Content marketing is so much more than creating great content and hoping it converts. Successful content campaigns require you optimize each stage of the workflow using proven tactics. Here are last week’s top tricks and tricks from industry experts to elevate your content marketing at every stage of the funnel plus some advice for your career as a content marketer.
Content Planning
Data Storytelling 101: Helpful Tools for Gathering Ideas, Designing Content & More (via Hubspot) – The influx of content seems to be turning into a bit of a traffic jam. And few things have the power to cut through this noise like data storytelling. Nicole Elizabeth Demere shares a roundup of resources is designed to make your content planning easy.
The 79-Year Master Plan for Becoming Unforgettable (via Coppyblogger) – Fascinating lessons Pamela Wilson, VP of Educational Content at Rainmaker Digital, gleaned from the life of Picasso that will dramatically change your content plan for the better.
Content Creation
One Thing Is Killing Content Marketing and Everyone Is Ignoring It (via Content Marketing Institute) – If someone rounded up all your content and placed it in a box like it never existed, would anyone miss it? Would you leave a gap in the marketplace? Joe Pulizzi explains how to truly create valuable content that converts by making if different from anything else out there.
How to Write Conversationally: 7 Tips to Engage and Delight Your Audience (via Copyblogger) – Many marketing messages make us cringe. They don’t sound like a human being wrote them. They don’t engage. Henneke Duistermaat shares how to create conversational content and instantly make your readers feel a connection with the writer.
Content Optimization
How to Use Your About Us Page to Connect With Customers [Examples] (via Content Marketing Institute) – Elena Ruchko tells the story how two Ebay sellers sold products with a value of about $1 for hundreds using the power of storytelling. Learn how you can sell your brand by optimize your About Page with similar storytelling tactics.
5 Hacks to Optimize Every Piece of Content You Create for SEO (via Search Engine Journal) – Nathan Chan, Publisher at FoundrMag, gives five hacks to optimize every piece of content you create for SEO.
Content Distribution
Can SEOs Stop Worrying About Keywords and Just Focus on Topics? – Whiteboard Friday (via Moz) – Rand Fishkin, Founder of Moz, details how to get your content to consistently show up on the SERPs by ditching the old-school keyword targeting strategy for the new-school concept targeting, outlining a plan of action you can follow to get the best of both worlds.
How to Use Influencer Marketing to Boost Your Traffic and Conversions (via Jeff Bullas) – People no longer turn to companies to inform them about what they want or need. They look to other people, people whose influence and expertise regarding a certain industry is valued among the users. Jeff Bullas looks at 11 ways to make influencer marketing work for you in order to attract more visitors and boost your conversion rate.
Content Performance
Content Marketing Metrics to Pay Attention to When Blogging (via Web Hosting Hero) – Rizvan Ullah shares the 3 most important metrics you should pay close attention to in content marketing and the tools to calculate them.
Make Content Marketing Effective: Choose the Right KPIs (via Lenati) – When only 30% of content marketers consider their programs effective, something needs to change. Christy Kelly, a Consultant at Lenati, explains how choosing and tracking the right KPIs can make a huge impact.
Content Marketing Career (Grab Bag)
What is a Content Marketer? (via Copyblogger) – A content marketer is a master of many disciplines. But what exactly does that mean? Demian Farnworth answers the common questions about what a content marketer actually is like: What sort of disciplines and skills are we talking about? And what types of knowledge and experience are necessary to be a content marketer?
Nine Things Every Successful Content Strategist Understands (via MarketingProfs) – If you aspire to be a successful content strategist or content marketer, you need to master these nine skills from Micah Pratt. The sooner you do, the better!
This advice is helpfully but it really only scratches the surface. Join us at Content Marketing Conference and dive deep into the content marketing workflow learning actionable tactics from over 30 leading industry experts, practitioners, and influencers. Learn more about the unbeatable sessions that make up the Content Marketing Conference agenda here.
This post was curated using our favorite content analytics tool – Buzzsumo. Buzzsumo gives you insight into what content is working and helps you find the influencers to amplify it. Learn more.
