Content marketing is one of the easiest ways to connect with customers and increase sales. How often do you visit a website to check a range of products and leave immediately? Most likely, not often. The same can be said for your target audience.
Consumers want more interactive interactions with companies. Blog content is a great way to retain existing customers while building trust with new visitors visiting your site for the first time. But creating great blog content is not always easy. Business leaders need to consider several factors when developing their content marketing strategy.
Today, we will look at some things that companies from all industries should consider if they want to publish effective blog content.
Understand your readers
The first step to writing compelling content is to understand your audience. You cannot have a successful blog without readers. This step will take some research, but it is an investment that will help you maximize the long-term value of your blog.
If you have not yet created segments for your audience, now is the right time. Research the products and services of your website and determine the personality traits, demographics, pain points, and goals of the person purchasing each product.
Even brands selling almost identical products will have slight differences in their segments. For example, a website dedicated to selling gardening products would create a separate profile for those who want to grow fruits or vegetables. Of course, they can create a third section for those interested in developing both.
The key to creating great blog content is writing posts that appeal to all areas of your audience. Study social media interactions, Google Analytics data, and customer reviews to learn about your readers’ goals and needs. Use this information to create a blog theme that will appeal to more and more readers. If your posts resonate with your readers, you will see more interactions and conversions.
Make navigation easy
You can take your valuable content and make it more powerful by linking it to similar posts. When a reader visits your blog, they click on the hyperlink in the text if something attracts their attention. Take this opportunity to direct your readers to other useful content on your blog.
Navigation should be user friendly as they move from one page to another. Make sure readers can find what they are looking for, and you can bet that each post will be a lot more effective.
We also recommend adding a search bar to your blog. Sometimes a visitor comes to your site and knows what he or she needs. Instead of forcing you to navigate through pages of posts, subtopics, or hyperlinks, you can help them get to the right place by using the search bar.
When it comes to creating compelling content, how people move from one topic to another plays an essential role in the process. Remember to navigate while posting new articles on your blog.
Emphasize personalization
Privatization has revolutionized the way companies interact with their customers. Instead of showing the same promotion and content to everyone, we can diversify our content marketing efforts based on the customer segments mentioned earlier.
If you know what content your readers want, you can create it. But if you know what everyone wants to see based on interactions with your site, you can create a new experience for each person who lands on your site.
Imagine that you have a website dedicated to antiques. Now you can customize your website to see what products or content the reader saw and provide relevant promotions and messages. So, if someone has seen a bunch of posts about the Antique 1920s Rocking Chair, you can show them the selected content from your blog with the 1920 keywords and Rocking Chair.
Adding personalization to your company’s blog can have a significant impact on users interacting with your posts. Displaying relevant content means that users are more likely to remain inactive, leading to email subscriptions, purchases, or more time on your website. Whatever the outcome, personalization ensures that the reader has more reason to stay on your blog.
Accept Requests
Finally, you can improve the effectiveness of your blog content by accepting readers’ requests. You may be surprised how many people will come up with suggestions on specific topics that were never crossed your mind.
The best thing about accepting requests is that you can post a contact form on your blog in just a few seconds. Ask users to request ideas for a topic and choose a category in which they fit. Now, when the time has come to plan your content calendar, you will have a list of ideas submitted by your loyal readers.
Browse topics and first find the ones that generate the most requests. As soon as you start posting customer requests, you will start seeing more engagement as users come back to see what they wrote. You will also notice that as you cover new topics, more diverse suggestions appear.
Include attractive graphics
Visual effects are powerful tools. If you have spent any time on my blog or social media, you know my passion for creating visual appeal. The right visual brand will not only improve your business but also increase your visibility.
According to data compiled by MDG Advertising, articles incorporating a relevant image received an average of 94% more views than an article without one. It tells me that while you can write engaging content, publishing without branded graphics puts your blog at a disadvantage.
If you want additional traffic, don’t forget the value of the visual social giant Pinterest. If you do not create a pinned image in your blog post, you miss out on an ample opportunity.
Pinterest is now the # 1 traffic driver on my blog. Wondering how I moved this needle from # 6 to # 1 in a few months? I consistently create branded images that are clean, easy to read, and simple to assemble or bookmark.
Here are some ways to use graphics:
- Provide tips, advice, or instructions.
- Tell your business story.
- Share a quote from one of your posts.
- Promote Your Upcoming Webinar.
- Suggest a solution to a problem with a popular reader.
Use a clean design and layout.
There is a quote: “A lost mind will not buy.” It is the same with your website. A cluttered design causes confusion and heaviness.
While the right blog design may be controversial, the value of simplicity cannot be denied. Your site must be unused and easy to navigate.
If you are not attracting enough buyers or selling your latest product, take a look at your website’s design. What surrounds your call to action? Is there too much text in flashy buttons, misleading advertisements, dirty design?
If you want to build trust and relationships with your readers, take time to organize your site.
Here is a simple checklist:
- Clear the clutter on the sidebar
- Update your contact information and make it easy to find
- Simplify navigation and menus
- Stay by the rules of one and make a master call to action on your home page.
- Be clear about who you are talking to and their language.
- Update your content – read it more comfortable to add paragraphs, bullets, and other separators
Has a unique voice
With over 81 million new posts monthly, it is easy to see how your blog can get lost in the commotion. It forces you to write what you know and shares that unique voice of yours.
Very often, bloggers look toward other bloggers for advice. While this is an excellent place to gain inspiration, the downside emulates what they do rather than learning through their example.