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I know you have heard this familiar phrase and right now you could say many marketers are using it with respect to their content marketing initiatives.
So much emphasis has been placed on producing content and the results it will bring once it is there. Then, there are people who say it is all about creating quality content for people to read. In both cases the “build it and they will come” mentality is the driving factor.
If you have forgotten about this phrase, check out the scene from Field of Dreams.
The part here that is missing are the other processes that need to take place to help make the content come alive.
Content must be promoted
Yes- It is not as simple as just maintaining a blog site or content site. Marketers need to get the word out and promote the content more and more. Social media sites are a great place to share content and get the news out regarding information that you have posted. I think Linkedin works the best with it’s new publishing platform. I try to do this each time I post an article on the Midwest Labs Blog Site or this site.
Content must be specific
General articles on information do not do nearly as well as articles written on specific topics. Focus on a particular topic and target that market through the use of #hashtags on social media sites. Don’t be concerned about the number of hits you receive on the day the article was posted. Look at the number of hits over a longer time period and determine what follow-up type of articles should be written on specific topics.
Write on Topics that others are not writing on
Too many articles are written on certain subjects. “Why companies should be on social media?” How many of these type of articles can a person read. There are so many articles on this topic that it is really hard to stand out and more than likely your article will say about the same thing every article is saying.
Hare a long-term strategy
Too much emphasis is made on getting results from content marketing in a 30-60 day time period. Unless you are a famous athlete, movie star or some type of celebrity your chances of hitting it big by developing content are not going to happen overnight. That is really ok. I have maintained content on this site and a company site for over three years and the beauty is when you can begin to Build Content on Top of Content. This is where people will begin to see that you are knowledgeable about a particular topic. It is a never-ending job.
Summary
Have a realistic strategy when it comes to content marketing. Make sure that once you start, you keep it going. You will experience peaks and valleys when it comes to readership, but if you write content that no one else is talking about and you promote it and you keep building on it, you will see results. You will not see results necessarily in a viral way, but in a sustaining consistent manner which is much more easier to manage long-term.
photo credit: runneralan2004 via photopin cc
