Is your content performing the way you’d like it to? Are you getting results, real results? Are you starting to wonder if it’s really worth it to have a blog and social media profiles?
If so, you aren’t alone. There are plenty of businesses out there that are in the same boat. They slap up a blog post a couple of times a month and make a few posts on social media, then wonder why they aren’t getting the traffic.
It’s not you (well, it sorta is), it’s your content strategy.
And it’s a pretty easy fix.
See, content alone isn’t enough. You can have the most awesome blog posts and some really clever social media posts, but if it isn’t seen it’s not worth a whole lot.
Visibility is the key!
There are some simple rules of thumb: Post frequently on social media (4 to 6 times a week), post high-quality content on your blog regularly, and refresh your web content on a regular basis. However, if you are just trying to get your feet under you so you can solidify your content strategy and make it work for you, this will help.
1. Start with a vision – know it, embrace it, live it
Your vision is the “why” of your brand. Why do you do what you do? Think about the “why” and build your brand culture around it. The rest will naturally come.
Do you want to help small businesses thrive in a struggling economy? Use that passion as your foundation and keep in touch with it.
Engage in activities that allow you to bring that vision to life and keep your finger on the pulse of your target client. Volunteering is a great way to do this. If your client base is not local you can do podcasts with Q & A or discussion segments where you talk directly with your viewers and answer questions. The point is to not just give your vision lip service, live it.
2. Set goals you can live with
All too often people set lofty goals that are impossible or nearly impossible to attain. Then it’s no surprise when they abandon their quest because they feel like they are not getting anywhere. Don’t get me wrong: goals are great. Challenging goals are great. Impossible goals are just setting you up for failure. Set goals that are not necessarily easy but are at least attainable.
It’s also a good idea to have several goals, some significant and some smaller as well as some that are flexible and others that are etched in stone. This way you can see your progress and celebrate little victories along the way. For instance, set a goal to publish one long-form research article and three short-form articles on your blog each month. That’s four small goals (each article) and one large one (four posts a month). Reward yourself for each goal you reach and really celebrate the big one! It’s a great way to stay motivated too.
3. Timeline with benchmarks
If you are setting a significant goal, say you want a certain amount of traffic to come from your blog within a given time you should create a timeline for accomplishing this. For instance, within six months you want to increase your traffic by 25%. That is your primary goal but set benchmarks along the way to mark your progress. These are simply smaller goals, maybe a 5% increase in traffic or a certain amount of engagement on your social media. The point is to create a path that you can follow to reach the final goal and get the prize.
4. Get the right tools
There are so many great tools out there that will help you do just about anything with your content. Decide what you need and find the right tools to help you make it amazing. If you are looking at social media posts, try a service like HootSuite. If you need help managing projects, then Asana may work well for you.
One thing you definitely need is an editorial calendar. You can’t get around that, it’s a must-have. There are a lot of sites that offer online editorial calendars, but you can create your own in Google Sheet just as easily. Start with something simple, just six columns for the date, day, link, graphic, type of post, and text. You can move to something more complex once you get the hang of it, or you may decide to keep it old school – and that’s perfectly fine.
5. Commit to quality
In the digital universe, Google calls a lot of the shots. This means you have please those Google gods in order to stay on top in the search engine ranking game.
And there are two things Google loves: Fresh content and high-quality content.
Shoot for high-quality content that provides value to your readers. Do some keyword research and incorporate a couple into your content but let the content do most of the talking. If you put good stuff out there, people are going to notice. They will come back again and again, they will tell their friends about you, and they will share your stuff on social media – and in the end, that’s what you’re working so hard for, right?
Writer Access has some of the finest freelance writers around and they will craft top-notch content that speaks to your customers and makes your brand come alive. Now that’s one part of your content strategy that you don’t have to worry about! Let us carry that load for you. You have enough to think about.
Stephanie M is a writer living in East Central, Alabama, but she didn’t always lead such a peaceful, carefree life. A few years ago she made a daring escape from the “cube farm” at a Federal Agency in Washington, D.C. (after eight very long years) where she worked. as an analyst focusing on disaster response, technical writing, program management, and FOIA.
