Taming the Beast: How to Maximize Your Content Marketing Efforts

Your time is valuable. So is content marketing. And just when you master how to post to Facebook or Twitter or Instagram, another one pops up. “Everyone’s using TikTok!” “You’ll lose street cred if you’re not on Snapchat.” “Has Myspace come back yet?”

If you want to make an impact in the modern era, you need to think about content marketing. Your content needs to work for search engines (SEO) and users. If your content is not educational or informative, visitors will not spend very long on your website. On the other hand, if your content does not work well for search engines, visitors will have difficulty finding you. How can you maximize the return on your digital marketing investment? There are a few key points to keep in mind.

Always Provide Value to Your Clients
There is always a demand for more content; however, you cannot simply publish content without thinking about it. Make sure everything you publish has value. Use your content to create a direct connection with your potential clients.
For example, you might want to distribute an infographic to your clients that tells a story about how much your products and services helped one of your clients. Use numbers that objectively define the difference you made in the lives of one of your clients. You can generate a massive ROI on an informative infographic that can deliver exponential returns.

Distribute Content Through Multiple Delivery Channels
One way you can drive up the return on your marketing investment is to deliver the same content through multiple delivery channels. For example, you can record a conversation with one of your best customers about a challenge they overcame or a success they want to share. Post the entire video on your website using Vimeo or YouTube.
Pick your favorite 15-20 seconds from the interview and post that on Facebook and/or your next e-newsletter, linking both back to the full interview.

Use a transcription service such as Otter.ai or the transcribe feature in Microsoft Word. You can upload any video or Zoom call, and it will turn your conversation into words. It’s not perfect technology yet, so expect to do some heavy copyediting, but it’s still a fast way to turn the conversation into a blog post.

You can also take the best quote from the interview and turn it into a graphic using a service like Canva, Adobe Spark, or PicMonkey. Then share it on Instagram and Pinterest. Remember to link each one back to your blog post or video.
By taking the same content and distributing it through multiple deliveries, you’ll expand your reach, reduce the amount of time you spend generating fresh content, all while maximizing the return on your content.

Remember the Golden Rule
Even if you have the best content possible, it won’t help you unless someone sees it. Sure, everyone uses social media; however, how can you make sure people actually read your content and find it valuable? There are a few key points to note, including:
•    Network with influencers who can help you amplify your message
•    Take advantage of forums such as Reddit
•    Work with groups on social media platforms that might include your target market
•    Consider distributing a periodical using an email subscription list so you know people are interested in your content
•    Consider using paid distribution
The goal is to figure out where your audience hangs out online. Then, try to spread your message in that area.

Target the End Result
It is easy to get lost in the weeds; however, you need to make sure that you do not lose sight of your end goal. Do you want people to share their contact information? Do you want people to call you? Are you ready for them to make an immediate purchase?
You should view your content as a piece on a chessboard. You need to move your pieces carefully to protect your position in the marketplace.