Happy Friday and happy Independence Day Eve! Before you clock out for the day and prepare for your socially distanced backyard barbeques and home-sparked fireworks displays, take a few to catch up on the latest and greatest in the world of content marketing. Then get ready to celebrate freedom in the good, old U.S. of A.
This Just In: The “S” Matters
Why Google Ranks Singular and Plural Keywords Differently via Search Engine Journal
If you’ve been selecting keywords for your content without consideration for whether they’re singular or plural, then you might want to take stock of your content goals and reconsider which form of the keyword or keyword phrase you’re using. You wouldn’t think that the pesky plural form would make a difference, but it does according to John Mueller from Google (yes, the Google).
Google ranks plural and singular keyword terms separately because it’s their developers’ understanding that people search using singular or plural depending on the type of search results they’re hoping to find. For example, people tend to search for the plural when looking for articles that review or compare products.
Read the full article to learn more about what singular and plural forms mean for your SEO strategy and how to revise your content accordingly.
What to Do If Your Blog’s Infested with Crickets
How to Improve Blog Engagement: 3 Ways via Business 2 Community
It’s tough to start and maintain a blog. If no one ever sees or engages with your content, it can be disheartening.
Luckily, there’s actually a lot you can do to improve engagement with your content. This article from Business 2 Community outlines three of the most impactful ways to increase engagement: consistency, relevance, and optimization. Check out the full article for more detailed instructions.
Is a Ghostwriter a Ghost That Haunts Typewriters?
What Is a Ghostwriter? (And How Do I Hire One?) via WriterAccess
Sorry to disappoint the ghost hunters reading this, but ghostwriters aren’t actually ghosts; they’re living writers.
So, what’s so ghostly about ghostwriters, if they aren’t actual apparitions? Well, hiring one can make it seem like a ghost is writing your content for you!
To learn more about ghostwriters, the services they offer, how they can simplify your life, and how to hire one, give this article from WriterAccess a not-so-ghoulish gander.
How to Focus Your Content in Blurry Times
Content Marketing In Times of Disruption via Search Engine Land
It’s no secret that we’re living in strange and disruptive times. The news cycle is odder than it’s ever been, and it seems like every day, there’s a new unprecedented story afoot. Our daily lives have changed, your audience’s perspective has changed, and our marketing strategies need to change, too.
This article from Search Engine Land provides guidance to help you focus your strategy, keep your messaging relevant, and develop a fast-paced workflow to keep up with these ever-changing crazy-and-crazier times.
Put Your Audience in a World of Pure Imagination
Imagination Marketing via Huron Daily Tribune
Sure, content marketing works wonders when it comes to messaging and driving traffic to a website. Content marketing has limitless potential when you use it to harness a human’s ability to imagine. Your content marketing can show your audience how wonderful your brand is by asking them to imagine themselves experiencing, using, wearing, tasting, smelling, fill-in-the-blank-ing your product.
Take a look at this article to learn more about asking your audience to use their imaginations and to learn from some highly successful examples of imagination marketing from the past.
Are You Smart Enough to Personalize Every Customer’s Journey? Robots Are
How AI Drives Personalised Customer Value with Marketing Automation via Analytics Insight
If personalizing a customer lifetime journey was a completely manual process, no one would be able to do it (or at least no one could do it well).
With the help of artificial intelligence, however, your customer response management software can immediately identify your customer’s location on the journey map or in your sales funnel and customize content to meet their specific needs. With the right system, you can start implementing intelligent marketing strategies, rather than simply dreaming about them.
Take a look at this article from Analytics Insight to learn more about intelligent marketing strategies and how you can harness the power of AI to boost your return on investment.
To Link or Not to Link? Data Sourcing Is the Question
How to Choose the Most Link-Worthy Data Source for Your Content via Moz
While adding hyperlinks in your content for optimization purposes don’t forget that it’s also important to use reputable sources. If you’re creating content, one of the most important qualities you can imbue in your brand is credibility.
One way to make yourself appear (and actually be) credible is by linking to the right sources. Read this article from Moz to learn how to choose the best sources to boost your content’s success.
How to Avoid an Employee Identity Crisis
How to Make Personal and Corporate Branding Work Together via Content Marketing Institute
You have a brand. The company you work for has a brand.
The question is, “Can the two successfully mix?
Businesses often have the initial instinct to separate employees’ personal brands from corporate brands as much as possible. They believe it’s best to prevent employees’ personal brands from diminishing the corporate presence by prohibiting employees from talking about work on their personal social media accounts. This thinking, however, is quite flawed.
According to this article from Content Marketing Institute, it’s not only impossible to enforce such prohibitive rules, but it’s also unwise to try. This article argues that a corporate brand can actually be enhanced by showcasing the personal brands of its employees. Just be sure you do so successfully by setting practical guidelines, no longer restricting social media access at work, recognizing your employees’ positive contributions, and making it simple for employees to share your brand stories and messaging. Read the full article to learn more.
Until next week. Happy Independence Day!
A full-time freelance writer and editor, Jennifer G. believes that understanding each client’s unique business, brand, voice, passions, and goals is the true challenge of content creation. With every new project, she loves diving in, getting acquainted, and developing long-lasting relationships with her clients. Jennifer is also the author of our weekly content marketing trends report that hits the blog every Friday morning.
