Building brand recognition for your business or organization is not a passive process. Content needs to be relevant to your audience, and it needs to published on a frequent basis to keep your brand top-of-mind. Since almost every business has a blog that’s used to tell people about news, products, and services, how can you set yourself apart as a thought leader and draw in more traffic, leads, and sales?
Specialized Content
While maintaining a regularly updated blog is a key ingredient to content strategy, businesses are using other forms of content to stand out from the competition and reach key demographics. Business owners are publishing white papers to show how integral their products and services are to various industries. C-suite members are having articles ghostwritten so they can be published on other high-traffic sites. Businesses and organizations are offering free e-books as a way to build lists for e-mail marketing campaigns. These specialized aspects of content strategy are used by businesses across all industries as a means to inform and connect with both existing and prospective clients while rising above the “noise” to broadcast a clear signal.
More than Words
Social media and other digital platforms have allowed content strategy to grow beyond words on the screen. As more people connect with each other and conduct business via smartphones and tablets, content strategy is expanding to more visual platforms. Infographics are informative, educational, and they can be shared easily via social media. More businesses are expanding their presence with videos, slideshows, and animations that can be consumed by visitors and proliferated on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and other social media platforms.
Rethinking Your Content Strategy
With so many options available for marketing your business, you need a cohesive content strategy. You not only need to decide what type of content you will offer, but also where it will be available, and – most importantly – what it will contain. Whether you are looking to drive sales, build your audience, or boost brand awareness, expanding your content beyond blog posts can help you reach your goals with quantifiable results.