Content Marketing has been remarkably exposed over marketers’
activities the last couple of years. However, companies seem to
struggle upon the development of profitable content marketing
strategies. That specific kind of content which takes into account both
users and search engines in order to build high rankings in the search
engine result pages and engage buyers with the brand. In my previous post regarding the fundamentals of content marketing I attributed a definitive definition to content marketing.
Content
marketing could be defined as a pull rather than push marketing process
that resides on owned or earned media which makes people aware of how
to solve their problems with ultimate goal to attract, acquire and
engage a clearly defined and understood target audience.”
It
is worth saying that the content marketing community has already
embraced the social part of this field and shares valuable blog posts
and online articles, so everybody can find useful information about
strategies and tactics. On the other hand, there are only a few blog
posts which have developed a solid concept of the content marketing
process in respect to Search Engine Optimization. Throughout this post
and based on a content marketing research (questionnaire) that I have
personally conducted in the last couple of months I will propound a
definitive formula of the content marketing process that online
marketers, who deal with content marketing and search engine
optimization, should adopt.
Particularly,
in this research e-retailers who struggle to find ways to improve their
search organic visibility by developing content marketing strategies is
the major focus. However, the formula expects to carry invaluable
advantages to all B2C companies and to online marketers dealing with the B2C part of online marketing.
I
call this formula “Optimized Content Marketing & SEO Formula”, and
it is an eight steps process, which assists to develop a new content
marketing campaign from the scratch. Now it is time to get into the
formula, characteristics and its individual steps.
Step 1. Research Customer Segments
Getting started from the very first step – Research Customer Segments –
online marketers initially have to identify and segment the audience.
By saying audience I refer to the existed customers and potentials
buyers the company is interested to deal with. Developing buyer personas
would be an easy way of addressing the various customer preferences
into consolidated buyer personalities. Then, they should address their
pain points as well as their information needs during the buying cycle.
Particularly, questions like “what they care about, or what are their
characteristics” could successfully drive research towards the right
identification of customer segments. Of course, such actions require
strong efforts and expertise in order to encircle the various segments,
personas and their pain points respectively.
Here is a well-written and straightforward guide on how to build personas that they reflect their needs into search queries. Use the same guide for the fourth step – Keyword Research – as well.
Step 2. Determine Objectives
In
the second step, communication objectives have to be determined
according to brand’s needs. There is a framework called S.M.A.R.T. which
helps objectives to be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and
time bound. It is highly significant for marketers to develop SMART
objectives and not illusions that can effectively impress the marketing
manager or even the CEO, however cannot be accomplished at the end of
the day. Personally, I find the framework very useful so I refer you to a source where you can find more information.
Step 3. Identify Topic and Message
Next step in the formula is the topic and message identification which
should be developed with definitive aim to attract, provide with a
solution, and finally engage the audience with the brand. Topic and
message together should educate, entertain and enthrall in order to
build relationships and trust. At the same time it can serve as a
company’s reflection and assist in promoting the products and services
related to the brand. Relevant and valuable content is able to reach out
a targeted audience and promote a brand’s solutions regarding on what
customers are searching for, and therefore promote the company’s
commodities. Customer’s buying cycle seems to be a very important factor
that marketers should take into account as well, as different needs
expressed in different times by the buyers.
In
the particular case of e-retailers, online marketing practitioners seem
to prefer segmented content according to the website’s product or
service categories as the most appropriate solution. The translation of
the buyer persona, characteristics and the stage of buying cycle into
specific content can effectively be attractive and compelling at the
same time.
Step 4. Keyword Research
Then,
the keyword research is expected to be undertaken. It is, indeed, a
painful process as it includes competitive analysis from keywords
perspective, and SEO keyword research and examination of key phrases
relevant to the buying cycle for the lure of qualitative audience.
Particular interest should be attributed in the way the specified
targeted audience is likely to search in the search engines. How would
the targeted customers articulate their needs in terms of keywords? The
queries used by your targeted audience should be used as keywords inside
the content in order to drive high volumes of relevant audience into
the buying process. Do not forget to use the guide from the first step, Research Customer Segments.
Step 5. Specify Content Marketing Forms
Having
transferred in the second half of the framework, online marketers
should identify which are the most suitable content marketing forms for
manipulation to form their already budding content. The various forms of
encapsulating the needs into rich content forms include online
articles, blog posts, content creation, customer reviews, digital
newsletters, eBooks/whitepapers, emails, images and info-graphics,
widgets, Micro-sites, mobile applications, mobile content, news release,
surveys, social content, videos, seminars and many others.
The
findings from the empirical research recommend that blog posts,
customer reviews and social content are the most significant forms for
e-retailing websites in order to gain the best results in the search
engine battlefield.
Step 6. Content Creation
Therefore,
the next step is to tie together the message identified back in the
third step and the content form from the previous step. Once again, the
final content should be a piece of art, reaching the buyer when and
where exactly he/she needs it. Content relevant to what the organisation
merchandises which aims to educate people, makes buyers aware about the
brand in order to like it and trust it; significant elements for an
organisation to achieve customer acquisition.
Online
marketers responded to the research specified that professional
writing, original content, custom content, and content written for SEO
purposes are the most important elements taking under consideration. So
try to keep an eye on what you consider as educative and compelling
content as readers do not want to come across sloppy content that seems
effortless and too branded.
Step 7. Content Promotion
Next
in the process comes the promotion of the content. Social media
Marketing and Influencer Marketing could play a critical role for
achieving this aim. Influencer marketing could help brands to connect
with social media influencers that distribute brand-friendly content
which is shared by others. Therefore, they could be able to share their
content across the web and reach millions of consumers.
There
are several social media platforms available to be utilised for the
delivery of the content to audiences. Among the several social media
platforms online marketers responded that Facebook is the most effective
solution for e-retailers, and they rank Twitter, YouTube, and Pinterest
next in the list. Of course, the option is more or less depending on
the e-retailer’s nature.
Joe Pulizzi from Content Marketing Institute has written a post regarding 47 Social Media tools for Content Marketers.
Step 8. Measure Results
The
measurement of the efforts through particular KPI’s is the final step.
Once again, every content marketing effort should be measured in order
to identify the degree of success and thus the required changes for
improvement. There are several KPI’s that online marketers could use to
measure the impact of content. More or less, the metrics depend on the
content marketing objectives and should be run in parallel with them.
Among these metrics are: web traffic, views / downloads, lead quality,
lead quantity, sales / revenue, inquires, customer feedback, search
ranking’s performance, social media engagement, inbound links and
others.
Based
on the key performance indicators online marketers voted for the
sales/revenue, the web traffic, the quality, and the customer feedback
as the strongest metrics in order to measure the content’s performance
of e-retailers.
Repetition of the Process
Consequently,
based on the performance of the content marketing efforts continuous
optimization should be attributed to each individual step. Therefore,
after the measurement of the results and the identification of the
issues, a new cycle of the same process should be repeated getting
started from the identification of a new topic and/or message for
promotion.
Conclusion
As
a result, given the fact that this formula can effectively match to the
online marketer’s expectations in order to build successful content
marketing strategies, the overall rationale of this process can be
absolutely complied with their needs. A combination of content marketing
and search engine optimization tactics, all applied to this formula can
fill the gap and improve the search organic visibility of particularly
e-retailing websites. However, I want again to stress out the need of
focusing both to the general image of the process and to each individual
step separately, as both of them are equally important for the
development of successful content marketing campaigns.
What do you think?
Do
you think that such a formula would reflect the content marketing needs
of a B2C company into effective and profitable campaigns? I would love
to hear your comments, questions, and suggestions in the comments below.
I pledge to respond to everyone.
Google’s
number one priority is being able to differentiate between natural
sites and spam- centered sites. It’s a fine line to walk, but in order
to offer the highest quality information for users; search engines need
clues. As many Webmasters know, linking is the number one clue and
always found at the center of this dilemma for Google and other search
engines. Where and how a website links, whether it be linking on its own
website or linking back on another website, is a great way to discover
whether or not a site is really natural and valuable. One of the latest
tricks is cocitation, and of course with cocitation comes SEO
cocitation.
This
is far and away from being the first instance of this attempt at
manipulation on Facebook. Last year there was a spate of “write some
specific word in the comments and you’ll be amazed at what happens”
(SPOILER: What happens is nothing apart from their next posts perhaps
showing up in the feed of Great Aunt Matilda, et al). …and let’s not
forget the “How many squares do you see in this picture?” image that you
couldn’t avoid every time you logged on for about a month or so.
Of
course spammy tactics and techniques aren’t simply a Facebook issue,
You
can always report them to the site owner as well, as they may not be
aware of the extent of their issue. If they understand that Google
detecting a large quantity of spam on their site can impact the ability
of their site to rank for terms that they probably, legitimately should
be competing for.
Regardless
of the medium, there’ll always be spammers, people trying to work their
way around the system, looking for the quick buck. Sure, they’ll get
smacked down from time to time, but they keep coming back.
