As you likely already know, the goal of content marketing is to build up familiarity and trust with your prospective customers. In this case, the content isn't designed to sell a specific product or service, but rather to sell you, and to interested potential customers.
People buy from people that they know, like, and trust. And if you haven't heard it yet, let me be the first to tell you that "familiarity" breeds trust.
Content marketing certainly isn't new, but it's been getting a lot of new attention online lately (and for good reason). Small business owners across the globe are re-discovering these tried and true marketing practices, and using them to get a big leg up on the competition.
One of the really big advantages small business owners have over the titans of industry is that you can get much more personal with your target audience than they can. You have a face and a voice. You can be human with your audience. And, as it turns out, one of the best ways to do that is by talking to your customers. One of the best ways to get a feel for some of the best-practices around the industry is to follow and watch how others are succeeding. As such, I've cherry-picked some of my favorite content marketing tips from experts around the web.
1. Don't build on rented land
Publish your best content on web properties that you personally own (i.e., your own self-hosted website). Social media has hit the business world like a freight train, and there is great value in spreading your message far and wide via these cheap media channels. The point of all that chatter, though, is to get all those eyeballs back to your own site. Once they're there, it's time to convert them, either into customers or, at the very least, into email list subscribers. Social media is for mingling and chatting (and, obviously, marketing). Your own site is where the magic should happen. That's where you answer your potential clients' questions in depth. That's where you create loyalty.
Social media is great. Use it aggressively, but never forget what you're using it for: to get all those eyeballs back to your own site for conversion.
"Before you create a single piece of content, think about where that content will live and how audiences will get to it. Effective content marketing takes work. You'll need energy, thought, and time to create good content. This means that nearly all of the content you create needs to live on a domain you control, using a platform you can do as you please with. That means you're not producing the bulk of your creative content for Facebook, Twitter, or Google+, and you're not publishing on a "website in 20 minutes" solution that forces you to use someone else's domain. If your domain isn't www.YourWebsiteName.com, you don't own your platform. If you can't publish what you please, with the wording, sales messages, and images you please, you don't own your platform."
- Sonia Simone via copyblogger.com
2. Help, not hype, your customer
The goal of content marketing is to allow the potential customer to develop a trusting relationship with you. One of the best ways to develop that trust is by answering customer questions and offering information in a clear, honest, and transparent way.
If the product or service that you offer is part of that message, then feel free to reference it. But if your content comes across more like an advertisement or a sales letter, then you're not doing content marketing; you're doing sales and advertising.
Trust is not built by pushing sales. Trust is built by selflessly helping people looking for help. In fact, anything but hard selling will probably do just fine. Some people tell personal stories. Some people seek to entertain. Some people seek to inform. It all depends on your target audience. What are they interested in? What do they care about? As long as you're not selling, the possibilities are pretty much endless.
"Content marketing is not just about amplifying your message to your customer, it is about helping them find what they are looking for. Discover your customer needs by searching what they are looking for online and what they are saying about your category/sector. Provide them with a program to meet these needs, whether it directly impacts your business or not. Your audience will find the help useful and you will become top of mind when they are looking for someone in your sector. And don't forget the power of the face to face contact or 'just asking' the question."
- Kaitlin Walsh via bluechipcommunication.com.au
3. Write what people want to read, not what you want to write
If you're planning to succeed in your content marketing efforts, there is one big thing that you have to understand right from the start: it's not about you. It's never about you. It's not about your company. It's not about your product. It's not about your service. It's not about how great your company/product is. It's not about the amazing charity work your president does. It's not about how fun it is to work at your company. It's NEVER about you. And the minute you try to make it about you, that's when you lose their trust, and that's when you lose another potential customer.
Repeat after me: It's ALWAYS about them, never about you. This is content marketing. It's not sales, and it's not advertising. If you want to do sales and advertising, that's perfectly fine, but just don't do it in your content marketing. Write for the reader, always.
"Your content should always have an audience in mind. That means you should have their needs in mind, too, not your own. Remember, content marketing should provide something valuable to people. So although you may want to write about how terrible your day was or how someone should do something about the lines at delis in grocery stores, that's not the kind of thing people will want to read. They want to read something that's written about the things they're thinking about. So ask yourself what concerns and delights your audience, then go from there."
- Blaise Lucey via constantcontact.com
4. Reference industry influencers
Even if you are the undisputed thought leader in your specific niche or areas of expertise, it doesn't mean that you are the only person with something valuable to add to the conversation. In fact, you make yourself seem more trustworthy and confident when you reference other players in the marketplace.
I'm not saying that you have to specifically cite your direct competition (although sometimes that's a great idea) but people are way better informed these days than you might think they are. Customers are savvy. They know that you're not the only expert, so if you try to pretend that you, are guess what? Say it with me this time: they start trusting you less.
Referencing other experts is also a great way to show that there are others that agree with what you're saying. This is huge. Guess what else? Search engines love it, too. And just in case you're not fully convinced yet, try this one. The people that you reference will be thrilled that you mentioned them, and will likely help promote your content for you for free! Ahhh, viral marketing, sharing...everybody wins!
"When discussing a specific topic within your content marketing piece, it can be helpful to reference and cite individuals who are known to the audience and have authority on the topic. People love to see their own names published and will likely promote the content on their own for free, thus further spreading the exposure and influence of your brand and its expertise."
- Marc Purtell via searchenginejournal.com
5. Create content for all types of readers
Branch out from your normal niche and target readers in a wider variety of related niche. This doesn't mean that you go way off on a huge tangent from your core demographics, but people do have other interests. For example, accountants aren't just interested in accounting.
Let's say you're a real estate broker. What things, other than buying a house, are people moving to a new city interested in? People with houses often have pets. Where are the best dog parks in your area? People with houses often have kids. Where are the best schools in your area? Best restaurants in the area? Best home improvement contractors in the area? Best landscapers in the area? Best doctors in the area?
Let's also revisit #4 here for a minute. How thrilled do you think the local contractor/doctor/restaurateur will be with you and your company if you reference and link to them in a piece of your marketing content? Especially if it's a 'best of' type post, you'll come out ahead.
That may have been an easy example, but use your imagination for your specific industry/niche. What other things are your target customers interested in? You know your customers better than I do (right?).
Another point is that people have friends, and you never know who will see your content and pass it on to a friend that they think it will be more useful for. I do this all the time, and I'll bet you do, too. I may not care about buying a house, but if I happen to see a post entitled 'Best Pizza Shops in Yourtown, USA' written by a local real estate agent, I may just tell my friends that are looking for a new house how cool I think your real estate agency is for writing such a post.
These actions go a long way toward showing your customers that you care about them and that you're trying to help them, not just trying to sell them on your company. That, more than anything else (arguably), builds massive trust.
"The cardinal rule of content marketing says that you need to create content for your ideal reader in order to attract the right leads and customers. Most companies follow this to the T, no matter how niche their industry is. So even though their content is excellent, it does not get seen by too many people. Content marketing success takes time and I suggest that you create content for readers other than your ideal reader so that it attract more traffic to your website and social media pages. Instead of focusing on creating just one type of content for your target audience, create some popular content to service other readers."
- Jessica Davis via socialmediatoday.com
6. There is more to content than links
Content marketing is so far above and beyond the classic SEO link building tactics of the past. These days, it is likely better to think of links in terms of the direct traffic you'll get from them, rather than any SEO benefits they may or may not contribute. I'm not suggesting that backlinks are no longer important for SEO. What I'm suggesting is a change in mindset. Links that will actually get clicked through to your site are the better ones for SEO, anyway.
That being said, if you think of content marketing as a way to get link juice, you're doing it wrong. Content creation is all about engagement building and trust building. Let the SEO benefits work themselves out. What's good for engagement and trust is also good for search engine optimization.
A link from a reputable site is valuable because of the number of people that will click on it and come learn more about you and your company. And it just so happens that the search engines will love it for that exact reason too; win-win.
"Content Marketing is so much more than getting links. It's the glue that holds your funnel together. It's the reason a prospect visits your site, it's the reason they choose to move further down the purchase path, buy a product and return to your site time and again."
- Kieran Flanagan via seomoz.org
7. Don't forget the "marketing" in content marketing
Until now, I've talked mostly about content creation, but there is one other huge piece to this content marketing puzzle: content promotion.
It's incredibly shocking, but one of the biggest problems I see is that small business owners seem to be embarrassed about promoting their content. None of them seem to have any trouble trying to promote their products and services within their content, but once the content has been created, they're timid about telling people it exists.
My best guess is that they're not proud of their content. Maybe that they don't think their writing is very good, or that their content is boring, or something along that vein. If that's the case, let me try to help you a bit with that.
In general, if you're being helpful, people don't really care if your writing is a little rough around the edges. If you're getting people the information and answers that they're looking for, they will very easily forgive non-perfect writing. In fact, very often it can make you seem even more human to them.
Furthermore, the more you do it, the better you'll get at it. Nobody starts out being a great writer, a great blogger, or a great content marketer, but the sooner you start 'practicing,' the sooner you'll get better at it. I promise, it gets a lot easier very, very quickly. As a matter of fact, read my I Hate Blogging post here and you will see I am in the same shoes as many people who struggle with writing.
You don't ever have to be perfect; you just have to help and/or entertain your readers. If you do that and keep working at it, you'll be fine. But you must promote your content. If you don't promote it, then no one will ever read it, in which case, it's useless. The days are long gone where you could just post a new piece of content and hope that people would find it via search (or because you had built boatloads of spam links to it).
As discussed in point #1 above, this is where social media and your social media connections come in. Use your social channels to guide traffic back to your freshly minted content. If people like you on social media, they'll want to learn more about you. Give them a way to do that.
If you're just starting out on sharing your content through social media, here's an example of what you can say:
"Hey there folks, I just wrote up a quick post about some cool local resources I've been working on recently. If you have a moment, take a quick peek and let me know what you think. I'm just getting started with this whole content marketing thing, so any feedback you can give me will be greatly appreciated. Here's the link, thanks!"
This may be the one piece of advice I can give you that will determine your fate in content marketing more than any other. If you are too embarrassed to promote your content, then you may as well give up on the whole idea of content marketing right now. Go do PPC instead.
"Do you know why your content marketing campaign is going to fail? It's not because you can't write great content… it's actually because you don't know how to promote it. You can learn how to write great content, but if no one reads your content and links to it, there's no point in putting it out there."
- Neil Patel via quicksprout.com
8. It's all about relationships
If people can see you actively participating and being a team-player, then they will treat you accordingly; as a member of the team. [ Insider Tip: That's the goal! ] The bottom line with social is this: you have to be an active member of the team. It's not enough to just stop in and share a few things here and there, a day or two before you're going to need those same people to share your stuff for you. You have to be active. You have to be part of the team; a member of the community. It's not a wishy-washy kind of thing. It's a commitment; a commitment to your community. Your network depends on you to be there for them, just like they are there for you.
This doesn't mean that you have to be on social sites all day long. This also doesn't mean that you have to promote every piece of content that every member of your social network produces. It does mean however, that you stay involved and engaged consistently.
If people see you actively sharing and promoting other people, they will be that much more likely to share and promote your stuff when the time comes. The time to make friends on social media channels is way before you need them.
"I've heard this mantra a lot, but it wasn't until my first crack at this that I really understood how crucial relationships were. The people who were ultimately the ones to contribute something to the post were the ones I built the best relationships with. They were the ones that (for whatever reasons) responded to comments I left on their blog posts or replied to my tweets in the initial weeks. They were the ones who I was able to engage with in a personal way over email. And now they're the ones who are appreciative of the opportunity and exposure and are interested in working with me again in the future."
- Mike Arnesen via mikearnesen.com
9. Think like a publisher
Whatever business you're in, your website and/or blog is now a venue for that industry/niche. That's just pure fact; no way around it. The trick, though, is learning to re-train your brain to treat it as such. Go down to your local book store and grab a few magazines that catch your eye, and then study them. Study their format, study their layout, study their focus. Whether you like it or not, you are in the "online magazine" publishing business now. The fun part is that you get to talk about stuff you're already an expert in.
Use your site to engage, entertain, and inform. That's all you really have to do. The hardest part is remembering to do that every time you sit down to write another piece of content. One of the quickest/easiest ways to do that is to write content that answers common customer questions. That sounds simplistic, but it's incredibly useful and engaging for people seeking answers. And if you can do that in a fun interesting way; all the better.
"You are not an advertiser [emphasis added]. An advertiser disrupts but a publisher educates and connects in a two way communication. Don't put too much emphasis on your brand. The goal is to engage your visitors and in due time, your brand will get the proper recognition. Always put value in your content. To be accurate, content is not king but value is. It's not enough to have content that is readable and no grammar mistakes. What matters is the substance of the content. What's in it for your visitors? What value will they get?"
- Mark Acsay III via webbythoughts.com
10. Use other sites to find out what kind of content people want
I saved this one for last because it always seems to be a major sticking point with small business owners, and I wanted it to be fresh in your mind as you finish up this post. Small business owners oftentimes think that they have nothing to say, and nothing to write about.
We started this conversation in #2 above, and then again in #9 talking about answering customer questions in a fun, interesting way (and that should get you started in a big way), but eventually, you'll probably want to start branching out a bit with your topic ideas. The best way to do that is to watch what your competition is writing about, and also what other industries closely related to yours are writing about.
Read other good blogs on your topic and then just write similar articles with your own opinions and insights on the same topic, and try to make it better. I'm not suggesting that you copy anything from them obviously; just that you get inspired from them. This is also a great way to incorporate #4 and #8 above.
Everyone does this. Everyone gets inspiration from things that they see (and read) elsewhere; it's how the world works. Inspiration comes from building on top of what has come before.
This very post is a perfect example. I was inspired by the people that I quoted here. I read their posts, I picked my favorite tips from each of them, and then I added my own thoughts on the topics. I didn't have to quote and cite them, this post would have been perfectly fine on its own, but I did quote and cite them because it makes for a more interesting and engaging article. Plus it helps with a bunch of the other tips mentioned above.
"Sometimes it's hard to know what people want to read about. One way to find this out is to visit sites within your industry. Check their blogs and see what posts get the most tweets and shares. In the internet marketing niche, social media is all the rage. If you write a post about Facebook or Twitter, it's guaranteed to get more shares. Do some research to find out what kind of post are popular in your industry and write that type of content. You don't want to write these types of posts every time, but it's a great way to boost traffic when it fits into your publishing schedule."
- Joseph Putnam via kissmetrics.com
Conclusion
It’s a wonderful time to be a small business owner. The Internet and content marketing has made it possible for us to stop chasing the media, and instead, become the media. You are now a magazine publisher for your own industry (and/or a local niche). Your voice can be as big or as small as you want it to be. It can start small and then grow. Or it can just stay small and that's okay too. You are in total control here. There's no reason to ever feel intimidated by the process because you control the process.
Just remember, the goal of content marketing and its sidekick social media marketing is to inform and entertain prospective customers in a way that inspires them to trust you for the right reasons; authentic, legitimate, deserving and well-earned trust. When the time comes for them to buy something, they buy from people they trust: you. Which, as I may have mentioned once or twice already, is the whole point of all this stuff. Trust, trust, trust; burn that into your brain. Content isn't king. Trust is king. Content is just how you get there.
I finally went through the registration process here just so I could say: "Pffft, I wish I had written this. Super-comprehensive and very well done. Nice work!"
Well Pffft right back at you! Thanks for taking the time James to go through the registration process just to comment on my blog. hehe and for the kudo's and nice to meet you.
Bernie
Such an interesting article here - obviously content is king - but more so in 2013 - in order for the visitor/consumer to utilize it - it has to be useful/resourceful.
Honesty - the best policy!
your pal,
Chenzo
Thanks Cheno, Out with the old King and in with the new!
Great post. I still think it all comes down to your content though...thats still King in my book. The better your content, the more links your get and the more trust you build. You build trust through quality content.
Seth Godin would be very happy if he read this. Great article!
Nice post, very comprehensive overview. I liked the point about not forgetting the marketing in content marketing, a lot of people think writing it and tweeting it is enough :)
Thanks Underscorelive for the comment. Yes, writing & tweeting is not enough. I've been guilty of that in the past. (Pre-penguin) now we have to work a little harder but it's all for the greater good!
Agreed. Any more tips or articles I can read on this particular topic? ;)
You can read some of my other blogs on my blog page: https://www.adviceinteractivegroup.com/author/bernadette-coleman/ Enjoy! and Good to meet you.
Bernie
You got a new fan of your work.
Correct!
One of the most relevant content pieces I've read in a long. The business landscape would be much more vibrant if businesses followed these suggestions.
RS
Thanks for the comment Ronell. I agree with you 100%
Hi Becole,
Wonderful article over content marketing. Really impressive quotes which you have written here "trust is more powerful than content". I am really glad to read this interesting content. It never matters that you do not know how to create good content but important thing is how you can promote your content.
I am always looking for such a great content over blogs.
Thank you so much to share great and interesting article with us.
Great Amit, Glad you liked it. My new moto is "Trust Rules" :-) Hope you share the article...Have a Great "Trustful" day...
Yes, sure Becole
Great article! Trust is often overlooked by out-dated marketers (especially in-house marketers) and it's something that a lot of people could stand to learn from!
Morning Brad. You get it! Trust sometimes gets washed away with the bath water in an attempt to push sales or SEO. Just remember what J.M. Barrie says: All the world is made of faith, and trust, and pixie dust... haha
First, never trust a guy in a crown and a suit. Second, love the article and the theme behind it. Quality is becoming more important than quantity and I think this makes the SEO's that are not only tech savvy but creative even more valuable. Could I possibly end up using my B.A. in English?
Agree, 100% post your content where you own it, let it get indexed, and then offer it to other places.
Your right, Don't trust a guy in a suit... But they do look good. Haha Really great comment. Quality is the new Quantity. Thanks SEO4Attorneys. Hey you should try running our local report tool for your clients rankings Try it out for free here: https://www.adviceinteractivegroup.com/local-search-tool/
Just a small reservation about "Create content for all types of readers"-I truly believe that the truly awesome sites should focus on their pacific target audience.Honestly, you can never write for everyone - that just doesn't make sense.
Hi,
I'm inclined to agree with skifr. You should always write for your audience, especially if you have conversions in mind. Going too broad will hurt your chances of getting your message through to those who benefit most from it.
Thank you for this interesting read. Content is not king, but it does hold a lot of weight in converting your visitors into whatever goals you have for your site. However, trust, audience participation, and the fact that you should gear your content strategy towards eliciting an emotional response from your visitors, demand so much more than simply awesome content.
Best regards,
Simo Ahava
How is 'trust' the King when it's usually the byproduct of content?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Great content = more links
More links = more trust
More trust = better ranking
So yeah, trust is great but it's more like the prince here. Content is still King.
Hi Becole, I agree with you on the fact that building trust is relevant in content marketing. However, this does not take away the popular believe that "content is king" when it comes to marketing online.
The points you have discussed in this post to buttress the best practices on content marketing are very helpful. I am pretty sure that many content creators that have not been getting results would find this piece revealing.
The greatest takeaway from this post is that fact that whatever type of content that is created, the need of the reader should be the chief priority! This principle makes the best contents succeed.
[promotional signature line removed by editor]
Thanks, I'm checking it out now...
Bernie
Great post, very informative and helpful.
I have to admit I am guilty of writing and promoting on Tweeter, but I have already realised this just isn't good enough especially when I have to prove whatever I do brings good results.
After chatting to a few clients recently I found out they felt my articles are too long and they just haven't got the time to read them. I now make sure I do a number of shorter articles to cater to their needs. Which actually makes my life easier as shorter articles don't take up as much time to research and produce.
Thats a good point Christina. Sometimes if I see a long article on a busy day I just skip it. So sometimes less is better.
Bernie
Hi Becole,
You rock...Really, Great post, very very helpful and informative.
There have already been numerous articles discussing about content marketing but your post is a breath of fresh air. All of the key points are very well-explained.
It is interesting how you mentioned small business can get more personal with their target viewers than larger companies in the industry. One of the reasons would be marketers in large companies who want to do business blogging would face many bureaucracy obstacles; for example their managers or the legal team would want to review/edit everything before posting.
As you said, it is important to emphasize that your content is not all about you but about what people want to read. However, at the end of the day, many companies would still want to promote their products/services. One way businesses can promote their products in content is that they can try to identify their buyers’ problem and blog about its solution while incorporating their merchandises. Free People have done amazing jobs with this approach. Most of their blog contents are style alert, styling tips, makeup tutorial, fashion related news which often show off their products and link back to their online store. Luxy Hair is also a good example. Most of their hair tutorials, which add brilliant value to their followers, often mention their products briefly.
Do you have any other suggestions to client companies who want to subtly promote their goods without losing enthusiastic readers?
Thank you very much for sharing your experience!
Trang Lam from Powered by Search
Thanks for asking, quite frankly it's important to know your audience and that's why a business owner can be the best blogger for their own company especially for small businesses. But relating products in real life stories always seem to make great campaigns.
Thought-provoking post with some excellent suggestions! Nice work, Bernadette!
Every thing goes perfect if you use rules correctly. It is right that now a days content marketing is playing a vital role for website promotions but we all should keep in mind about the topic which we are going to write.
Its a really nice read becole.
Regards
Saday
Very timely piece for me. I'm currently working for a small site that competes in the same space as huge brands in the UK - guys that spend millions on advertising each year. We don't have millions and we have virtually no offline marketing budget so how to convey that our site is trustworthy and that it's worth the customer sticking around to use us, rather than deciding to go back to Google and just using one of the brands they've heard of - is something I've been thinking about a lot lately.
The first conclusion I've come to is to have a USP - whatever it may be, find what you do better or differently to everyone else. Promote this prominently.
The second conclusion is stick to your promises! Deliver on that USP every single time and you can't go far wrong, word of mouth will spread in this way. If you say you are the cheapest of fastest or easiest to use, ensure that you truly are and customers will tell others.
Of course this is just a fraction of the puzzle and I'm nowhere near finding the full answer (I'm not sure there is one) but I thought I'd share these two snippets with everyone.
Thank you for this informative article, Becole. Great references and quotes.
Really great stuff, very enriching..!!
Hi becole, good post about trust,i agree with you & very creative information you have share.
Great post! I think that the trust factor is all too often overlooked in the quest for quality content marketing, and that writers/marketers don't consider the importance of cultivating trust with their audience through quality content. While I do still think that "content is king," there are some really great principles/ideas here to incorporate in conjunction with producing great content.
Specifically, I like the idea of referencing industry influencers (even if they are the competition) and creating content for all types of readers. Writing content that is relatable to your audience, even if it's not directly relatable to you, seems like a great way to increase both readership and trust.
https://www.searchinfluence.com/author/jstout
I adding one think in this superb article, think like a reader. When you write anything in the scene of reader than you get your point.
Thanks for a very well written post with some great visuals. You have crystallised so many valid and salient points about content marketing and to someone like myself, these will prove invaluable. Trust. Such a powerful word. So hard to earn and easy to lose. With the internet, It is by earning trust that people have the confidence to click.
The most relevant points from my perspective were:
4. The use of industry quotes.
Great tip. I think this makes content more powerful, as evidenced by your article. (He knows the water best who has waded through it - Danish Proverb).
7. Content marketing.
This highlights the area in which I tend to fail spectacularly! I love to write but so often I will give my words away cheaply, or let them hide away in the forlorn hope they will be 'discovered' and be in demand. Probably, a combination of the fear of failure and being found wanting, but as you point out, this part of the jigsaw puzzle is as important as crafting the words.
10. Use other sites for inspiration - in the same way as screen writers and authors, we have to learn to become 'the watcher and the listener'. It's all out there at the touch of a screen, so I will definitely factor in time to research and learn from others.
I will take these points onboard, but first of all I must learn to trust myself. You have inspired me and given me the resolve to achieve my goals.
And you did it all with the power of your words.
Thank you.
I will let you know how I get on....
Sara
Thank you for this! Very well written. Yet another great piece I can use to convince our company to use these principles and go down this path!
Hi Becole..
I am agree with you that Trust is the king. But it is also true that It doesn't work in 100% of cases. I have seen thousands of webpages rank on top just because of content not of trust on too much competitive keywords
So for me Content is still a king
Great SEO moz post! I agree also with Alan finding out what each market segment wants and needs and thereby delivering quality content that offers solutions for each of the target groups' need is king.
Agree with your points but is it necessary to write for all users rather than targeted users?
You're 100% right that trust is more important than "vanity metrics" like traffic and stats. I think that people put so much weight onto shares, likes and other benchmarks that they lose sight of why they publish content in the first place.
Vanity Metrics! I like that term...Nice to meet you BacklinkoBernie
Thank you for this great article, Becole. Great references and quotes.
I appreciate your focus on TRUST (that is really what everything comes down to) and particularly these sections: help, not hype, write what people want to read, not what you want to write, create content for all types and it's all about relationships.
One of the most interesting exercises in content development, for me, has been to try to imagine what my visitors and potential clients might want or need to learn about, what are their questions? How can I help?
Avoiding just writing what one wants to write can be challenging and force us to push our edges, but hey! we get to learn more through that approach.
I am excited to share this on my social sites because I think it will be very helpful to the people who I engage with.
Thanks! Thanks for sharing on your social sites too... I really appreciate it. Trust is more and more important these days. Trust + Good Content = The world is the limit... :-) Have a great day!
Bernie
I do some test about SEO Trust and if people read your content (high CTR) position are higher
Great post! thanks
I've always gone by the MajesticSEO Trust Flow, it's an awesome way to measure the site's measure of trust with Google..
Hey Charles. Majestic SEO does have a great tool. Thanks for reminding me.
You wouldn't believe how many clients think all they need to do is upload massive amounts of garbage content and they will see more visits. We are trying to pound home the message that quality > quantity but it has worked in the past for them so they keep wanting to do it (even though traffic is dropping...). We are trying to get their minds over to different types of content like infographics, how to guides, ebooks, etc but I think it's going to be an uphill battle for a while.
The biggest problem Phil is when we get a new account from someone that did upload massive amounts of crap content and now the want us to magically clean it all up. Ugggg! Good content is the key,
Bernie
Very nicely written and informative. My favorite statement is "an advertiser disrupts and a publisher educates". When posting content it is important to do so with the goal of educating in mind. One of my websites is a social network for the fashion industry. The sole purpose that I started the site was to provide a way for people in the industry to help educate each other. Even if the site never benefits me financially, it is definately educating me and others. As far as I know, members find the educational aspect helpful.
Again, great job with your post.
Great Article, I Liked all your points, specially 3rd point i.e 'Write what people want to read, not what you want to write' and 7th point i.e 'Don't forget the "marketing" in content marketing'.
I Would like to add one more point here i.e 'Write for user or readers not for search engines'' (this point may be similar as 3rd point)
Great Blog! Just getting into content marketing and encouraging our clients to do it too. I will use this as a guide (for us and them). Thanks so much.
Practicing what you preach! It's great to see.
Regards
Sharron
Thanks for writing this post. I am a Realtor and I can totally relate to the idea of content marketing and trust and why it is so important and how it works.
I started blogging on my own about a year ago and have found that there are tons of things that my clients want to know about. I find that writing about the local area is the best way to compete with the big companies as they are not in the business of interacting at this level.
The Personal touch builds relationships with potential clients without them even paying attention to the fact that I'm an agent. When ready to use an agent they find me based on the trust that I am all over the area for info on location, services, and specific market knowledge.
Your article sums up the struggles that agents have getting started with the process and the guidance to know what direction to take it to the next level. The push you mention to just start writing and to keep at it rings so clearly to me. I love that you explain the why of the process. It sums up so well that I am on the right track.
Thanks Jborjueta. We work with a number of Realtors on their content strategy so I know it works. Especially if you keep it local.
Bernie
Great article. There's truth in everything you have said! The highlight was the "Reference industry influencers", interviewing these people and publishing it in a blog post is another way to develop trust.
Not to mention, they help promote the story and that gives it 3rd party endorsement and more trust!
Bernie
Thank you becole for your excellent article. I found it very informative. I was especially happy to see item number 8 about the importance of establishing solid relationships BEFORE you need or ask for help from your readership. This is fundamental, not only in digital relationships, but in "analog" social relationships, alike. Since the beginning of time, the most successful relationships have been built on mutual sacrifice and gain (give and take). Thank you for pointing this out in such a comprehensive list.
I agree Tomc990. Relationships are very important and trust is the keystone in every relationship, including the relationship you have with your readers. Just like in everyday life, relationships take hard work and commitment. Thanks for your comment.
Bernie
This is one of the fantastic posts I read throughout the day! I really like the idea that one should always keep in mind and that is to bring all the audience back to your own (self hosted) entity or else there is simply no point of it....
Another interesting point was to write what people want and not what you want to write... and i guess this is why people do good amount of research on trends and before they actually come up with the topic of the post!
Perfect post indeed!
thank you for such an informative article. I like the part when you say that your content has to engage, entertain and educate readers or visitors. apart from this I like it when you say that we are not the only ones who are experts in a given topic. that is when referencing comes into play and if we can cite our competitors, it can prove beneficial.
I'll say it again, some of my competitors are my best friends. Thanks Ayushma for commenting.
Bernie
This is an incredibly comprehensive post about all things content! So glad I happened upon this today. As to your point from section #4:
Referencing other experts is also a great way to show that there are others that agree with what you're saying.
Don't be surprised if you see some of your work cited in my next blog post. :)
Thanks Becole, for sharing this valuable blog. I am 100% ok with you that content is not king, trust is king. Mean to say as much as engagement on your pages you are increasing your trust. Google always explains that don't work for me work for customers, but i also want to say that we can not deny to content, but we must deny pure seo content. Just write which people want to read, not for crawler. Finally thanks a lot for clearing some thing with your blog.
Hi! Becole, it's such a great article “Content Marketing”. Here you some talk about “Trust is not built by pushing sales” which I like most.
Thanks keep it up.
Thanks for the comment, It's true though... Push good content and the sales will follow...or the leads, or the phone calls...
Hi Bernie, this is a truly inspiring blog article. You have a natural or perhaps well practised skill for writing. ;) I'm bookmarking this for future reference. Great job!
I agree with you Libertine, having a USP and always delivering on promises (or better still exceeding clients' expectations), can really help galvanise trust and brand awareness.
Bernadette,
Excellent emphasis! Trust is king, indeed. These concepts are highly logical. Modern-day tactics are now mostly related to FAQ’s, helpful guides or Q&A’s. Thanks for providing the best advices in order to have the right mindset and make better impressions during this undertaking.
Hi, Bernadette . I agree with your point of view . TRUST + Content / New IP of Nano / = New Business Decisions for SME's .
Some good points here - almost stopped reading after the first one though - Not sure I agree that social media's objective is to get eyeballs back on owned property. Many social networks have the ability to convert; depending on how conversion is defined, it might be necessary to be on a social network to convert.
I don't necessarily think the best content should be published on owned property either. Depending on how new the owned property is, it might be better to publish it where it will get infront of the most people.
Lots of great stuff throughout the rest of the article though.
Thanks, Jordan Rules! I agree, publish it where it will get in front of the most people but make sure a link is somewhere back to your site...Then you are accomplishing both.
Bernie
Great article, trust is very important. I'm currently working on my own startup business and in our space (flat sharing) we have a number of much larger folks who have quite a well known bad reputation for poor quality listings. One of our aim's is to give more love to the listings that provide the most useful information and in-turn becoming a respectable flat sharing company that both tenants and landlords will know and trust. Having a UGC site can be difficult to maintain trust as it needs to be policed so we're working on some ways to do this.
It's quite lucky that Wikipedia has grown to be such a vast resource with such great trust. I'm sure many students and even industry professionals cite Wikipedia in their references rather than going direct to the source.
One thing that is missing - whilst not necessarily an SEO or content issue, it's the design and feel of a site. First impression is key for users which is generally reflected in bounce rates etc. Looks = certain level of trust.
Good point Ryan and thanks for sharing. A good first impression is the key.
Bernie
Hi Bernie, I'm glad you brought up the trust factor. I think that's what google is trying to approximate when it emphasizes branding. Even if you're a SMB you can build up a niche brand where users associate your name with quality. Good content is important in that it helps build the trust but without trust users won't visit or come back.
Yes Caroline, you hit the nail on the head. You even said it better. Thanks
bernie
I appreciate all above thinks I see same content on many sites but user only like trusted site.for example classified site.
If trust is King, then is content Queen? Or at least Prince? Perhaps it is Queen Regent?
Lol just kidding, great post! I believe the end-goal of all content is trust, so essentially it's just looking at things at a different point in the funnel.
Hi Bernie, Best article i have read since i joined the SEO industry, you get inspiration from others but i appreciate the inputs that you have added on this post. I will be more that happy if a single user is trusting on my site and content to come back again. This quote is true for every field "Everyone does this. Everyone gets inspiration from things that they see (and read) elsewhere; it's how the world works. Inspiration comes from building on top of what has come before."