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Content Marketing Expert

specializing in

Blog Posts Blog Posts , Articles , Infographics , Marketing Videos , Explainer Videos , Webinars , E-books , Podcasts

30% - Companies that use content marketing see approximately higher growth rates than businesses not using it.
72% - Business to business (B2B) marketers say content marketing increases engagement and the number of leads they generate.

How content marketing works?

Your business can use content marketing to attract leads, make a case for your product or service when someone is researching what to buy and thereby closing the sales cycle.

To use content marketing effectively, the right content needs to be delivered at each stage of the sales funnel or cycle from awareness through consideration to purchase. If this sounds complicated, dont worry: HireEmployees experts approach content in a phase wise manner which simplifies the process. We will explain it to you, the easy way.

Lets take an example of how companies use content marketing in each stage of the sales cycle to engage and sell.

Awareness stage

At the first stage of the sales process, your content should focus on the top concerns of your audience. Writing about their pain points, challenges, and questions gives you the best chance of engaging with them. Content at the awareness stage should be educational, how-to advice. Save your selling for the consideration and closing phases.

Content Type Recommendation: Articles, Blog posts, E-books, Pitch Videos, Newsletters
Consideration stage

In the consideration stage, content should offer a hybrid of helpful information and marketing. It should educate the reader about what features or functions to look for and how various features address their needs. Of course, your content should have a bent toward what your business offers.
Content Type Recommendation: Case studies, How-to articles, How-to videos, Checklists/Worksheets

Closing stage

Content marketing plays an important role when a prospect is close to buying. At this stage, you can focus on sales, if you continue to drive home why youre the best choice rather than just how great your services or products are.
The central message here should be your expertise, knowledge, and the differentiating benefits of what you sell.

Content Type Recommendation: Case studies, User-generated content, Buyers guide, Product video, Research report

But how do you get started with content marketing?

Content marketing can feel overwhelming, but it doesnt have to be. A successful content marketing campaign should be manageable and sustainable. We recommend the below steps:

Identify your audience. To create content for a particular reader, you need to have a clear idea of their priorities, challenges, and preferences. If you have detailed descriptions of your various segments, choose a couple of them to write for. Otherwise, craft profiles of your audience members (User Persona Mapping) and prospects before starting.

Prepare the right formats. The right format corresponds with what stage of the sales cycle youre creating content for. Another important consideration includes what formats will best help you showcase value. For some, this will be a video, for others, a checklist.

Determine where and how youll distribute.Will you post content on your site, email it to people, or print it for an event? Start with where you know your audience is likely to be (We call this the catchment area) and choose formats that make sense. For example, an article makes sense to send via an email, a checklist or worksheet can be posted on social media, and a buyers guide is a good follow-up to a pitch.

Choose a sustainable schedule. Its easy to make a content marketing plan thats overly ambitious. Once you know the target readers and the formats, create a short-term (3-6 months) plan for a realistic number of content elements you can create, based on your budget and resources. Keep track of how long it takes you to create each piece of content, so that you can build that time into your schedule.

Follow best practices. Compelling content is clearly written, without jargon that only you and your peers will know. It should also include how-to advice. A short, relevant, actionable piece of content is the best content.

SEO and social media
SEO
Content marketing makes it easy for good prospects to find your business. One way this occurs is using search engine optimization (SEO). Information abounds on SEO, but lets begin with a few important best practices.

Identify keywords
Keywords are the foundation of your SEO effort. These all-important words and phrases are the terms a prospect types into a search engine when theyre looking for a company, product, or service.
When you include the right keywords in your content, youll attract more traffic. The best keywords are:

Plain-language: language your audience uses to describe their pain points and needs
Relevant: keywords that match the expertise, products, and services you provide
Specific: a combination of your focus, industry expertise, prospect pain points, and other relevant details
Deliver on your promise
SEO has evolved so that search success depends in part on how well your content does what it says itll do. Search engines review content copy, assess its relevance, and determine whether it delivers on what the headline promises.
Because of the importance search engines place on copy, using keywords throughout your content is important. Use the following guidelines:

Focus on 1 to 2 keywords. Avoid keyword stuffing by writing about what matters to your prospects with a focus on just a few keyword phrases.
Use keywords in the title. Make what the article is about clear and explicit.
Use keywords throughout. Find a way of naturally incorporating your keywords into your content.
Stay on topic. Good-quality content that provides advice related to a headline will perform best.

Social Media

Once you have content, its time to get the word out about it. Social media LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, and othersis a proven and easy way to promote your content. You write a post and link to your content, and then wait for the magic to happen. People are engaged.
But make sure that you refer to your User Persona Mapping

You can do this through 3 steps:

Focus on high-potential channels. The best social media outlets for you are the ones frequented by your audience. Consider the big, popular channels, as well as smaller, industry-focused ones that are likely to connect you with good prospects.
Craft your copy to fit the channel. Each social media channel has a level of professionalism versus fun, an accepted voice, and other details all its own.
Test and modify your approach. A winning social media promotion effort involves trial and error. Track responses from the various channels for quantity and quality. Fewer high-potential engagements may mean a channel is a good fit, as opposed to a slew of clicks that never turn into an audience.