Content Marketing Tips: How to Launch a Content Program
Are you new to content marketing? Perhaps you’re browsing the web for content marketing tips because you realize how important this form of marketing is for inching ahead of the competition and building a brand with staying power. Developing a content marketing program—particularly in the beginning—can feel overwhelming. Fortunately, the pros at Pel Hughes have compiled a list of helpful tips to point you in the right direction.
4 Easy-to-Implement Content Marketing Tips
#1 Evaluate Your Competition’s Content Strategy
A great place to start a content marketing journey, is to take a look at what your competition is doing. Let’s say you operate a dental practice. Doing a Google search of what neighboring practices are doing in your area can be a big help. For example, a Google search could reveal that a top practice runs a blog that is updated regularly, has plenty of original copy on their website, and offers e-mail-based marketing like newsletters. If you’re on friendly terms with fellow dentists in your area, consider giving them a call and asking them for content marketing tips or inquiring about what works for them. You might find out that posting weekly to a blog and offering e-mail newsletters is a recipe for success. This kind of information can guide you forward. While you shouldn’t copy exactly what your competition is doing, taking similar approaches can help you reach more patients.
#2 Strike Up Content Marketing Partnerships
One of the greatest content marketing tips we could offer is to strike up partnerships with vendors, local notable people, or social media influencers to expand the reach of your brand or organization. This tip works especially well with non-profit organizations, retail-based enterprises, and service-oriented businesses. A content partnership can be as simple as working with a local social media influencer to promote a specific product or promotional offer on platforms like Facebook or Instagram. Another popular avenue you could take is to appear on a podcast or YouTube video from a creator related to your industry or organization.
#3 Refresh Existing Content
More than likely, you have some existing content that could be repurposed for social media, your website, blogs, videos, and e-mail campaigns. We recommend going through your existing content assets and determining which of them could use a facelift. Re-using old content saves time and money but it’s important to ensure that what you repurpose is relevant and effective. Sometimes, something as simple as creating an infographic from a previously-written how-to article can breathe new life into existing content. Other options you could pursue include generating short videos highlighting products or services you’ve discussed in social media posts or on your website. Giving existing content a facelift is quite easy when you change its format.
#4 Outline a Content Marketing Editorial Calendar
Once you’ve evaluated your competition, searched through your existing library of content, and considered your options for content marketing partnerships, it’s time to build an editorial calendar. An editorial calendar helps you map out your marketing content for the future. We recommend using a sharable and editable format, like Google Docs. This can help your team add suggestions, develop a clear path forward, and avoid repeating topics or keywords. Editorial calendars could be short-term like a couple months or cover your content strategy for the next year.
Content marketing can be daunting but careful research and planning makes all the difference. We post content marketing tips regularly on our blog so check back for more insight.
Pel Hughes is a family-owned, full-service printing company that offers cross media marketing, direct mail, graphic design, and campaign automation. Give our friendly experts a call at (504) 486-8646 to learn more about our services.
