How can we effectively execute inbound marketing? The secret is in your content. The core of inbound marketing is a consistent publication of high-quality content pieces
So, here, we will discuss how to effectively develop and promote your content for a successful inbound marketing strategy. By the end of this guide, you can effectively implement a sound content marketing strategy.
Let us begin.
I. Content Development
The quality and relevancy of your content are the integral aspects of your inbound marketing: no amount of promotion can help a poor content, and on the other hand, really good content won’t need any promotion, in theory.
The important thing here is a thorough understanding of your audience. The better you understood their needs, behaviors, and problems, the better you can provide value through your content pieces.
Here are the key considerations when developing your content:
- Type
Nowadays, content can come in many different forms from social media posts to blogs to videos and podcasts.
First, we should understand that textual content is still the most effective form in generating new prospects. However, videos and podcasts certainly have their benefits, as they save the audience’s time. You can consume podcasts and videos while working out in the gym, but the same thing can’t be said with a blog post.
With that being said, the majority of your content should be textual, while you can utilize other forms to support this textual content. For example, you can create a short video as an outline, and share a link to the in-depth textual content.
- Length
The longer the content, the better, especially for SEO purpose. However, maintaining quality and engagement will be harder the longer the content goes.
Research suggested that the ideal word count to maintain this delicate balance is 1,890 words. You might want to also check this research by Minimatters for video content length.
- Headline Optimization
Headline is the very first thing people read when they found your content, and so an optimized headline will significantly affect CTR.
Include your focus keyword in the title/headline. Generally, keywords placed up front are better. For, example, if your target keyword is “digital marketing”, your title can be “Digital Marketing: How To Get More Conversions”. However, focus on making the title interesting for human readers, and include your keywords naturally.
Check out this guide by QuickSprout on more about headline optimization.
- META Description
Similar to headlines, META description is also very important not only for SEO purposes, but to improve CTR. META description will be shown as the content’s snippet on the search engine results, and so make sure it’s interesting and comprehensive for human readers.
Also similar to headlines, include your target keywords here naturally. You might want to check out this guide by Neil Patel to help you further.
- Media Diversification
Even as we have mentioned, you should focus on more textual content pieces, doesn’t mean you can’t include images and even videos within the content. The idea is that these photos, infographics, and videos should support your textual content. Also, you can optimize these videos and images for SEO purposes.
- Storytelling
Even when your content is technical, doesn’t mean you can’t include interesting storytelling elements to make it fun and interesting. Use various storytelling techniques to enhance your content. Aim to make it engaging and interactive. Remember, focus on developing your content to attract human readers.
2. Content Promotion
Developing your content is just half the job done. Your content, no matter how good it is, won’t bring any value unless there are audiences consuming it.
So, promoting your content is also a very important aspect of inbound marketing, and here are the various ways you can do it:
- SEO
Search Engine Optimization is the most effective way to promote your content, and according to SEO expert Mike Khorev, SEO is an integral part of any inbound marketing strategy.
There are three main areas to focus on when implementing SEO:
a) Target the right keywords with enough search volume that are relevant to your business. Check the top-ranking content pieces, and aim to develop better ones.
b) Optimize your content to target these keywords, but include them naturally. Again, focus on writing for human readers.
c) Promote your content with methods discussed below to get more backlinks.
Remember that SEO is a long-term strategy. Expect to invest at least 6-12 months before you see significant results.
- Social media
More and more people are using social media nowadays, making it one of the most effective channels to promote your content.
The thing is, organic reach on all major social media platforms have declined in the past few years, and now we’ll need to invest on paid social media promotions to be effective.
- Influencer
With the saturated digital world, it’s getting increasingly hard to get our voice heard amidst all the noise. This is where using influencers can help, as you not only get the benefit of effective promotion, but also getting backlinks from these influencers’ sites.
Here are the key principles for a successful influencer marketing:
a) The most important part is finding the right influencers. You can use influencer outreach tools to help you here.
b) Build relationships with these influencers: engage them on their social media conversations, reach them with a personal email, and so on.
c) You can utilize micro-influencers that are easier to approach (and more affordable)
- Guest posting
When done properly, guest posting can still be very effective even today. With guest posting, you can get many different benefits in a single effort from getting backlinks to building authority, and also developing relationships with credible sites and influencers.
Here are the core principles of a proper guest posting:
a). Consistency and quantity are the most important thing: approach all sites in your niche that accepting guest posts
b). Prioritize sites with high engagement rates
c). Similar to influencer marketing, build relationships with these sites before pitching them with your guest post
d). Don’t focus on getting backlinks, instead, aim to get trust and authority
End Words
Inbound marketing is a very effective strategy especially to generate leads, and can effectively educate prospects until they are ready to purchase.
The key to a successful inbound marketing is developing high-quality content pieces that bring value to your audience, and in this guide, we have learned how to effectively develop and promote them.