Most Content Marketers measure success by comparing the results from conversion, brand visibility benefits and revenue against the effort spent on producing and publishing content.
This is referred to as Content Marketing ROI.
There are several ways to boost ROI, but the most effective and direct approach is to maximise value from every published blog post, because this is the cornerstone of any effective Content Marketing strategy.
To get any ROI from Content Marketing, you must do more than merely publish a blog post. You’ll need the right tools managed by the best people and a clear plan for reaching your goals.
These blog post add-ons don’t take much time to put together and pack a power punch that transforms your blog post from being good to great. It also makes your content friendlier to readers and search engines alike.
Use relevant phrases for internal links
Internal links can drive traffic to your website. When linking, use relevant phrases in your blog posts that encourage people to click the link. This increases the time readers spend on your site and in turn makes it easier to engage them and convert.
The internal link should be relevant to the current piece they’re reading or you’ll likely have a number of annoyed readers on your hands.
Target your blog posts appropriately
Before you begin writing, ensure you’re targeting the right audience. For example, interview some of your customers to find out the topics they’re most interested in and develop content around their needs.
Use long-tail keyword research to identify target phrases with low competition. This enables you to create a very specific post that your whole audience is guaranteed to like and find useful.
Include CTA’s in each blog post
Every post you publish should include at least one CTA that guides visitors to engage with your company by completing a contact form, subscribing to your email bulletins, downloading free content or making a purchase. Traffic alone won’t increase leads; however, you can convert traffic with an enticing ‘Call to Action’.
So, place your CTA’s on the bottom or at the side of your blog post. Alternatively, embed it in the content as text links.
Assemble the dream team
To increase ROI from Content Marketing, you’ll need a pool of talented personnel (if this isn’t your particular forte). The team should include:
- A manager to direct strategy and manage the overall process.
- Writers to create bespoke, engaging blog posts. They could be in-house or freelance.
- A graphic designer to create infographics, GIFs, and other visuals.
- A social media manager to engage and grow your audience on Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms.
- A promoter to manage communications with influencers, as well as paid marketing efforts to take your content to a new audience.
- A developer to produce 10x content presentations and create landing pages.
Utilise content Marketing tools
Creating the best blog posts can be time-consuming, but you can save money and time with the right tools to grow your business, including:
Buzzsumo: The most effective tool to view the best performing content in your niche and gather insight into the success of your content across social media platforms.
Evernote: A brainstorming tool to collate and organise your ideas in one single place.
Grammarly: The best grammar checking tool in the world.
Hemingway App: Makes your content more readable by finding a passive voice, superfluous words and difficult to understand sentences.
Headline Analyzer by Coshedule: Create the perfect headline for your content with this incredible tool. It analyzes the words and generates a preview of how your headline will appear on search results.
Use the human element
To reach out to the right people, you have to keep interacting with prospects on a direct level. Social media users are more likely to share content that resonates with them on a personal level. Therefore, it’s important to incorporate the human element in your blog posts.
Users should think of your brand as a person and less as a corporate entity. It puts a name and a face to a nameless entity, building trust and engaging customers at the same time.
Maximise your return
Consequently, Rolls explains that a link from a top influencer is better than 50 from lesser known publishers. So, allocate your resources wisely. Make the most of your blog posts by linking to them, promoting them, compiling a follow-up a piece and reimagining it further down the line.
When creating content, Robert Rolls, Head of Online Business at Openhost hosting, advises Content Managers to choose quality over quantity. He gave an instance where, it’s better to write three awesome blog posts that rank on page one search results than 20 blog posts that only a few people read and forget thereafter.
Transparency builds and maintains trust
Neil Patel is a popular Digital Marketer who shares all of his successes and failures in his blog posts. His level of transparency has endeared him to thousands of people, as well as brands who patronise his business and love his content.
Be genuine when interacting with your customers. This is a great way to build trust and get them interested in your content.
Sadly, transparency remains a serious issue for many Content Producers, who pay to increase their ‘Shares’ on social media, as well as create fake profiles/dummy accounts and employ other unethical methods. Updates to social media filtering protocols are weeding out the bad eggs, meaning their visibility will diminish.
Publish resource articles on your blog and influencer sites
Apart from your key resources, are there any other complementary variables that you can include in your blog?
For example, if your business revolves around designer shoes, a post that focuses on summer fashion trends, new dress designs, and other related topics will perform well. Your readers who like it will then share it to their own page. Go one step further by creating a few similar posts, which you can publish on other sites.
Conclusion
To get the most ROI from your Content Marketing efforts, understand how people interact with your content and be aware of the new contacts it generates and where it’s being shared.
Measure indicators every month and use the results to improve and focus your efforts. Look into other Content Marketing areas that complement your blog posts, such as eBooks, white papers, and templates.
Offer more value than the competition in every content.
