content assets that you should be paying more attention to in order for you to generate and engage business prospects.

1. eBooks

The comprehensiveness of eBooks makes it an ideal content type for lead generation even if you may gate your eBooks. People who have a need for the information you provide in your eBooks won’t hesitate to give you their personal details as well as professional profile in exchange for full access to your content.

Perhaps of secondary importance here is the fact that you can also gain revenue in the form of eBook sales, which has been a profitable industry in the United States since 2008.

2. Case studies

Case studies are another type of long-form content wherein you share stories about working with your customers and steering their business to success. As such, your case studies will include descriptions of how your company works to achieve your clients’ end goals.

Use your company blog to feature your case studies, and be sure to track who’s interacting with it so you can have your sales team reach out to your potential customers. Alternatively, you can make your case studies part of your off-site content as a way to generate links from your target audience.

Needless to say, the more case studies you share with your audience, the more you’ll be able to establish your thought leadership in your business vertical.

3. Research reports/Whitepapers

Research papers and whitepapers are authoritative reports that you can use to educate people about your business or industry. In particular, research reports tend to engage audiences because the information they contain is culled from surveys involving real people, making them original and creditable to your brand.

As a matter of fact, 74% and 63% of marketers report that the top benefits they get from producing research papers are website traffic and social shares, respectively. And you know that these channels are where a good number of your leads or prospects may be. And with the right approach, you might just get to convert them down the road.

4. Landing pages

Landing pages are stand-alone pages on your website where you can place a lead-capture form, which is why you may also call them as lead capture pages.

These pages work in a couple of ways. For one, you can use landing pages to provide information about your products or services. Alternatively, you can direct leads or customers to a specific offer—such as a free resource—with visitors providing their contact details or job or industry information.

In order for people to find your landing pages, you need to set up your promotional campaigns in various channels like email, social media, and search engine. Once someone clicks on any of your links or ads, they’ll be led directly to your landing page. This makes landing pages directly tied to quality leads since they have previously expressed interest in your business.

5. Blog posts

Blog posts are the lifeblood of content marketing, which makes them an integral part of your lead generation as well. The leads might not come to you right after you publish the first few articles on your company blog, so you’ll need to be consistent with blogging. In fact, the amount of leads you can generate when you have 401 to 1000 pages of blog articles goes up to six times more than if you had only about 51 to 100 pages of content.

Quality blog posts can enhance your online visibility in various channels—whether it’s on search engine results pages (SERPs), social platforms, or industry authority sites. With more traffic going to your own site, you’ll have numerous opportunities to engage your audience until they’re ready to become marketing or sales leads for your company.

Using Content in Lead Generation

People will always get drawn to brands that offer timely, relevant, and helpful content. Use it to your advantage by exploring other types of content to increase the number of leads you generate for your business.

Like and Share: How Your Content Marketing Dominance Can Start with Social Media

April 8, 2020 By Ash Genete Leave a Comment

At any given time, you can find more than 2 billion people on Facebook actively engaging with its content day in and day out. Facebook may only be a fraction of the entire social space—although a large one at that—but people being drawn to the platform only proves that there is a wealth of opportunities for companies to promote their businesses via social media.

Specifically, social media can be a great channel to distribute your content if you know how to maximize your opportunities. With its wide reach, you should be building your social media promotion strategy by now to start your content marketing dominance.

These pointers can help you start off on the right foot:

1. Plan, plan, and plan

Social media can be a powerful vehicle in influencing public perception about your brand. This is why you need to have a concrete digital strategy that will help you channel your efforts in the right direction. One of the first things to include in your agenda is to know and understand the type of audience that belongs to a particular social network.

Facebook audiences may differ from LinkedIn audiences based on several key factors, like demographics and user behavior. Obviously, you will need a different set of strategies when targeting audiences from these two platforms. Creating a social media marketing plan can help you evaluate, organize, and allocate your content assets.

2. Use social media publishing platforms

Once you decide to take your content marketing to social media, you’ll need to manage your tasks in an efficient and effective manner. You’ll be needing tools to streamline your processes, so you can create and publish content that will reach a broader audience in a timely manner.

It’s along these lines that social media publishing platforms can be very useful for quickly getting your posts out to your audience. These platforms, which include the likes of LinkedIn Pulse, Twitter Moments, and Facebook Instant Articles, allow you to show the full version of your content without people having to go to an external link and the leave the platform altogether. To a great extent, social media publishing addresses the instant gratification experience that social media users are looking for.

3. Invest in visual content

You might have heard the expression “Content is king” way too often in the marketing world. These days, however, many marketers are leaning toward the idea that it’s just not any type of content that you should be focusing on. You need to include visual content into the mix.

Visual content may include photos, animations, infographics, and videos. According to an article that appeared in Forbes, visual content may very well be the future of storytelling in marketing due to its ability to capture audience attention and drive engagement.

4. Focus on the quality

Anyone can create content, but what audiences will remember are brands that make quality content. There are several yardsticks for quality, but here are some of the most important ones that you need to remember:

It has to be informative, providing your audience with valuable and useful information that they can use to answer their most pressing questions or address their pain points along the buyer’s journey.

It has to be interesting, sparking the attention and curiosity of your audience. Come up with different ways of presenting your content: add statistics, make analogies, use humor—anything that will keep your audience waiting for your next post.

It has to be relevant for both your niche and your audience. As a brand, you have to demonstrate that you’re an expert on your chosen subject matter. Being as original as possible can give you even bigger wins too, such as more likes and shares for your content.

5. Do cross-promotions

The good thing about content marketing vis-à-vis social media marketing is that there’s no shortage of strategies when it comes to promoting your content. You can give a single piece of content several spins, create a series out of that content, and launch them across multiple social channels. These techniques work well in maximizing the exposure of your content as well as your audience reach.

6. Establish and maintain brand personality, voice, and tone

Every brand has a story to tell, and what better way to tell your narrative to your audience than to be consistent with your brand personality, voice, and tone. This sense of uniformity is important since you want your audience to recognize you and be able to relate with you, whether they’re engaging with you online or through face-to-face interactions.

Can you imagine if your brand projected a fun and carefree persona online but your messaging looks or sounds otherwise? It’s not the kind of impression that can help you build authority as a social brand.

Dominating Content and Social Media Marketing

Having a social media presence has become a necessary business strategy for companies, and understandably so. There’s a reason that people across the world are flocking to social media, and a large part of it is due to all the content that these platforms offer.

If you’re producing the right kind of content for the right audience at the right time, the social media engagement will come to you. So, make sure your social media strategy counts, starting off with the creation of content and promotions plan and keeping the needs and interests of your target audience in mind.

How to Create Content That’s Worthy of Links

April 3, 2020 By Ash Genete Leave a Comment

A strong online presence is now a necessity for all brands and businesses.

Your next customer is probably lurking around the internet, so you constantly need to find ways to drive traffic to your site. But with the number of competitors continually increasing and the complications of ever-evolving search engine algorithms keeping marketers on their toes, attaining a higher rank in the search engine results pages (SERPs) can be a very challenging task.

This is where content marketing comes in.

Through the use of guides, infographics, videos, and other forms of media, content marketing gives your target audience more reasons to visit your site. However, this doesn’t mean that you can just blog about anything and expect leads to just magically be drawn to your brand.

If you want to establish genuine relationships with your audience through your website, you should make sure that the content you’re providing is informative, entertaining, and inspiring. Here are some tips on how you can create content that’s worthy of links.

Focus on Creating Long-Lasting Content

Posting news and updates about the latest trends in your industry will only allow you to engage your readers for a short time. If you’re searching for a more sustainable way of driving traffic to your site, try building content based on topics that can last for more extended periods.

Evergreen content can still be relevant to your readers for years.

To help you get started, try to put yourself in the shoes of your target audience. Take the time to analyze what roadblocks they might encounter in their buyer’s journey and provide content aligned for each stage. You can make use of list-based articles, how-to guides, and even some free ebooks to attract, engage, and delight.

Establish Yourself as a Thought Leader

If you’re consistently providing timely and relevant content, you aren’t just boosting your brand’s visibility; you’re also establishing yourself as an authoritative and trustworthy guru in your industry.

Always be authentic and original with your blog. When you’re in the process of writing your ideas and insights, think outside the box, so you can provide content that will stand out from your competitors. Once people start to see you as a credible source, Google will recognize this and give you a higher rank in the search engine results page.

Use Visual Aids

Infographics, Photos, Videos, GIFs, and even memes are all great and easy-to-use marketing tools.

Videos and images are extremely useful for businesses that regularly blog about their products and services. You can use photos to help your visitors examine the details of your items and provide demo videos to give them a glimpse of your services.

If you regularly blog about complex topics and concepts, using different forms of visual aids will help your readers digest information with ease.

Stats and metrics can be a bit tough to read, so presenting them in the form of a well-made infographic will help them recall data and pave the way for a pleasant and informative experience with your site. If your in-house SEO team is continuously searching for opportunities to guest post, offering an infographic to a website can even boost your link building campaigns.

Make Good Use of Metrics

If content is your engine, data is your fuel.

Digital marketing is a numbers game, and making gut-based decisions is the biggest mistake you can make. Thanks to the latest innovations in web-analytics tools, gathering accurate customer data can be done seamlessly. By collecting visitor demographics, analyzing on-site behavior, and measuring content performance, you can acquire essential data to help you establish your buyer personas.

Personalization is the first step to a successful marketing campaign.

With the use of metrics, you can now make data-backed decisions to create a content strategy that will suit the preferences of your audience. If your brand is active on social media, utilize the social monitoring capabilities of your platform to create customer-centric content.

Utilize Case Studies to Build Credibility and Relevance

Now that people are getting more particular about customer reviews, maintaining your reputation has never been more critical.

Sharing the experiences of your customers lets you build credibility and relevance. Even though your marketing campaign is performing at optimal levels, people will always tend to trust the recommendations of their peers.

Utilizing case studies can be just as effective as any experiment or research you’ve conducted. If you’ve worked with a credible figure in your industry or if your clients have enjoyed success, you can use these experiences to give your prospects a small preview of what they can expect when they do business with you.

Take Your Content to the Next Level

In the neverending battle for leads and conversions, brands that are consistently able to rank higher in SERPs will always stay one step ahead of their competitors.

Now that content is at the heart of digital marketing, you need to make use of the best tools and tactics to create content that’s worthy of links. For companies that have just started their blog, always remember to keep expectations realistic. Blogging is no easy task, and acquiring significant results will require a lot of time, patience, and effort.

Take some time to establish both your long and short-term goals. Once you have set milestones, making the necessary tweaks and adjustments to your content strategy can be done with ease. Contact us today for some of the best content marketing solutions in the industry.

How to Optimize Your Blog for Lead Generation

April 2, 2020 By Ash Genete Leave a Comment

Content creation is the bread and butter of digital marketing. With the right content, you can attract interest for your business and drive more leads to your page. With up to 63% of digital marketers in the B2B sector using content marketing for lead generation, business blogging has become one of the most effective channels that generated the desired results. As a matter of fact, marketers who prioritize blogging have 13 times more chances of reaching a positive ROI.

The key to generating leads through your blog is utilizing the right elements that compel your readers to take the first step and provide their information, converting from a site visitor to a lead. Below are some of the best practices that can help optimize your blog for lead generation.

1. Always use CTAs

There’s a reason they’re called calls-to-action: they’re active words that compel your reader to do something, like clicking through to landing pages or product lists. Using CTAs gives you the opportunity to promote and translate your traffic into leads. There are two ways you can use CTAs: through banners and other page elements and in-text mentions.

Paged-based CTAs work to grab your audience’s attention with active and exciting language and designs once they’re on the page. With in-text CTAs, you can use language that blends in with your blog post and offers solutions to the reader’s pain points by linking back to a landing page of a relevant content.

2. Offer exclusive content

Exclusive content may seem counterintuitive to the purpose of creating content, but when done right, it can greatly increase your leads. Your blog’s accessible content should provide value to its readers, so that your exclusive content—be it an eBook, webinar, or whitepaper—builds up or adds onto it in exchange for something as simple as their email address. Make sure that the offer is well-written, highlighting the benefits of availing the exclusive content.

3. Start with a Hello bar

A Hello bar is a thin band across the top of your page that features a call-to-action, usually linking to a post-click landing page or squeeze page. As the reader scrolls along or accesses other parts of your website, it stays in place, keeping it in their line of sight. This allows you to reach out to your audience as they browse without being as intrusive as a pop-up.

4. Set up time-delay pop-ups

Another example of a page-based CTA, time delay pop-ups ensure that you can make the offer for your exclusive content or subscription when they’ve stayed on the site for a specific amount of time. The advantage to time-delay pop-ups is that you will be prompting your reader after they’ve demonstrated interest in your content by lingering on your page. This also allows them to spend some time browsing your content before being prompted to sign up or avail of exclusive materials.

5. Provide an email signup

If your reader finds value in your content, make it easier for them to get access to it. Email signups usually lead to a newsletter that provides summaries of valuable content as well as notifications on page updates relevant to your reader. This is especially effective if your target audience doesn’t have the luxury of time to freely browse the internet.

6. Prioritize the comment section

The comment section of your blog can be an opportunity for your brand to further nurture its relationships with visitors. Having a comment section lets your readers better express their thoughts and possible concerns while giving your brand a chance to engage with them, establishing your credibility and expertise.

7. Place social sharing buttons

Once your reader has been satisfied by your content, they may want to share their thoughts on it. Adding social sharing buttons on your content makes it easier for them to promote your content on their chosen social media platforms. This also allows your content to get organically shared to new eyes, driving more potential leads to your blog.

8. Promote content on marketing platforms

It’s important to get your content to your audience and maximize your online platforms by sharing content. Depending on the social platforms your brand already has, you may need to tweak your strategies in order to share your content in a format that works with the platform and best engages your audiences.

9. Be consistent

Marketing strategies work well when you know how to keep them up. Creating content shouldn’t be a one-time thing. Part of your content strategy, aside from the topics for your blog, should consider the frequency and schedule of posting. A blog with good content that posts regular updates is more likely to convince people to share their information.

Create to Convert

Generating leads is exercise of trust. With a well-constructed page and excellent content, your target audience will feel confident that they have nothing to lose and everything to gain when they sign up for your newsletter or provide their details for your exclusive content. More than just products or services, your business can offer valuable knowledge that sets you apart from your competitors. Take your B2B marketing strategies to the next level with content marketing to generate better leads.

7 B2B Content Marketing Tips to Standout

April 1, 2020 By Ash Genete Leave a Comment

The internet, being a bottomless source of information, can be an overwhelming place to visit. You’ll come across anything from useful articles to humorous posts. Just imagine: Over 4 million blog posts are published every day online. How can you manage to stand out and reach your target audience amidst all that noise?

The answer is content marketing.

Content marketing is not a new concept. In fact, a lot of blogs and self-proclaimed professional digital marketers have probably exhausted this topic with their version of tips and trends to follow. That in itself is an example of content marketing at its simplest form—creating content with the intent to educate your readers.

7 B2B Content Marketing Tips to Standout

Brands such as Toshiba and LinkedIn have been known to excel in B2B marketing techniques, mainly focusing on social media, content promotion, among others. Below are some more tactics you should focus on if you aim to attain the same success as these companies.

1. Tell a story

What does it mean to create content? It’s doable to write 1,000 words on a topic you’re an expert on, but it’s a challenge to present that creatively that will captivate your audience long enough for them to read until the end of your post. Storytelling is something you should incorporate not just on blog posts but social media efforts, email marketing newsletters, and even ads.

Look for brands who have their storytelling voice and study what makes them unique. From this exercise, you could be inspired to develop your voice and use it to present your brand persona. Compelling stories will ensure that you will be noticed in a sea of content currently floating around the internet.

2. Prioritize the customer experience

The trend of taking customer experience seriously (CX) is only going to grow further, as brands must be able to ensure that all user touch points are enticing, relevant, and useful. This tactic will attract non-existing customers to your business since they see the authority you emanate in your industry. As B2B marketing is targeted towards other professionals, this step is crucial. Once you are at their service, don’t be complacent as well. Continuously show that you are willing to go above and beyond what your company can offer. Care for your clients—they’re the ones who keep your business alive!

3. Personalize your content

It’s 2019, and more and more things are going digital, from learning and researching to shopping and banking. However, people are starting to miss the human connection that physical activities used to bring. The internet, no matter how connected it is shaping the world to be, isolates us from real interactions with other people compared to the past.

A solution for this is establishing a relationship with your audience online, through the little things like addressing them by their names, tailoring their experience with previous searches, giving them personalized offers and discounts, and so much more.

4. Use multi-layered content

It sounds complicated, but you’ve probably seen the implementation of this tactic throughout the evolution of content marketing. Multi-layered content is simply using text, images, and videos or animated components in a single post to create an eye-catching and engaging post for your audience to interact with. Some of the most common examples are adding images to blog posts, animating CTA posters, and creating an infographic.

5. Promote your content

Content promotions are integral to your content marketing plan. You can’t just always expect users to flock to your latest post after you publish it—especially if you are putting out a time-sensitive piece. Be strategic and creative with using social media channels like LinkedIn, Facebook groups, Twitter, email marketing newsletters, and more for spreading the word about your latest posts.

6. Cross-pollination

You should be able to recognize the potential your content promotion efforts can achieve if you look at tapping business partners or influencers to advertise content for you. This doesn’t just have to happen on social media either. Other examples are guest posting or content syndication. If brands refer to you and other companies see it, your credibility increases, and it’s added to your reputation.

7. Monitor your metrics

As with every strategy, you need to monitor your efforts continually and track their growth. Reviewing and comparing your KPIs and metrics will allow you to see which areas you need to improve on, and which strategies are already working wonderfully for your business.

Create a list of relevant metrics you need to monitor and use analytics tools that can help you track them. Businesses differ in priority, so be clear with your objectives and why you want to reach those numbers that you’re pining after.

Content Marketing is King

Content marketing is one of the most reliable tactics for B2B marketing. By following the tips above, you can also experience the returns this strategy can give your business. As marketers, you always have to stay on your toes when implementing a content marketing strategy to weed out the competition.