Creating content is how you capture leads and sell to customers. It’s a way to bring people in by intriguing them with information that’s valuable to them.
There are many content marketing trends out there that will make you think you’re missing out if don’t follow them. Likewise, there many trends that you’re advised to ignore.
Well, content marketing, it looks like you’re giving us a lot of mixed signals. How can we know what we should be trying and what we should be dismissing?
Here’s some advice.
Know Your Business
The first thing to remember is that while they may be useful, not all content marketing trends will apply to your business. A lot of websites, including ours, will suggest you try different angles to your writing, like a storytelling approach. Though we think this is very good advice, it may not work for your kind of business. In this case, if you learn about a trend you think could benefit you, try it at least once. Then, analyze it, and see whether it worked or not.
Be Realistic
Other articles will tell you to post content at a certain rate. Some will tell you to publish articles a few times a week, while others will tell you that a hundred a week is the way to go. Then, even others will tell you that if you can just create one good article that goes viral, that’s all you need.
Obviously, some of these frequency trends are just downright impossible, especially if you have a small business. What you can do in this situation is have a schedule for your posts. When you have everything completed and ready to share on a regular basis, you can have peace of mind. Your readers will know when to expect it, and at the same time, you can stay organized. This will also help you to keep better track of when the best times are to reach out to your customers.
Don’t Get Too Emotionally Involved
When it comes to receiving mixed signals from content marketing trends, people will be advised on the many ways to write a headline. Some articles will suggest you take the “listicle” approach, while others will suggest that you leave your reader hanging, so that they must click to get the rest of the story.
Then, there are even others that will suggest deleting your entire website before you write anything that’s too much “clickbait.” The best advice is to write something that triggers emotion in your readers. After all, statistically, way more people will notice your headlines than actually read the articles following those headlines. But, don’t get too emotional!
Spend Only What You Can
Lastly, and by far one of the most important factors of anything to do with a business, is your budget. No matter what you decide your content marketing approach to be, you’re probably going to have to spend some money on it. Unless, of course, you decide to do everything yourself (not recommended).
A lot of sources will give you mixed signals and tell you how much to spend on your content strategy. They’ll tell you who to hire, convince you to put all your money towards it, while also pressuring you into putting every second you have into creating content. If you’re a small business, you should definitely allocate a good portion to your content strategy, because this is what’s going to get you more leads and more customers. However, keep tabs on which articles are bringing in the most people, so you spend your budget wisely. And, definitely, don’t neglect other important factors of your business while you’re at it.
The internet can provide a lot of mixed signals regarding content marketing trends. While you should always read up on these, stay true to your beliefs and create content that makes sense for you and your business.
If you need a hand in managing your content strategy, then request a demo with Mission Suite to see how we can help.