One of the most common questions I get asked during my LinkedIn Marketing Workshops is, "How do I create effective content marketing?"
The two words I want you to take away from this post are: "High Value".
To create content that is high value, you need to make it interesting, informative or entertaining. People are happy to share content like this; which puts your brand in front of new potential customers and clients.
To begin, ensure your content marketing efforts aren't held back by fundamental issues. Take the time to review your content strategy and you will get value for your investment. If the content you create, or share, doesn't attract attention or is low value, then ROI (return on investment) will be impacted. You only want to associate your brand with high-value content.
1) QUALITY NOT QUANTITY
High-quality posts will get significantly more shares on social media. This will get the attention of other industry stakeholders and will position you as a thought-leader and expert. This encourages people to gravitate to your brand, follow you, and refer you to others.
2) TOPICS YOUR CUSTOMERS AND CLIENTS CARE ABOUT
When starting with content marketing, many companies take an internally focused perspective. They think, "How can we advertise our products and services via social media?" This is the wrong approach.
To add real value and create successful content marketing, you need to think from your customer's and client's perspective. Think about their questions, concerns and "information gaps" that you can address or solve with your content.
3) THINK ABOUT VARIETY
Be creative; variety will help you stand out more in your industry. Change it up, by using a range of different media (images, infographics, checklists, video), as well as written content like articles and white papers.
4) BUILD A SOCIAL FOUNDATION
Social media is a perfect complement to content marketing. Content is the fuel that keeps the social media "engine" humming. People share and re-share high-value content they've discovered or that someone else shared with them, making your brand visible to more people.
By building your connections on LinkedIn, you'll be laying the groundwork for sharing and amplifying your content. By being an active participant, by engaging and sharing other people's content, this will assist in building a solid social foundation.
5) MONITOR THE REACTIONS ONLINE
In addition to seeing the numbers of shares in social media, it's important to see what people are saying about it. Data and insights will give you a real sense of how it is received and whether it is perceived as interesting or high value. This will inform your next creation.
6) ENGAGE WITH PEOPLE WHO SHARE AND COMMENT
It isn't just about monitoring mentions and shares. It is vital that you engage with people who responded to the content. This can be a very powerful way to spread your reach and to connect with potential clients or industry stakeholders, creating an engaged community of clients.
Want to know how LinkedIn can help amplify your content marketing goals – read here.