It’s important your content marketing stands the test of time. There is NO point putting effort into writing high quality posts if they’re going to get lost in the vast available content online. That’s why there has been a new demand and it’s simply based on coming up with content marketing strategies that will ensure effectiveness long-term. These are NOT actually techniques you apply to your content, but a few questions to ask yourself before writing. Some of these questions will help align your content so going forward it will be as important as the day you first published it.
Here are a few questions that will help ensure your content survives the test of time.
For those of you NOT aware of content marketing, here’s a quick definition…
It’s content that has value and get’s shared building brand awareness. A solid content marketing strategy will increase visibility and convert visitors into customers. It provides a solution to a common problem and hooks them not just once, but time and time again making them loyal visitors.
Content marketing can be in the form of…
- List posts
- Guest posts
- Video content
- How-to posts
- Tutorials
- Infographics
The Questions
Here are some common questions to ask yourself while writing content. The answer to these will help guide your writing and creating effective content which people will read time and time again.
Is there meaning to my content?
When writing content it’s important to know the purpose. You need to have a clear cut objective and have an end result before publishing. Personally the best content always solves a problem so find something in your niche your readers are having problems with. For example, if people don’t know how to come up with blog topic idea’s then my objective is to show people where to find inspiration when writing. Again, what are you trying to achieve and make sure it’s something that others want to achieve too because it’s creates highly engaging content.
Is It Well Optimized For Search Engines?
As the web keeps growing search engines will have a bigger role. Google has already made tweaks to their algorithm by not only displaying relevant content, but one that’s high quality, targeted and from a reputable source. If you want your content to engage for several years then make sure people can find it when they search online. This means to have the right keywords, making it high quality, format it correctly and make use of long-tail and LSI keywords.
The easier people can find your content, the more people will read it increasing content awareness.
Is It Evergreen Content?
For those of you NOT aware “Evergreen†is content with NO expiry date. Its content that will be as relevant 5 years from now as it is today. I always encourage people to write content without a time limit because you’ve just added longevity to it. The next time you sit down to write, ask yourself if the content your publishing will be relevant to people 10 years from now. The longer the life-line the more engagement it will receive. It’s important to stay away from content-types that expire, for example – top 10 lists, product reviews, etc. This type of content changes every year and needs to be updated.
Is It Relevant To my Audience?
In order for content to stand the test of time you need to have a clear cut audience. You have to know who your writing for and what they need so that it’ll be engaging. There is NO point writing content which is generic because it doesn’t apply to anyone. Make sure your content solves a problem for a specific audience so that these people will continue to find it valuable. Content is only valuable when it resonates with people.
Here are a few things to do before writing content…
- Research your competitors
- Research your audience
- Perform keyword research
- Find what your audience likes on social networks
Can People Easily Link To It?
Link building is important to increase rankings within the SERP’s. I recommend everyone to make their content easy to link to. There are several widgets you can embed within your content so all your visitors have to do is click them to create a link. If you want your content marketing to survive 10 years from now it’s important high authority relevant blogs link to your content. This drives traffic NOT only from their blogs, but enormous organic traffic increasing engagement and awareness.
Next,
Make it high quality so people will just want to link to it because it provides value. I asked John Chow what’s his best link building strategy and his answer was simple: Write high quality content that people want to link to.
What Is My Content Marketing Strategy?
To increase the life-line of your content you need to have a plan to market going forward. You should have marketing channels in place so you can keep promoting the content for years to come. This means grow your social profiles, network with influential bloggers and keep it in circulation where ever you promote. Â