Previous blog posts have focused on the importance of engaging in a content marketing strategy. This is the art of providing information that your target audience finds informative or useful in an attempt to attract attention to your website and your business. Some small business owners may now be thinking, “Okay, I buy into the concept and have put up a whole stream of useful insights on my website. There has been some increase, but it seems like there could be more. What’s next?”
That’s a very good question. If you go through all the work of researching and writing blog posts, or creating infographics, you want to make sure they get out to as many prospects at possible. Here are a few ways you can make your content marketing pieces work even harder for your business:
- Use Search Engine Optimization (SEO): A great way to have your content get noticed is to have it show up in results when people are searching for information on that particular topic. These rankings are based on a number of factors, but one of them is the use of keywords. When people search for something, they usually use a few short phrases which are defined as “keywords.” When the search engine finds content or articles that match these keywords, it includes them in the search results. Think about some phrases prospects might use to search for your product or service, and try to include them in your content, along with links back to your website.
- Make it Easy to Share: Be sure to include buttons that make it easy for viewers to share your content on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and other social media. It’s like free advertising for you when someone else promotes your content to their circle of influence.
- Don’t Forget to Post it Yourself: Don’t assume that everyone in your target audience is breathlessly waiting for your next blog post. Let them know it exists on all of your own social media sites. This increases the piece’s visibility and also helps in improving SEO.
- Include It In Your Emails: You might be emailing to a different audience than you have in your social media circles. Be sure to include a link to your latest blog post as part of your signature block, or add it as a P.S. to all your messages.
- Get Involved With Others: Use word-of-mouth to get more referrals and increase your audience by getting involved with other online outlets. Write guest posts for other bloggers, or ask them to write something for your blog. Post a review about suppliers or others in your community, and forward it to them so they can put it on their website. The more exposure you can gain in new audiences, the better it will be for you.
The work isn’t done when the blog is online. Build an awareness strategy out of every post, and you’ll get more mileage out of your content marketing.