We all know that it is important to create content in order to successfully do inbound marketing. This type of marketing, providing valuable content and information to consumers, is turning into the go-to marketing method for several reasons.
Firstly, it's more affordable. Inbound marketing costs 62 percent less than traditional outbound marketing. Yet, inbound marketing creates three times more leads.
Secondly, people are interested in the content that is generated. 46 percent of people read blogs more than once a day.
Still not sold? 86 percent of TV ads are skipped and 80 percent of Google-sponsored ads are ignored.
So, if you're not using inbound marketing as part of your marketing strategy then you are missing a huge percentage of your potential audience.
Where to start?
A big issue with inbound marketing is that marketers don't always know how to best approach creating and promoting content. A great way to generate a lot of interest in your content is with a blog.
A blog is a great place to share industry information in short appealing articles. If you are a veterinarian, maybe you could write a 400-word article on how to take care of your dog's teeth. An automotive dealer could write a short piece on how to pick the right car.
These topics may not seem similar but they have one big thing in common: consumers want to know these things. The dog owner wants to know about the dental care and the car buyer is looking for a guide on purchasing a car. By being the one to provide this information you gain the trust of the consumer: something not easily done in traditional marketing.
As the industry expert, you know what your customers want to read. But, do you know how they read?
Nielsen Norman Group performed a study where they found that most people skimmed web pages in an F-shaped pattern. This means several things:
- People are not reading your content thoroughly.
- You need to break up your text to encourage them to read more.
- You need to engage them in the first two paragraphs.
Look back on how this blog post has been written. Do you see how white space has been used to break it up?
Paragraphs are kept short, bullet points contain easy-to-read information, subheadings draw in your attention, and the first few paragraphs are jam-packed with information to get you engaged. These techniques encourage F-shape reading and present the key points where the reader is more apt to look.
But, where do I find readers in the first place?
Creating the content is only half the battle. Promoting your content is the other half. There are a couple of ways you can generate interest in your blog:
- Share it on social media
- Include it in your newsletter
- Comment on other blogs
The first two make sense automatically but how does commenting on other blogs help?
Well, by reading other blogs you get a good sense of what are the big issues and trends out there. Commenting is very important, however, because it shows you are engaged with the blogging community.
Commenting also gives you a chance to include your blog URL in your signature. This means you can redirect engaged readers to your blog with your comment.
Isn't there something about keywords?
Yes, keywords are very important for blog writing. Including keywords gives search engines the ability to find you and present your blog post when users search for those words.
Include keywords in the body of your text and as tags so search engines can find you even easier.
