Is your marketing campaign awash in a sea of content? Do you have what Google wants? Get answers to these questions, plus an easy content strategy game plan, killer visuals, and a little something for the bleeding hearts, all in this edition of Thursday Trends.
How Competitive Is Your Content Marketing Game Plan?
3 Strategic Questions to Ask for Content Marketing Win via The Marketing Insider
If you’re out there, marketing and producing content, without a documented content strategy, the good news is that you’re not alone. According to a recent survey of marketers, only 36% have a documented content marketing game plan. The bad news is that, without a documented strategic approach to marketing, your content won’t be nearly as effective.
This article from The Marketing Insider makes starting to strategize simple by breaking the idea of content strategy into three basic questions. Take a look at the full article to learn the right questions to ask when planning your content strategy, so you can stop marketing willy-nilly and get in the game with a winning, thoroughly considered playbook.
Don’t Blend In — How to Be a Content Marketing Non-Conformist
Tips for Standing Out in a Crowded Content Marketing Environment via WriterAccess
On television, online, and on the street, we’re awash in content. As a result, content marketers have to work extra hard to prevent their content from getting swept away in the deluge. Thankfully, there are ways to make sure your content is seen, heard, smelled and tasted (why not?), and most importantly appreciated.
Take a look at this recent article from WriterAccess that provides a few pointers on how to keep your content from getting lost at sea. The article suggests staying firmly anchored and holding your audience’s attention with unique topics, mixed media, and more.
Is a Picture Really Worth a Thousand (or More) Words?
How to Create Infographics That’ll Supercharge Your Content Marketing Strategy in 2019 via Business 2 Community
Nearly half of marketers polled in a recent survey reported that original graphics, like infographics, were more effective than other media — even videos, GIFs, and memes (but we still love ’em). With all the work infographics can do, packing lots of information into tidy, easily reviewable packages, they’re probably worth the time, planning, and effort to create.
From outlining infographic goals to styling your masterpiece, this article from Business 2 Community breaks the process of creating infographics into five easy steps. Following their complete guidelines will help you whip up your next tasty infographic fast as a bowl of instant pudding.
Don’t Just Do It for the Money; Do It for the Donors
Content Marketing for a Cause: How Nonprofits Improve Donor Retention via Skyword
In for-profit businesses, customer retention is important for growth, but in nonprofits, donor retention is essential to survival. Thankfully, content marketing’s no one-trick pony. It’s the perfect tool for nonprofits to maintain and strengthen their relationships with donors in between fundraisers and giving cycles.
This article from Skyword suggests nonprofits use content marketing to keep donors interested, informed, and involved. Use content to show how donations are being applied. They recommend nonprofits aim for emotional, social, and story-focused content that tugs heartstrings and loosens purse strings.
I Know What Google Wants. I Know What Google Likes.
How to Get Google Eyes for Your Content via Content Marketing Institute
You type in a word or a phrase — anything — and like magic, Google provides. But it isn’t magic; it’s math, human behavior, patterns, and Google staff, which means content marketers are able to customize (or search engine optimize) content to get the attention of Google’s eyes.
This Content Marketing Institute article explains, in simple terms, how to give Google what it wants: expertise, authority, and trustworthiness, to start. Take a look at the full article to learn more about how Google search works and what you can (and should) do to give your content Google eyes.
Jennifer G is a full-time freelance writer and editor with a B.A. in creative writing from the University of Montana. She enjoys researching and writing creative content to engage readers and developing professional voices for clients across all industries. She specializes in medical, health, veterinary, and financial writing. Having worked nearly thirteen years in finance, Jennifer applies her experience in the banking industry (marketing, social media management, consumer and commercial lending, customer service, accounts, and bookkeeping) to her writing work within the industry.
