Content Marketing Gold- 5 Essential Elements

Content marketing is all the rage right now – and for good reason! It’s the best way to show people (namely, your future clients) that you have important information to share. But how do you get noticed once your ideas are out of your head and onto the screen?

Let’s say you’ve written an amusing, concise, compelling article for your website (every marketer’s dream, right?). YOU know it’s good, but how do you know it’ll catch the attention of your peers, clients, and the search engine crawlers? It’s simple* – at the very least, make sure your content contains these 5 essential elements, and you’ll be on your way to a likable, sharable, and searchable piece of content marketing gold.

Think of the headlines in newspapers. They make you want to read the article by usingdescriptive, informative words and phrases. They tell you what you’re about to read AND make you excited to start reading it. Online content marketing is similar. Think of how your headline will look if you share it on Facebook, LinkedIn, Google +. It should show your reader in 5 seconds that you have something of value and interest to share.

I know that sounds redundant, but I assure you, it’s as important as your headline. Search engine crawlers look for keywords in your description as a hint about what’s in the rest of your article. When writing your introductory paragraph (or your meta description, if you’re using a SEO plugin like Yoast), remember this:
If you saw this description of an article, would YOU click through to keep reading? If the answer is no, it’s time to go back to the drawing board.

We talked about The Importance of Being Earnest in our last blog post. When it comes to content, it’s so important to write about things that interest you and will be of interest to your audience. But don’t just write about any ol’ thing – keep it relevant, and make sure your target audience is in the back of your mind while you write. Ask yourself: would my #1 customer find this informative/interesting/sharable? If so, you’re on the right track.

Whether you’re using WordPress, Joomla, Drupal (or even if you have no idea what any of that means), it’s pretty easy to make your content sharable on the various social media sites. There are hundreds of plugins to add social media sharing buttons to your posts – at the top of the post, all the way at the bottom, wherever you like. If you’re working with a web administrator, ask him/her to add those buttons to your page. (For bonus points, find buttons you like on someone else’s page and forward that info with your request – that way the web guy isn’t left guessing about your vision.)

Once your readers get to the end of your article, how will they know what to do next? Easy – you need a call to action. Figure out what you want them to do, and then ask for it! If you want them to share on social media, you can simply say, “Like this article? Share with your friends.” Or something like that (remember to use the voice of you/your brand). If you’re hoping the content will inspire them to leave a comment on your blog, then ask a question that’s relevant to the article. You can ask people to follow you on Facebook or Twitter, subscribe to your newsletter, or download a whitepaper. If you’re hoping to drive your reader someplace specific, don’t forget to put up a road sign!

If you’re planning on using images, make sure you’re getting the biggest bang for your buck. Before you upload an image, rename it something descriptive (like grandma used to do on the back of her Kodak prints). And no, IMG_05561.jpg is NOT descriptive. Search engines pick up on these names, so keywords are important. Also, make your featured image something you’d want to see in a Facebook feed. It should be clear – not just in focus, but in message. Your featured image is the visual headline for your content, so make sure it’s saying what you intend.

Signing out,

Erika Stanley

*We’re just kidding, of course. Nothing in the SEO world is simple.

 Did you find this list useful? Click the buttons below to share it with your friends, colleagues, and your Aunt Sally… because bad content is worse than no content at all. (Plus, everyone knows that Sharing is Sexy!)