Content marketing is continuously changing. As search engines release new and stricter algorithms, and as time increasingly becomes a commodity many are unwilling to spare, content marketing agencies and small businesses alike struggle to produce the type of content that really makes an impact. However, that may be because marketers are trying so hard to impress their audiences that they’re overlooking painfully obvious content marketing strategies that actually work.

What To Do to Get Your Campaign Back on Track

The following five strategies are tried and true — elements on which our content marketing agency has relied from the beginning and ones that continue to yield results today.

1. Don’t Discount the Power of Visuals

Content marketers love using text as their main means of communication, which is funny, because the human brain processes text at a much slower rate than it does visuals. In fact, according to findings published by Nielsen Norman Group, the average web user has time to read approximately 28 percent of all text on a single web page during a single visit, though 20 percent is more likely. Moreover, people only retain 10 percent of what they read or hear after three days, but that percentage skyrockets to 65 percent when that same information is paired with a visual. So, what do these numbers mean for your content?

Additional studies reveal that posts with images generate 650 percent higher engagement than posts that feature only text. Posts with videos attract three times more links than text-only posts. Finally, shoppers are 85 percent more likely to purchase a product after watching a product video than if they were merely to read about the product.

Via GIPHY

All that said, not all images make great visuals, and not all visuals are images. Visuals must be engaging, be relevant and add value to the content. Some examples of relevant and engaging visuals are as follows:

• Charts, Graphs and Relevant Images: Leading with a relevant and impressive image is wise, but don’t stop there as so many companies tend to do. Follow the lead of so many a content marketing agency and sprinkle relevant, high-quality visuals throughout a piece. “High-quality visuals” include charts and graphs that back what you say and images that complement your text.
• Infographics: Infographics, when done right and crafted with compelling data, can be powerful tools and easily double your traffic.
• SlideShare: According to Neil Patel, SlideShare has more traffic from business owners than any other social media platform. It is also the world’s 121^st most visited site, with three billion presentation shares per month. Its content marketing potential is huge but, unfortunately, not fully realized (which is a fact you can take advantage of). 
• Videos: 97 percent of marketers claim that video helps customers make a decision, which isn’t too far off from what consumers say. According to 90 percent of consumers, video plays a huge role in helping them make a final purchase decision.

2. Create Clickable, Readable, Shareable and Devour-able Content

Not many people think to ask, “What is copywriting?” but they should. Yes, it’s true that great copy should be be well-researched, professional and relevant to your industry, but shareable content is so much more than those three things. According to a BuzzSumo study, which analyzed 100 million articles, viral content is content that meets the following criteria:

• Has a clickable headline
• Is longer in length — typically, posts between 3,000 and 10,000 words perform best
• Is visually appealing, meaning it includes images, a how-to, list or infographic
• Is perceived as trustworthy and reputable, and appeals to readers’ emotions
• Is promoted several days, weeks or even months after it was originally written

When you compare this list to so many B2C blogs on the World Wide Web today, it’s a wonder that some posts even get the amount of hits that they do.

That said, creating viral content is easier said than done. Though the best route to filling your website with great content is hiring a custom writing service, you can give your in-house content the boost it needs by keeping the following tips in mind:

• Write like a human. Stop using third person and ditch the corporate jargon.
• Don’t be afraid to incorporate your personality into your content.
• Shoot for long-form articles. Long is not boring – in fact, it is more engaging, informative and shareable. That said, don’t say more than necessary. Avoid fluff and the use of superfluous language for the sake of meeting a high word count.
• Send your articles out to industry influencers and ask for feedback. If it’s good enough, they may even share it; if it’s not, you at least have the advice you need to make it shareable.

3. Know That a Blog May Not Be Your Only Tool

As a custom writing service, we love blogging — it’s what we do. But even we cannot deny that blogs are just one tool in the content marketing arsenal. Though over 409 million people read over 23.7 billion pages each month, blogging alone does not create conversions, which is why churning out dozens of so-so blogs each month doesn’t create much of an impact. Blogs are just one piece of the puzzle, and you have to figure out where they fit in with your overall content goals — not the other way around. To paraphrase the words of Doug Fowler, President of Waypost Marketing: Though search engines still value fresh content online, you should focus on quality, not quantity. That may mean revising your content marketing strategy to churn out less blog articles and create more targeted content in easier-to-digest and more pleasing formats.

The point? Use your blog to fuel other SEO efforts.

Do not stop writing blogs, as doing so would be counterproductive to your efforts as well. Instead, use your blog content to curate social media posts, email newsletters, videos and SlideShares; to redirect visitors to a video or landing page; to pave the way for a Q&A session or to address customer FAQs; or to set the stage for a future podcast. There are a variety of types of content you can repurpose your blogs into, which Neil Patel shares via this handy visual:

4. Don’t Make Your Audience Look for You – Go to Them

When you want coffee, you go to a coffee shop. If you’re in the mood for authentic Mexican food, you go to a taqueria. The same goes for content marketing. If you want to interact with your target audience, you go to where they are, because chances are, they’re not going to magically gravitate towards you.

Yes, your SEO efforts can help them find you, but if they’re hanging out on Twitter or GrubHub and you’ve made no efforts to socialize in those spheres, your efforts are for naught. Take some time to study your target audience and to figure out where they congregate. Once you have identified where your target audience hangs out, take the necessary time to personalize your content to meet audience interests and needs. Platforms aren’t one size fits all, so it’s important that you tailor your content to your audience and the platform of their choice.

5. Remember, Sharing Is Caring

As Jay Baer once famously said, “Content is fire. Social media is gasoline.” Though it’s nice to think that your content is so well-written, so engaging and so informative that it creates its own inferno, the truth is that most content remains hidden in the depths of the search results when it’s not shared across multiple social media channels. You can create your own blaze, however, by sharing your hard work across your chosen platforms. Content creation is the difficult part, but sharing takes almost no time at all. Reach as many audiences as possible and post to LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube and Tumblr. If you think there are other places your audiences may be hiding out, post there as well. Never stop looking for new platforms either, as you never know where you’ll find future loyal fans.

Whether you want to get your campaign back on track or are ready to take your content marketing seriously, stress less about keeping up with online marketing trends and spend more time looking toward the older but tried-and-true methods. Create several types of quality content with plenty of visuals, pay attention to where your audience hangs out and share. If you really want your campaign to flourish, turn to our content marketing agency for help. Visit our content shop online to see what we have to offer your business.