A brand new 2015 beckons in just a couple of weeks more, along with exciting challenges and amazing stories to add on the content smorgasbord. Over the recent years, content marketing has continued to evolve strongly and we see an endless stream of tips and guides about how to get the most out of your contents. In distinguishing ourselves from an already crowded world of contents, I’ll share with you only 3 (I promise) things, I’d personally do differently in 2015.
I call them my FOC changes.
Focus
I’ll be the first to admit it. We all try to do many things at a time. With various forms of media channel to reach, a wide range of products to sell, a big and varied group of audience to serve – we’ll get lost in our own plans if we’re not careful. So, my first step in 2015 is simple. Get back to basics, focus on what’s really important and ask myself:
- What are my content marketing goals? Are they specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely (SMART)? What are my greatest assets and biggest weakness?
- How effective are my contents? What contents works and what doesn’t? Is there a need to repurpose my contents?
- Should I have more visuals?
- Is there a need to have a greater variety of contents?
- Should I focus on optimizing or organizing my contents?
- Should my contents be more real-time or personal?
- Should I focus more on contents for mobile technology or mainstream?
You can do the same. Focusing will help you start with a clear mind, and draw your energy and resources together to achieve your goals.
Related: 10 Digital Marketing Trends For 2015
Outsource
“How do I write stuffs people read?” “How do I plan an effective campaign?” “Where can I get help to design, market and do an organized marketing effort?” My answer to you is, outsource it! There are professional writers, content marketers, PR agents, professional bloggers, digital and video whizzes out there, who can whip their magic so that you can focus on what matters to you; that is, growing your business! There’s really no need for you to get a headache trying to understand and piece the complex puzzles together. From full-time to professional freelancers, take your pick. Biggest plus point? Outsource professionals will take time to write down and document your strategy. A research by Content Marketing Institute shows, that 60% of those who have a documented strategy rate themselves highly in terms of content marketing effectiveness, compared with 32% of those who only have a verbal strategy. (Source: CMI)
Create Subscriptions
Build a subscriber base? Yes, I’m not kidding you. Turns out the number one effective tool to growing your audience is to create a subscription base on your website. It doesn’t matter if you already have Facebook fans or Twitter followers, nothing beats having audiences who subscribe to your own website. You can secure subscribers via e-newsletters or by providing open access to your presentations on Slideshares, White papers, Custom Reports, but asking for contact information when readers download them.
Related: 4 Content Marketing Initiatives You Need in 2015
Do share with me what you’ll do differently for your contents by leaving me a comment below.
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