Content marketing can either build your business or stay numb to all your efforts and badly hurt the growth of your business. Creating an effective content marketing strategy should be your primary aim, for which there are certain aspects that you can never miss out on. Likewise, you also need to stay away from few practices that will flop all your efforts. Here’s a small list of dos and don’ts that you need to keep in mind while working on your content creation.
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Do research properly before settling on a content idea
What you should actually do is to first find a list of good content ideas that will add true value to your content marketing strategy. Research about the “persona” you’re writing for. Ask yourself, “Will this content clear their doubts and enhance their understanding of the niche?” “Will this content benefit my target audience?” Make sure that the chosen topic will broaden your audience’s perspective about the industry.
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Don’t settle for writing as yet
Unless you have done enough and more of research, do not embark on the writing process as it will not yield the expected results. What you’re going to write about is more important than the actual writing process. So try to know more about the nature of your target audience and most of all, their needs and demands. Then, get set to meet those needs through your content.
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Do have a look at your previous contents (for which you should have created a content inventory by now).
From Webmechanix
Analyzing your previous contents will not only give a better understanding about your audience base but will also help you deliver the requirements of your target audience. Also check the performance of your older contents by the number of shares and likes it has acquired. Never forget to skim through the comments made by your audience as it will give you a great insight into their mindset.
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However don’t create contents of the same type.
Try to create varied types of contents that are image oriented, infographics and those that talk about the current statistics of your niche etc. When you create different types of content, especially an image based content, you gain more chances for the it be shared and retweeted on major social media platforms. The difference in the type of content refers not just to the form but also to the context in which you are creating your content.
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Do talk about subjects that are relevant to your product or service.
From Digitalmusings.com
Creating a content that is not directly related to your product yet relevant to the industry your product or service is based will indeed greatly capture the interest of the readers. Through such contents, readers gain more knowledge and they will recognize you not only as a legitimate brand but also for the genuine interest that you have for your audience (your potential customers indeed).
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Do not simply aim at marketing your product through your content.
If you do so, you will only end up annoying the readers and you might in turn lose out on a potential customer. Bragging about your product or showing stats that point towards the success of your product will definitely not reflect a positive picture on your brand.
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Do build a strong trust with the help your content.
Remember that content creation is the only way to get in touch with your readers/audience. Having said that, use your content to the max to build that unshakable trust. Create a content to which they can relate to and request them to contribute ideas in the comments section. This shows how much you value your readers and their opinions.
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Do not fail to retain the trust that you’ve built.
Retaining the hard earned trust is quite a big deal. Reply to the readers’ comments and build a rapport with them. Creating a constant rapport and then abruptly putting it to an end; you’d rather not build one such trust.
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Do think beyond the limits while dealing with your audience.
Apart from developing a clever content for the sake of your content marketing strategy, try to provide a takeaway through which your audience will hugely benefit. It may be a case study download or an e-book or even a free product trial. If your audience benefits from your content, you’re also equally reaping the benefits for the effort that you’ve put in.
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Do not forget to track your results.
From Lifehealthpro.com
As much as you think on behalf of your audience, you also need to get a little strategic and track the performance of your content. This will have a huge impact on your content strategic goals as you will learn what more has to be done to improve the performance rate, and how to stay away from factors that hinder the performance of your content.
