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There’s a big myth in content marketing today:

“Simply publish great content on a regular basis, and you will drive traffic, rank in search engines, and grow your business.”

People who believe this myth end up doing one of two things:

• Publishing blog posts and hope people visit their site.
• Promoting lots of subpar content, but it fails to gain any traction.

These are fatal mistakes for any business venturing online.

Today, I’ve put together a content marketing plan any business can use to create content that’s pre-determined to do well (no guess work), to organize their workflow, to drive traffic, and to rank in search engines.

I’ve used a similar process to generate leads and sales for both myself and my clients — over and over again.

Content marketing is powerful. Let’s put those powers to good use.

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Step 1. Identify Your Target Audience

Don’t tune out after reading that subheading, because this step is crucial to your plan’s success.

Here’s the thing:

If you create content for the wrong people, you might drive traffic, but these people won’t buy from you. You will have attracted the wrong traffic because you created the wrong content.

By identifying exactly who you’re targeting with your content, you’ll be able to create content that addresses their biggest problems. It will resonate with them.

This means they’re qualified to want and need your products/services as well.

If you create content for the wrong people, you might drive traffic, but these people won’t buy from you.
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Here are the five main characteristics you need to identify:

• Who they are (age, gender, etc.)
• Their profession/position
• Their biggest pain points
• The publications and blogs they read
• Their goals

First, create a spreadsheet like this:

Then get together with your team and brainstorm everything about your target audience. Get as detailed as possible, because these personas will lay the foundation for the rest of your campaign’s success.

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Step 2. Research Content Ideas

Step 2 of your content marketing plan involves researching content ideas, but not just any old ideas.

The goal of this research phase is to identify topics that are 1) linkable and 2) shareable.

These topics are pre-determined to rank in search engines and drive traffic.

You also want to find keywords that are untapped. These keywords aren’t being targeted by a lot people, the pages ranking on the first page aren’t optimized well, and/or they don’t have a lot of authority.

These keywords are comparatively easier to rank for than others, so they will give you a better return on your time/money investment.

Let’s get started:

1 Keyword Research

First, use the pain points you brainstormed in Step 1 to generate possible keywords.

Head over to the Google Keyword Planner and click “Search for new keywords using a phrase, website or category.”

Then enter those keywords and click “Get Ideas” at the bottom.

Then click the “Keyword Ideas” tab.

The first section will show you the keywords you typed in and their corresponding monthly search volume.

Scroll down to the second section. The Planner generated these keywords based on what you inputted:

Scroll through these keywords and collect them into a spreadsheet based on this criteria:

• They get over 300 searches per month
• They’re related to the products/services you offer
• They’re related to your target audience’s pain points and goals
• You can create content around them

This is your master list of potential keywords to target.

Next, you want to make sure these topics are also primed to be shared on social media.

2 Use BuzzSumo to Make Sure Your Topics Are Shareable

BuzzSumo is a search engine that shows you TONS of different metrics about pieces of content.

You’ll be using their “Most Shared” tool. Simply input a search term and the tool will pull up the most highly shared content for that term, detailing the exact amount of shares for each piece.

Here’s an example:

Do a search in BuzzSumo for each of the keywords in your master list. Then note in your spreadsheet which topics tend to get a lot of social shares.

These topics are special because:

• They get searched for a lot in Google
• They get shared on social media naturally

After this, you’ll have a list of potential keywords to target in your content marketing campaigns that are both popular and shareable.

Now it’s time to identify the untapped keywords that will give you the greatest ROI.

3 Keyword Competitive Analysis

To identify which of your keywords are comparatively easier to rank for, first do a Google search for each keyword.

Then scan over the results on the first page and look for these characteristics:

• Is the exact-match keyword in the title?
• Is the exact-match keyword in the meta-description?
• Is the exact-match keyword in the URL?

If most of the URLs don’t have the exact match keyword in these areas, odds are they’re not optimized as well as they could be. That’s one factor that will help you rank above them.

Next, visit each article and look out for these characteristics:

• Content length (longer content tends to rank higher)
• Keyword density (high keyword density = over-optimizing. Not good!)
• Media (are there images/videos?)

If the content is short and not in-depth, you can create a piece of content that’s more valuable both to people and to search engines. This increases the odds that you will rank on the first page.

If these pages are over-optimized for the keyword, you can optimize your content better than those ranking on the first page.

Finally, if their content lacks images and videos, you can include these in your content and increase your on-page SEO signals.

Between the actual search engine result and their on-page SEO, you can already identify whether you can create a piece of content that will have a better chance of ranking.

But we’re not done yet.

Next, install the MozBar Chrome Extension. When turned on, it will show different metrics about each search result, like so:

For each search result, look at these three factors:

• The amount of links
• The Page Authority (PA)
• The Domain Authority (DA)

If most of the pages have a low amount of links, low PA, low DA, AND you’ve identified on-page SEO factors that will help your content stand out, you have just discovered an untapped keyword!

Highlight these keywords in your spreadsheet so you can find them easily.

Now, optimizing content around these keywords doesn’t guarantee you’ll rank higher. But your chances are much higher than if you just picked a keyword and tried to rank for it.

I’ve gotten search engine traffic in a few weeks (that usually would’ve taken me a few months) simply by following these initial steps.

Great work. If you’ve following the content marketing plan up to this point, you’re already miles ahead of your competitors, and you can use your master list over and over again to create content that’s linkable and shareable.

Now, let’s organize that content creation:

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Step 3. Set Up An Editorial Calendar

An editorial calendar is a calendar that’s specific to content creation, editing, and publishing.

Many big blogs, news sites, and other online publications use them to stay organized and consistent with their content creation.

At the very least, they keep everyone who’s involved accountable for getting their tasks completed.

If you’re using WordPress, this editorial calendar plugin works great and integrates seamlessly. It’s basic, but it will get you and your team accustomed to working on a schedule.

If you want to get more advanced, here are a few more services to try:

• Podio – Project management software
• Trello – Organizational software
• Basecamp – Project management app
• Kapost – Editorial calendar tool

To put your calendar to the best use, make sure you include dates for creating content, for starting/finishing edits, and for publishing it.

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Step 4. Establish Editorial Guidelines

Editorial guidelines keep your content’s format consistent throughout.

People (AKA potential customers/clients) like consistency. They like to get what they expect, down to even the most specific details about what you offer.

The same is true of your content. If the formatting changes constantly, it can be off-putting. But if it’s consistent throughout, people begin to expect it and appreciate it over time.

Editorial guidelines aren’t hard to set up, and once everyone on your team knows them, they aren’t hard to maintain either.

Here are a few areas where you can set guidelines:

1 Font

This is straightforward. Set one font to use across your content.

You can have different fonts for the body text and subheadings, but make sure whatever font you choose is always used.

2 Subheadings

How are you going to break up your content?

Will you use only H2 headings and no H3’s? Will you use H2 headings for bigger ideas and H3’s for smaller ideas? Will you just use bold for smaller ideas?

Keeping this consistent helps readers build an expectation and makes it easy for Google to scan your content.

3 Italics and Bold

Decide when, if, and how you’re going to use italics and bold to emphasize certain words and phrases.

4 Content Length

Some businesses set a minimum content length for each piece. This is smart as both people and Google tend to get more value out of longer content.

But if shorter content fits your audience better, make sure these guidelines are set.

5 Paragraph Length

Shorter paragraphs are easier to read and scan, especially as more and more people are using their mobile devices to do just about everything they do on their desktops.

Set a maximum sentence limit per paragraph.

6 Image Sizes

This is less about functionality and more about consistency. Consider setting exact image sizes for right/left aligned images, cover images, etc.

7 Media In General

You can include many types of media in your content. Here are a few:

• Images
• Screenshots
• Videos
• Infographics
• Graphs

Decide which types you’re going to feature.

8 On-Page SEO Factors

As you saw in Step 2, on-page SEO can drastically increase your ability to rank and bring in search engine traffic.

It’s important to keep these factors in mind before publishing content, preferably in the editing phase.

Here is what you need to pay attention to:

• Keyword in the title
• Keyword in the URL
• Keyword in the meta description
• Keyword in the first 100-200 words of the article
• Keyword variations spread throughout the body content and H2 heading(s)
• Keyword in one ALT tag of an image
• Include media on the page (images and videos)
• Content length (especially relative to the pages you’re competing with)
• Linking out to external sources
• Internal linking to your other content

Make sure content creators and editors all understand these factors and how to incorporate them into the content being produced.

Once these editorial guidelines are laid out, the next step in your content marketing plan is to delegate tasks.

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Step 5. Delegate Tasks to Different Team Members

If everyone knows their role, they can focus on mastering that role to the best of their ability.

This increases the overall quality of the content and helps make sure your content marketing plan is executed as efficiently as possible.

Here are the tasks you need to delegate:

• Who’s researching content ideas? (Using the process laid out in Steps 1 and 2)
• Who’s writing the content? (In-house or contractor?)
• Who’s creating/curating the media?
• Who’s editing the content?
• Who’s finalizing it for publication?

You can delegate one person to each task, multiple people to each task, or multiple tasks to a single person.

Whatever you decide, make sure each person knows their role and how to fulfill it.

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Step 6. Optimize Your Website for Lead Generation

At this stage, you might be thinking it’s time to publish your content and drive traffic.

Not quite yet.

If you ignore this step, you will have wasted all of the effort you’ve done to produce this content and all of the effort you will be doing to promote it.

You must optimize your site to capture leads before driving traffic.

Optimizing your website for lead gen involves 3 key steps:

• Create a valuable free offer your target audience will love (lead magnet)
• Set it up to be automatically delivered to the people who opt in (usually done through an email marketing service like AWeber or MailChimp)
• Install opt-in forms throughout your site to display this offer and collect contact information

You must optimize your site to capture leads before driving traffic.
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Let’s go through each of them:

1 Create A Valuable Lead Magnet

Lead magnets are given away for free in exchange for contact info. The following resources typically make great lead magnets:

• Ebooks
• Videos
• Email courses
• Mind maps
• Checklists
• Tutorials
• Free trials

Choose whichever will work best for your business and create them. The more lead magnets you have, the more desires you’ll tap into (meaning you’ll generate more leads).

2 Automatically Deliver Your Lead Magnet

When someone opts in to receive a free offer, they expect that offer to arrive almost immediately.

It’s important to ensure that this happens, because you could lose a valuable lead if they’re not engaged as soon as possible.

Most people deliver their lead magnets one of two ways:

• A “thank you” page right after opting in
• A “thank you” or “welcome” email after they’ve confirmed to join your email list

I personally favor the second one, because they’re forced to actually confirm their email address to get the resource.

Here’s a quick and easy guide to help you set this up in MailChimp.

(The process is similar for any email marketing service you use.)

3 Install Opt-In Forms

Opt-in forms display your lead magnet and have a field (or multiple) for people to input their contact information.

Here are a few examples:

End of Post –

Pop-up –

Featurebox –

Sidebar –

Content Upgrade –

(In the above image, clicking the “Download it here” link opens a pop-up form.)

Each of those forms can be effective for generating leads and building your email list. I suggest installing all of them on your website before moving on to the next step.

Here are a few guides to help you out:

• How To Add An Opt-In Box At The Bottom Of Your Blog Posts
• How to Add a Contact Form Popup in WordPress
• How to Add a Feature Box With Plugmatter to Generate More Blog Subscribers
• How to Create a Sidebar Widget Optin in WordPress
• How To Increase Conversions by 785% in One Day (Without A/B Testing) (Content Upgrade)

On to the fun part…

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Step 7. Promote Your Content and Drive Traffic

The major leg work of your content marketing plan is done. Now it’s time to get the results you’ve been waiting for.

You’ve created content that you know is pre-destined to be shared on social media. All you have to do is show it to people.

The number #1 goal with content promotion is eyeballs. You want to get as many eyeballs on your content as possible.

This leads to shares, comments, subscribers, brand awareness, and natural links. It also helps you build a relationship with your target audience.

Today, I’m going to break down 3 of my favorite content promotion strategies for driving traffic. They are:

• Forum marketing
• Niche communities
• Email outreach

1 Forum Marketing

For almost any interest on the planet, there is a corresponding online forum.

Forums are groups of enthusiasts who share stories, tips, how-tos, and, best of all, content. These people are prime targets for promoting your articles to.

Here’s how to do it:

First, use these search strings to find forums where you target audience hangs out:

• “Keyword” + “forum”
• “Keyword” + “powered by vbulletin”

This should bring up a list of forums.

Click on one that seems relevant. Then look at these metrics:

• Threads
• Number of people viewing
• Views on the threads

If the forum has a good amount of threads, views, and active members, you’ve just found a forum with a lot of traffic generation potential.

Next, make an account and set up your signature. This is going to be the gateway to your website.

Here’s an example:

Make it benefit-rich with a call to action to view your content.

Next, simply go through the forum and answer people’s questions. I like to look for a “New Posts” or “Latest Posts” section, so I can be one of the first people to respond.

If you’re one of the first replies, and that thread ends up getting popular, you will get tons of eyeballs on your signature (meaning clicks to your content).

To make forum marketing a consistent part of your strategy, answer people’s questions for 30 mins to an hour each day. If you have the time, do it as much as possible.

This will drive consistent traffic over time, increasing your brand awareness and authority at the same time.

2 Niche Communities

Niche communities are similar to forums. They’re congregations of people on the Internet with similar interests.

Where there’s an interest, you’ll typically find a corresponding niche community. These communities love great content. It’s practically their reason for existence.

To find them, use these search strings:

• “Your niche” + “community”
• “Your niche” + “online community”
• “Keyword” + “community”
• “Keyword” + “online community”
• “Your niche” + “community” + “trending”

When you’ve found a suitable community, make an account. Then submit your content to these communities and participate in the discussion.

Just like with forum marketing, you will drive traffic, increase your authority, and build brand awareness.

3 Email Outreach

Email outreach is my favorite content promotion strategy.

There are two main goals when reaching out:

• Eyeballs
• Social shares

Since your content is already shareable, you don’t need to push too hard by asking people to share your content. Usually, they’ll share it on their own.

But if you’re in a niche where social sharing isn’t that mainstream, feel free to include a call to action in your emails.

Here’s how to do it:

First, head over to Topsy.

Enter a keyword into the search field that’s related to your content. This will pull up all of the Twitter accounts that have shared content similar to yours.

Go to each account, follow them, and find a website URL. Then go to the website and find their contact info.

Then send them an email like this:

Hi [NAME],

I noticed you shared [NAME]’s article a little while ago: [ARTICLE NAME]

It’s funny, I actually just published a [YOUR TOPIC] article that’s really similar.

Would you like to check it out?

Best,
[YOUR NAME]

If they respond saying they’d like to check it out, simply send them an email with a link to your article. (This is where you decide whether or not to ask for a share.)

Usually, they’ll share it without you asking, and you’ll get 1) eyeballs on your content, 2) social shares, and 3) even more eyeballs from social media traffic.

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Step 8. Build Backlinks to Rank in Search Engines

There are lots of factors that contribute to your rankings, but I’ve found that nothing matters more than links.

And since your on-page SEO is spot on, you’re covered on that front.

Building white hat SEO backlinks involves finding pages where your content will add value and reaching out to be included. Here are my two favorite strategies:

• Weekly Roundups
• Resource/Links Pages

1 Weekly Roundups

Many blogs publish weekly or monthly roundups. These articles curate some of the best content on a subject within that time period (week or month).

Here’s an example from Flying Point Digital:

The people who create these articles are always on the lookout for great content to include. However, they often struggle to find good enough articles week-in and week-out.

That’s where you can save the day.

Since you have great content at your disposal, all you have to do is reach out and show it to them.

Here’s how:

First, use these search strings to find weekly roundup posts:

• “Keyword” + “weekly roundup”
• “Keyword” + “roundup”
• “Keyword” + “best of”
• “Keyword” + “link roundup”
• “Keyword” + “weekly link roundup”

Then, click “Search Tools,” “Any Time,” and “Past Month,” to filter your search to bring up the most recent roundups.

Visit these articles and find the publisher’s contact info. Then reach out with an email like this:

Hi [NAME],

Just wanted to say great work on your weekly [TOPIC] roundup. It’s one of my favorite ways to keep up to date with the industry.

I’m writing because I actually just published an article your readers might enjoy. It’s a [DESCRIPTION OF YOUR ARTICLE].

Here’s the link: [URL]

Just thought you might like to consider it for your next roundup :)

Cheers!

[YOUR NAME]

That’s it! This strategy brings in a double whammy of backlinks AND referral traffic.

On to the next one!

2 Resources/Links Pages

Many sites publish a “Resources” or “Links” page that links out to helpful resources on other sites.

These pages are extremely valuable for visitors, because they can get info they otherwise wouldn’t be able to find on the site they’re on. And they’re valuable for you because these pages are perfect link targets.

You have a valuable resource. They need valuable resources for their page. It’s a win-win.

Here’s how to build links through resource pages:

First, use these search strings to find them:

• “Keyword” + “resources”
• “Keyword” + “links”
• “Keyword” + “best of”

Experiment with different keywords related to your niche to find as many pages as possible.

Visit each page and find the publisher’s contact info. Then send them an email like this:

Hi [NAME],

I was browsing [SITE NAME] today when I came across your resources page: [URL]

Nice collection!

I actually just published an article that might make a valuable addition to the page. It’s a [DESCRIPTION OF ARTICLE].

Here’s the link: [URL OF YOUR ARTICLE]

Just thought it could be a nice resource for your visitors to have access to.

Have a good one!

[YOUR NAME]

When they respond, simply thank them for including the link, and if you want to build the relationship further, share their page on social media.

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Step 9. Analyze Your Strategy and Iterate

So far, you have:

• Identified your target audience
• Researched and created content that’s both shareable and linkable
• Organized your content marketing plan with an editorial calendar and guidelines
• Delegated tasks to different members
• Optimized your website to capture leads
• Promoted your content to drive traffic
• And built backlinks to help you rank in search engines

You’ve taken your content through its entire life cycle, from research to long-term search engine traffic.

The final part of this content marketing plan is to analyze your campaign and make it better.

To analyze your campaign, look at what went well and what didn’t. How can you scale up the things that worked and improve or scale back the things that didn’t?

This is how you build your content marketing strategy into a well-oiled machine. Constantly analyze your results and improve upon them.

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To Wrap It Up

This is a content marketing plan that any business can implement.

Not everything here will work for every business, but every business can follow a similar path to achieve their online goals.

So, I have a few questions for you:

• How are you going to implement this plan?
• Have you tried any of these strategies? What worked and what didn’t?

Let me know in the comments below.

Content marketing is one of the best ways to reach your target audience in a non-intrusive way.

Since content provides value, it allows you to enter your customer’s lives seamlessly and on a regular basis.

But, just like other marketing methods, there’s a difference between how you market to B2C and B2B audiences. They have different needs, different ways of engaging with your business, and they hang out in different areas online.

Today, I’m going to break down 10 powerful B2B content marketing strategies for you to take advantage of.

You will learn:

• How to map out your sales funnel
• How to create the right content to engage your audience
• 8 promotion strategies to get eyeballs on your content

Let’s get started:

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Previously Mentioned Tactics to Implement

Before moving into the B2B strategies, I want to point you to some that overlap.

In our previous article breaking down a 9-step content marketing plan that any business can use, we wrote about different tactics that can be used in both B2C and B2B markets.

Here are those tactics:

• Use an editorial calendar to stay organized
• Optimize your website to generate leads
• Forum marketing
• Share your content in niche communities
• Find people who have shared similar content using Topsy and reach out to them
• Build backlinks to rank your content in search engines
• Analyze your strategy’s results and iterate

All of these can be viable tactics to implement. So don’t forget to check out the article and give them a shot if you haven’t already.

On to the first B2B content marketing strategy:

Use these strategies to market to B2B audiences effectively
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1. Map Out Your Sales Funnel

When most people think about a sales funnel, they imagine this picture:

Image source: Build My Online Store

While it’s a good overview, this image skips over the detail that goes into a well-oiled funnel.

Let’s map out that detail quickly:

From Prospect to Lead

• Prospects read your content
• They see your lead magnet and opt-in
• They have a desire for it and enter their email address
• They join your email list, become a lead, and consume your lead magnet

From Lead to Customer

• Leads read more of content
• They learn more about your business
• They get to know the products and services you offer
• They have a desire for your products and services
• They weigh their options between you and your competitors
• They trust you the most and decide to buy your product or service

All of this involves a nurturing process. And the best way I’ve seen to nurture prospects and leads is through email.

It’s a direct line of communication in one of the top marketing channels that people check almost every day. It also facilitates an intimate one-on-one communication that can get much deeper than social media.

Thanks to email autoresponders, the nurturing process can also be automated (for the most part).

Here’s what needs to happen in your funnel:

1. People enter it once they visit your website

This means your website is optimized to generate leads with opt-in boxes and lead magnets.

2. Once they’ve joined your list, they get sent a series of emails that provide value.

This usually involves useful content related to your products and services.

Here’s an example spreadsheet breaking down an email autoresponder sequence:

Notice that most of the emails are useful content, but some are for engagement and relationship growth. These emails simply encourage your audience to ask questions and engage with you.

This helps them get to know your business and trust you.

3. Promote your products and services

Somewhere within this series, you’ll want to promote your products and services.

Treat it like you’re emailing a friend to let them know that they’re available and can provide a lot of value.

Since these people have had time to get to know your business, this a much easier sale than it would have been at the top of the funnel.

4. Establish loops

A percentage of your leads won’t buy at this point. So it’s important to establish loops that bring them back and keep them engaged with your business until they’re ready to buy.

To do this, you can simply extend the autoresponder to include more content and engagement emails. Then promote them again further down the line.

(Or you can set up special promotions for people who haven’t bought yet.)

This is where you can be creative and tailor it to what will work best for your business.

Get together with your team and map out the customer journey, starting with prospects engaging with your content.

Which brings us to Strategy #2:

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2. Research Content That Will Resonate With Your Audience

Here’s the thing:

If you don’t create the right content, you will attract the wrong people.

Content naturally filters in/out the people who have a desire to read it. Your job is to research and identify topics that will resonate with your audience.

In B2B content marketing, this content usually involves in-depth tutorials and guides that help your prospects get results for their business.

These guides cater to pain points your prospects face, so the key to creating the right content is to identify your audience’s pain points.

Here are 4 methods to do this:

1. Survey your audience

The best way to get feedback from your audience is to ask them directly.

One way is to create a survey using Google Forms and send it to your email list.

This will make collecting their answers quick and painless.

Another way is to install Qualaroo. It’s a service that lets you install pop-up survey forms on your site so you can gather data from your visitors in real time.

Make sure to ask closed and open-ended questions so you can gather hard data, as well as see the language your audience uses to describe their situation.

2. Read through discussions in online communities

Online communities, like forums and LinkedIn groups, are treasure troves of information.

This is where people discuss their problems, ask for advice, and share their knowledge over the Internet. They’re perfect places to research your prospects.

First, create a list of online communities your target audience hangs out in. These could be:

• Forums
• LinkedIn groups
• Google+ communities
• Facebook groups
• Reddit
• Niche communities (like Inbound.org or GrowthHackers)

Once you’ve got your list, create a spreadsheet like this:

Spend some time sifting through the conversations. Jot down the issues people are having, whether you can solve it, and a piece of content that would fulfill that need.

Continue doing this until you’re satisfied with the ideas you’ve come up with.

3. Keyword research in your industry

Keyword research is also in-depth market research.

Where else do people type in their most profound problems in hopes of finding a solution?

Thankfully, all of this data is also available for free using Google’s Keyword Planner.

Simply head over to the planner and type in a few broad terms related to your target market’s niche:

Then click the “Keyword Ideas” tab and scroll down.

Here, you’ll find hundreds of related keywords:

These are all terms that your potential customers are typing into Google.

Go through these keywords and find ones that 1) you can create content around and 2) have a sizable search volume (300+).

4. Reach out to individuals on social media

To gather your final bits of data, reach out and engage with people on social media.

Ask them what they’re struggling with. Ask them if you can help with anything.

This interpersonal communication will often give you some of the most revealing insights into your audience. Not to mention some great content ideas.

Take all of these pain points and brainstorm content ideas to cater to them. This will make sure the content you create will resonate with your audience and attract the right people.

Once you’ve created your content, it’s time to promote it and drive traffic.

The following B2B content marketing strategies will help you get eyeballs on your content.

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3. Promote Your Content in LinkedIn Groups

LinkedIn is a B2B content marketer’s heaven.

The social network is entirely devoted to working professionals, and LinkedIn groups provide the perfect avenue to reach them.

These groups are filled with hundreds, thousands, or hundreds of thousands of people all discussing different topics. They’re primed to want and need your content.

All you have to do is show it to them.

Here’s how:

First, go to LinkedIn and do a search in the top bar for a keyword related to your target market’s industry. Then click “Groups” in the left sidebar:

Join any that might contain potential prospects. You can usually tell by the name of the group or their description.

Then simply post your content as a new discussion:

People in the group will usually get notified within LinkedIn that there’s a new post and/or they’ll receive an email direct to their inbox.

These groups can get crowded, so make sure your post has a catchy headline.

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4. LinkedIn Lead Prospecting and Outreach

Posting in LinkedIn groups is a great shotgun approach to get eyeballs on your content.

But you can also use a more direct method to target specific prospects. It involves finding individuals on LinkedIn that would make good leads and sending them some useful content to get the conversation going.

Here’s how to do it:

First search for an occupation your lead might have. Then click “People” in the left sidebar:

Then select “1st Connections,” “2nd Connections,” and “Group Members.”

This will pull up all of your 1st connections, 2nd connections, and group-mates who work as your target occupation.

For your first connections, click “Message” next to their name and send them a message that goes something like this:

Hey [NAME],

Hope you’re doing well.

I noticed that you work in [FIELD] and thought you might like to check out my latest article.

It’s an in-depth guide that helps [OCCUPATION] get [RESULTS].

Here’s the link: [URL]

Just thought you might get a kick out of it.

All the best,

[YOUR NAME]

P.S. If you have the time, I would love to know your thoughts on the article.

This email isn’t pushy and doesn’t involve any selling. It opens the door to start a conversation.

It also drives traffic back to your website that’s already optimized to generate leads, so these people might become leads immediately after this point.

If not, sometimes the conversation needs to deepen. Continue by discussing what they do and what problems they’re having. Then send them more content that might help.

As you build a relationship, start discussing how your paid products and services could be beneficial, but push them to opt in for a lead magnet and get their feet wet.

Remember, in B2B communication it’s all about one thing:

Results.

What results can your content deliver? What results can your lead magnet deliver? What results can your products and services deliver?

This will do the selling for you.

Reaching out to your 2nd connections and group members is a little trickier, because unless you have a premium LinkedIn account you can’t message them directly.

What you can do is click the “Connect” button next to their names. This will send the generic LinkedIn connection message:

For most people this isn’t ideal because, most likely, you will get a low success rate.

If you don’t want to use this route, try going to their LinkedIn profile and look for an email address:

If you find one, select “Other” when connecting with them and input their email address:

Then customize the message to say that you noticed you were 2nd connections and/or members of the same group and you thought it would be helpful to connect.

If you don’t find an email address on their profile, identify the company they work for and go to their website.

Then use Voila Norbert to connect their name with their company email address:

If it finds it, go back to your LinkedIn connection request, select “Other,” then customize the message and send the request.

When you connect with someone, send a message introducing yourself. If they respond, send another message containing your initial piece of content.

This is a good way to proactively grow your LinkedIn connections and generate leads at the same time.

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5. Use BuzzSumo and Buzzstream Together for Content Promotion

BuzzSumo and Buzzstream are two of my favorite content promotion tools.

BuzzSumo is a search engine that helps you find the most highly shared content for a given search term.

Buzzstream is an amazing tool for streamlining email outreach.

These tools in conjunction become a content promotion powerhouse.

You’re going to do three things:

• Identify the most highly shared content that’s related to your own
• Identify exactly who shared it
• Reach out to those people and promote your content to them

This works because these people have already shared something similar. They have a desire for this content and a willingness to spread it.

I use this strategy to drive traffic and get hundreds (and sometimes thousands) of social shares when I post new content:

Here’s how to do it:

First, create free trial accounts for both BuzzSumo and Buzzstream.

BuzzSumo is free to use, but we will need to use an upgraded feature. Buzzstream is a paid subscription, but they offer a free trial as well.

Next, head over to BuzzSumo and type in a keyword related to your content:

This will pull up the most shared content associated with your keyword:

Then click on “View Sharers” for the first piece of content. You will be shown all of the people who shared it on Twitter.

Use the “Export as CSV” button to export your list as a CSV file.

Once you’ve downloaded it, you will have a host of data for each Twitter account. Filter it so the accounts with websites connected to them are grouped together first:

Visit each website, find the person’s contact information, and add it to the spreadsheet:

Pro Tip: If finding emails is taking a long time, you can hire someone for $4/hr on Upwork (formerly Elance) to do it for you.

Then make sure your spreadsheet is saved as a CSV file.

Go into BuzzStream and create a new project:

Then click “Add a List of Websites” → “Import From CSV” → “Match My CSV”:

Make sure the data fields match up like this:

Then click “Import These Contacts” and wait for Buzzstream to email you when it’s finished.

When complete, head into the project and click “Outreach” → “Create Template”:

Then create an email template like this:

Make sure to save it. Then go back into your project and select all of your contacts. Then click “Outreach” → “Start Outreach” and select the template you just made.

Buzzstream will pull up a window that lets you send off your premade template to all of the people in your project.

It automatically pulls up details like subject line, email address, and first name:

All you have to do is click “Send and go to next contact” and Buzzstream will fire off that email and load up the next one for you.

It’s an excellent way to promote your content to a lot of people in a short amount of time.

Not only will these people visit your site and possibly become leads themselves, but they’ll likely share your content and attract even more people to you.

To scale this even further, download as many sharers for as many pieces of content as possible before your free trial of BuzzSumo runs out (or purchase the full version) and you’ll have thousands of people to promote your content to.

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6. Promote Your Content in Google+ Communities Within Your Target Market’s Niche

Just like LinkedIn groups, Google+ communities are filled with people discussing and sharing content about different subjects.

While it isn’t as B2B focused as LinkedIn, “Google+ users are mostly marketers, industry experts and business owners of any kind. In a way, that makes it almost as professionally oriented as LinkedIn” (Business2Community).

These communities are HUGE. Check out these numbers:

This means whenever you share your content here, you’re exposing it to tens of thousands of people in an instant (sometimes 100,000+).

Here’s how to promote your content in Google+ communities:

First, use the left sidebar to select “Communities.”

Then search for a keyword related to your target market:

This will pull up a list of communities. Join as many as you like that have a good amount of members.

Once you’re in, simply visit each group and share your content.

In a couple sentences, write a benefit-oriented description that compels people to click through.

Give a few reasons why they should read your article:

It’s a quick way to expose your business to a large amount of people who may have a desire for your products and services.

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7. Facebook Advertising

Facebook advertising is one of the best ways to reach your target audience quickly and efficiently.

Facebook has collected loads of data on its users. Marketers can use this data to hyper-target their advertising based on location, interests, whether prospects have visited your site, and even the car they drive.

Needless to say, this level of targeting is powerful.

There are many types of campaigns you can run, but here are three of my favorites:

• Lead generation campaigns
• Retargeting campaigns
• LookaLike audience

Let’s break down each one:

1. Lead Generation Campaigns

The goal of a lead generation campaign is to build your email list and send people into your sales funnel.

You can collect other information as well (such as occupation and revenue) if it’s important to your lead nurturing process. Just know that this might lower your conversion rates.

Here’s the process:

• Create a lead magnet
• Set up a landing page
• Install the Facebook pixel
• Set up a campaign
• Drive traffic to the page

First, you need to create a lead magnet. If you don’t have one already, these make good lead magnets:

• Free ebooks
• Free trials
• Checklists
• Mindmaps
• Lists of resources
• Mini-courses
• Anything of value to your audience

Make sure your lead magnet can be delivered automatically when someone converts.

Here’s an example:

It’s a free ebook on link building that’s great for anyone with an interest in SEO.

Once you’ve created a lead magnet, it’s time to set up a landing page.

Landing pages have one goal:

Convert visitors.

That’s why many landing pages don’t have external links, sidebars, or headers, because the only two choices you want are 1) to convert or 2) hit the back button.

Here’s an example from the previous lead magnet:

Robbie decided to collect each person’s name as well.

In general, the more info you ask for, the lower your conversion rates are, but maybe he tested it, and this version got higher conversions. This extra information may also be an important part of his larger business strategy.

So take these two points into account when creating your landing page.

I personally use Thrive Content Builder to build landing pages, because it’s the best product with a one-time fee I’ve found.

But other popular alternatives are LeadPages and Unbounce. Research a few and pick the one that will work best for you.

Then build out your landing page. Include a compelling headline to entice readers to opt in, opt-in field(s), and a call to action button.

Next, you want to install a Facebook pixel on the page. This lets you track conversions and how well your ads are performing.

Here’s a tutorial for Facebook’s new pixel. It’ll walk you through the setup process.

Once that’s installed on the page, it’s time to set up your Facebook campaign. I like to use the Power Editor rather than Facebook’s ad manager to do this.

It has a more robust interface and a higher word count limit for your ad’s descriptions.

Head into the Power Editor and create a new campaign:

Then create a name for your new campaign, ad set, and ad. Then select “Clicks to Website” as the objective and click “Create”:

Leave the “Buying Type” as “Auction”:

Next, click the ad sets tab on the left, select your new ad set, and click the edit button:

Set either a Daily or Lifetime budget for your ad and when you would like it to start/end:

Then move down to the Audience section and click “Edit Audience.”

For this campaign, we’re going to target people by location and interests. The next two campaigns will change up the targeting to be more specific.

First choose where you’d like to display your ad:

Then select the age and gender you’d like to market to, languages they speak, and brainstorm interests your prospects might have:

Ignore the rest unless you know specifically that you want to target the other metrics.

Then click “Save.”

Next, choose where you want to place your ads. In my experience, “Desktop News Feed” gets the best ROI, but again, you won’t know what works best until you test it.

Scroll down and make sure you’re paying per click to your website (rather than impressions):

That’s it for targeting. Go ahead and close this editor, because it’s time to edit your ad.

Go ahead and click the ads tab on the left, select your new ad, and hit the edit button:

First, choose a Facebook page to represent your ad:

Then copy and paste your landing page’s URL as the “Website URL,” write up a few sentences that compel your prospects to click through, a headline for the ad, and a benefit-oriented description:

Then scroll down and choose an image for your ad.

All of these areas play critical roles when people decide whether or not to click through to your website.

Just like when you were reaching out to prospects on LinkedIn, results will do the selling for you.

Finally, set the call to action button as “Learn More” and set up tracking if you’d like to track link clicks in a 3rd party program.

Your final ad will look something like this:

Now, you can leave it at this. But I prefer to set up two different ads to split test aspects like image and copy.

So, go back into the main ads section, select your ad, and click the “Duplicate” button:

This will duplicate the ad once. Do it again to have 3 total ads in this ad set.

Then edit your two new ads and change up the images and copy. Midway through your campaign, pause the lower performing ad(s) and keep the higher one(s) running.

Before your ads can run, you have to upload them to the regular Facebook ad manager, so click “Upload Changes” at the top and check your account to make sure they’re going to start on the date you selected.

Then you’re good to go! Just wait for your ads to start running and check back periodically to see how they’re performing.

2. Retargeting Campaigns

The next type of Facebook advertising campaign are retargeting campaigns.

These campaigns are special because they allow you to send ads to people who have already visited your site and are familiar with you.

You can even send them to people who have visited specific pages on your site but not others. Like people who visited your sales page but didn’t visit your confirmation page (people who didn’t buy).

You can get really creative with these campaigns.

But first, Facebook needs to collect data from your visitors before you can retarget them. To do this, install the Facebook pixel across your website and let it collect this data for a few days.

Once Facebook has it in it’s database you’re ready to rock.

Head over to the regular Facebook ad manager and click “Tools” → “Audiences” → “Create Audience” → “Custom Audience”:

Select “Website Traffic”:

From here, you have a number of options.

You can target everyone who has visited any page of your website, people who have visited specific pages, people who’ve visited some pages but not others, and people who haven’t visited in a certain amount of time:

If you want to retarget people who didn’t opt into your last campaign, select the 3rd option.

Then type in your landing page and confirmation pages’ URLs:

And click “Create Audience.”

Head back into the Power Editor and create a new campaign, ad set, and ad.

Go through and change the settings to your desire, but for your audience choose “Custom Audiences” and the retargeting audience you just created:

Then create your ads just like you did before, upload everything to Facebook, and let them rip!

Retargeting ads will often garner you higher ROI, as these people are already familiar with you and might need just a second or third nudge to convert.

3. LookaLike Audiences

The final Facebook campaign I want to discuss is LookaLike audiences.

LookaLike audiences involve data that’s given to Facebook including people who are already associated with your business. This could be your email list, customer list, etc.

Facebook will then take that data and create a new audience that’s similar to that one based on their interests, purchasing behavior, and more.

LookaLike audiences can be effective for reaching new people who might have a desire for your products and services.

To create a LookaLike audience, gather email addresses from either your email list or customer list. Then click “Tools” → “Audiences” → “Create Audience” → “Custom Audience” again.

This time, choose “Customer List”:

Then click “Upload a File.”

Upload your list and create the audience:

Go back to the Audiences page and choose “Create Audience” again, but his time choose “LookaLike Audience”:

Then select the list you uploaded, the country you want to market to, and I suggest going with 1% to get the closest match:

Then click “Confirm” and finish creating your LookaLike audience.

Go back to the Power Editor, create a new campaign with an ad set and ads, and edit your ad set’s audience again.

Choose “Custom Audience” and the LookaLike audience you just created.

When you’re done editing the rest of your campaign, upload it to Facebook and let it fly.

Facebook advertising is an excellent marketing tool. I’ve used it to get ROIs of 200%+.

And once you’ve got a positive ROI, all you have to do is scale up your budget to increase your revenue.

It’s one of the most powerful marketing tools at your disposal.

Facebook advertising is one of the most powerful #marketing tools at your disposal
Click to tweet

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8. Guest Post on Authoritative Sites in Your Target Market’s Niche

In B2B content marketing, one of your top-of-the-funnel goals is to expose your target audience to your content and expertise.

Guest blogging can help you do this many ways:

• You can target sites that your audience reads regularly.
• You can include links back your website, either in the body content and/or author bio, to expose those people to your business.
• You can establish relationships with the top guns in your industry for ongoing gigs.

Here’s how to guest post effectively in your target market’s industry:

First, Google these search strings:

Your target niche + write for us

Your target niche + contribute

Your target niche + guest post

Your target niche + guest post by

Your target niche + guest article

This should bring up a list of guest post opportunities:

Click through to each one and find their content info.

Sometimes the site will have specific instructions for submitting guest posts. If not, send them an email like this:

Hi [FIRST NAME],

Just wanted to say how much I enjoy reading your content. I’ve been following [SITE NAME] for a while now, and I always get value out of your posts.

I noticed that you accept guest articles. I was wondering if I could write one for you?

I run [YOUR BUSINESS] and we do [WHAT YOU DO].

Here are a few pieces I’ve written that might be similar to what you’re looking for:

ARTICLE #1

ARTICLE #2

ARTICLE #3

And here are a few ideas your audience might like:

Idea #1

Idea #2

Idea #3

Of course, if you would like to discuss other topics I’m more than welcome.

Cheers!

[YOUR NAME]

Rinse and repeat this for any site you want to be published on.

If you’ve got a lot of options and want to vet these sites, check out their content and see how much engagement they get:

• Shares
• Comments

These metrics will tell you how much exposure you can expect your guest post to get.

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9. Offer Free Content at Trade Shows

While trade shows aren’t traditional B2B content marketing channels, the in-person interaction can make it a smart channel to test out.

Trade shows are all about displaying your business’s expertise to as many people as possible as effectively as possible in the time allotted.

However, you won’t close every lead/customer immediately, so it can be helpful to have some way for prospects to get back in touch with you afterwards and remain on their minds.

This is where content comes into play.

Print out copies of your best content and include your contact information.

As prospects leave your booth, hand out these articles as a parting gift. Chances are, you made an impression on them but not a big enough one just yet.

Your content lets these people get a deeper look at your expertise after the trade show ends.

As they’re weighing their options afterwards, they’ll have something physical to connect them to your business.

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10. Use Content Discovery Platforms

Paid content discovery is a useful passive traffic generation option.

These ads appear on other related sites, usually below the content:

Most appear as inconspicuously as “related posts” sections usually do, so they don’t look like regular ads and almost all of them point to content rather than sales pages.

Content discovery can be a good way to feature your content on some of the top sites in your target market’s industry.

Here are two of the most popular options you can check out:

1. Outbrain

2. Taboola

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To Wrap It Up

Remember that no matter which strategy you’re implementing, B2B content marketing is all about results.

Your content should help your audience get results, and your copy should be results-oriented.

Use these strategies to propel your content in front of your audience and attract them to your business, where you can close them as leads and nurture them into customers.

Content marketing is becoming ever more popular.

More and more businesses are started blogs and publishing content.

They’re curating posts on social media. They’re running paid ads to drive traffic to their latest articles.

And they’re following the advice of every big name in content marketing — the blogs that coined the term and/or promoted it to the heavens.

Much of their advice is good. It helps these brands get started and understand the beneficial role content marketing can play in their business.

But as the top blogs get bigger, the same content marketing rules don’t apply to them as they do to the rest of us.

They might get 5X more shares by using visual media or including click to tweet links, but for many of us those types of tactics wouldn’t make nearly as big of an impact.

Many who engage in content marketing are still working day in and day out to build an audience like theirs. As a result, certain aspects of content marketing get preached as gospel simply because they come from authorities in the space.

From the start of my business, I have been down in the trenches experimenting. I followed the advice of content marketing authorities, and it simply didn’t apply to my fledgling blog or my client’s websites.

So I scoured the Internet to find advice that would work for the masses, and I’m happy to say I found it.

In this article, you’re going to learn 8 digital content marketing secrets that aren’t preached as gospel but can work for any business.

However, they might challenge many of the notions you’ve heard of and probably believe. So I ask you to do one thing:

Read this article with an open mind.

And I hope you will find some hidden gems to apply to your content marketing efforts.

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What You Will Learn

Here are some of the secrets you will learn:

• Why content (by itself) is not King.
• Why on-page SEO is simpler than you think.
• The secret to tapping into bigger audiences than your own.
• 3 link building tactics that are not dead.
• The ultimate reason why content is an effective marketing asset.
• And more!

Let’s get started:

1. Content Promotion is King

I’m sure you’ve heard this saying:

“Content is King!”

It relates to content as one of the most powerful forms of generating new business online.

Content is powerful. It helps you:

• Establish your business as an authority
• Enter prospect’s lives on their terms
• Open the door to start conversations with your target audience
• Spread your business around the web

But it isn’t King.

Here’s why:

Content is nothing without people reading and consuming it. Content by itself doesn’t benefit your business.

You can publish the best article on the planet, but if it just sits on your blog with no one to read it, it’s not a marketing asset.

That’s why content promotion is King.

Content promotion takes “content” and turns it into “content marketing.”

This is when you get social shares, drive traffic, and generate leads.

vs.

Without promoting your content, your blog becomes a lonely set of web pages gathering dust.

But by emailing people, running paid ads, posting in online communities and forums, and reaching out for backlinks, you start achieving all of the business objectives the big content marketing blogs talk about:

• Shares
• Traffic
• Leads
• Customers

To learn TONS different ways to promote your content and build backlinks, check out these two articles:

A 9 Step Content Marketing Plan for Any Business

10 Powerful B2B Content Marketing Strategies

After you’ve spent hours creating a piece of content, spend at least a few hours promoting it.

2. List Building (Not Sales) Should Be Your #1 Goal

It’s easy to look at sales as your number one goal.

It affects your bottom line and is a big indicator of how well your marketing efforts are going.

But sales is only a byproduct of what comes before it, not the cause itself.

In content marketing especially, if earning more money is your primary goal, it will shine through your content and your website’s layout. Prospects will sense this, and it will detract from your content’s value.

Most prospects need multiple touchpoints with your business before they’re ready to buy. They need to come back a few times to read more of your content and check out your sales pages.

Then, once they’ve weighed their options, and they’ve built up enough trust in you, buying your products and services becomes an obvious choice.

Sounds easy, right?

Wrong.

Around 98% of visitors will leave your website without converting.

Only 2% will buy immediately (if that). So you need a way to bring people back again and again.

That’s where building an email list comes into play, and why it should be your #1 goal in content marketing.

You own the list. It’s one of the few marketing channels that you possess completely. It’s also one of the few channels that people check almost every day.

You can build relationships with these people, you can send them every piece of content you create, and you can market to them multiple times as time goes on.

So focus on list building in your digital content marketing campaigns.

Here are some great articles to get you started:

17 Insanely Actionable List Building Strategies That Will Generate More Subscribers Today

How to use a giveaway to get 2,239 email subscribers in 10 days

3. On-Page SEO is Simpler Than You Think

Many people overcomplicate on-page SEO.

They worry about exact keyword density, making sure not to link out too much, and other trivial details.

In reality, fully optimizing your content comes down to 3 key things:

• Keyword Placement
• Media (images and videos)
• Content Length

For keyword placement, you should place your exact match keyword in:

• The title
• The URL
• The meta description
• First 100-200 words of your content
• The first image’s ALT text
• 1-2 subheadings
• A few times in the body content

And keyword variations (LSI keywords) in:

• The body content
• 1-2 subheadings

Then include images and videos to supplement the learning and increase time-on-page, and link out to any relevant sources.

Finally, to maximize your on page SEO, make sure to write in-depth content, as serpIQ found that the average word count of content ranking in positions 1-3 is over 2,300 words:

(Longer content also pulls in more long-tail traffic.)

After this, your content should be fully optimized to rank for your target keyword.

4. The Visitor Journey Leads to Your Website’s Success

I first took my website’s visitor journey seriously after reading this case study from Matthew Woodward.

In it, he breaks down how he built a top 100 business blog in one year, from how he drove traffic, monetized it, and made a full time income.

But what stood out to me most was how he optimized everything about his site to accomplish the following goals (with the visitor journey in mind):

1. A full time subscription
2. Social shares
3. User generated content (comments/forum posts)
4. New traffic by sharing his content with others
5. New traffic from telling their friends in the pub (word of mouth)
6. Affiliate link clicks
7. Affiliate sales

For instance, he didn’t just leave his comments section alone, but when someone leaves a comment they get redirected to a page where they can follow him on social media and join his email list:

He also made his share icons as prominent as possible to maximize the amount of people who share his content:

He made sure that even after someone had subscribed, they had another opportunity to follow him on social media:

He even implemented an email autoresponder (which is over a year long, at this point in time) to continuously bring people back to his content, share it, link to it, click on affiliate links, and revitalize old posts.

Every step of the way is optimized to achieve one of his goals, and it’s all because he took the visitor journey into consideration.

Here’s a potential visitor journey for you to consider:

1. They see your content on social media, find it in a search engine, through word of mouth, a forum post, etc.
2. They read your content
3. Share it
4. Comment on it
5. Opt in to your list
6. Follow you on social media
7. Consume more of your content
8. Purchase your products/services once enough trust and desire has built up
Map out the ideal steps you want each visitor to take, then optimize your entire site to push them towards that path.

This maximizes every visitor’s value in your content marketing efforts.

1. To Tap Into Bigger Audiences, Feature Larger Websites Than Your Own

The hardest part about content marketing is building an audience.

Once you have an audience, the sky is the limit. You have people at your fingertips who are enthusiastic to read your content and buy your products.

You also have leverage to do joint ventures with other websites, and you’re in a position to be creative with how you market to your audience.

But getting there can be tough.

One of the fastest ways I’ve seen to build an audience is to strategically tap other websites’ audiences that are bigger than your own.

Ultimately, this involves getting them to share your content and expose you to their followers.

At first, this may seem like a daunting task. These people are busy. Why would they share my content on a whim?

Thankfully, there are two types of content that make this dead simple:
1. Expert Roundups
2. Top X Articles
In each one, you feature influencers in your niche. Then all you have to do is reach out and show them the content.

(Many will share it naturally.)

Let’s start with the first one — expert roundups.

How to Create and Promote an Expert Roundup

An expert roundup is a collection of expert opinions on a single topic.

The publisher emails as many influencers as possible and asks them a question. The answers then get combined into an article that readers will find valuable.

Here’s an example:

The first step is to choose a question. Remember, influencers are usually busy people, so come up with a question they can answer quickly, and make sure it’s something your audience would be interested in.

Then you need to gather a list of experts to feature.

To find them, first try searching for expert roundups in your niche:

• “Your niche” + “expert roundup”
• “Your niche” + “experts revel”
• “Your niche” + “interviewed experts”

Then click through to each expert’s website and find their contact info.

If you can’t find any influencers, head over to Followerwonk.

Click the “Search Bios” tab and type in a keyword related to your niche.

This will pull up a list of related Twitter profiles ordered from highest to lowest followers.

Click through to each profile, see if they have a website, and find their contact info.

Once you have a list of influencers to target, send them each an email like this:

Hey [NAME],I’m putting together a [NICHE] expert roundup for my blog, and I was wondering if you’d like to participate.

Here’s the question:

“[YOUR QUESTION]”

A 50-100 word response would be fine, but feel free to write more or less if you wish.

And of course I’ll include a link to your website and Twitter profile :)

Hope to have you on board!

Cheers,
[YOUR NAME]

As the answers roll in, combine them into an article and publish it. Then send an email to each expert to let them know that the post is live and to thank them for participating.

Many will share it automatically without you even having to ask :)

How to Create and Promote a Top X Article

Top X articles are similar to expert roundups, in that they feature a bunch of influencers in a certain niche.

Except, for these articles, you don’t need to receive any information from your experts before you feature them.

You simply include some of the top sites in your niche.

For example, here’s a top X article featuring the best personal development blogs of 2015:

All you have to do is collect the top sites in your niche, combine them into an article, and reach out to each one with an email like this:

Hey [NAME]Just wanted to give you a heads up that [SITE NAME] is featured in [ARTICLE NAME].

Here’s the link: [URL]

I’ve always loved your site and was happy to include it :)

Anyway, keep up the great work!

Cheers,
[YOUR NAME]

The top 100 personal development blogs article got a TON of shares:

(Likely because he reached out to each one to notify them.)

And the site even ranks #1 and #2 for the keyword “personal development blogs”:

Expert roundups and top X articles are excellent ways to jumpstart your audience. They put you on the radars of influential people in your niche AND their followers.

You can even maximize your return by optimizing them around a keyword.

6. Free vs. Paid Traffic Depends on the Circumstance

The argument about whether free or paid traffic is better is a common one in internet marketing circles:

Some say free traffic is better, because you’re almost guaranteed to have a positive ROI. But others turn around and say that many people who chase free traffic end up with too little to run a viable business.

Some say paid traffic is better, because you can turn it on and off whenever you want, and you can target it directly to people who are most likely to want your products and services.

But others turn around and say that this is how many people sink lots of cash into paid advertising and run into huge deficits.

In the niches I’ve worked in, I’ve always started with free traffic first. Once this base was established, I moved into paid traffic to supplement it.

But there are other circumstances where paid traffic is the best route to take. So, in reality, it depends on the niche you’re in, the budget you have, and type of site you’re running.

A solo blogger might do well starting off with free traffic, like guest blogging. But an ecommerce site might want to experiment with paid advertising to test their copy and make sure the site is ready to convert.

No matter what circumstance you’re in, you don’t truly know what will work best until you test it.

And that goes for just about anything in internet marketing.

7. These Three Link Building Tactics Are NOT Dead

I’m sure you’ve heard statements like these before:

“Blog commenting is dead!”

“Guest blogging is dead!”

“Directory submissions are dead!”

With every Google update, a link building tactic that has been used to game the search engines becomes extinct.

Why?

Because once a large amount of people get hit and the reason is identified, the big SEO news outlets feature the aftermath and people get scared away from that tactic (which is exactly what the search engines want).

I choose to view link building this way:

Any tactic has the possibility of working, because each site is unique.

Each site has a unique backlink profile, anchor text profile, on-page SEO, etc.

Spamming any one link building technique increases the likelihood of getting penalized. Not surprisingly, the sites that get penalized and make the news usually spammed the tactic.

On the other hand, strategically implementing an array of techniques will minimize that possibility.

With this in mind, I have used these three so-called “dead” link building tactics to rank mine and my client’s content.

I used blog commenting to help one website increase search traffic 1,029% in 4 months:

I used guest posting to help another website rank a piece of content and attract over 80,000 visitors to the page in 5 months:

And I used directory submissions to help that same site rank a piece of content and attract 55,000 visitors since it got published.

Each page wasn’t ranked solely with that one tactic, but it was a major part of the overall link building strategy.

These tactics aren’t dead. In fact, since many people believe they’re dead, you can use them to get a massive leg up on your competitors.

Just make sure not to spam any single link building tactic. Rather, work them into your overall SEO strategy.

8. Content is an Effective Marketing Asset Because it Helps People

This is the ultimate reason why digital content marketing works, yet few people talk about it.

Content isn’t just an effective marketing asset. It improves people’s lives.

In a B2B sense, it usually helps people do their jobs better or get better business results. In a B2C sense, it’s usually a form of entertainment or helps people get more out of a product or service.

The more your content helps people, the more effective it is as a business asset.

For example, the top digital marketing bloggers get comments like these all the time:

Even though this is digital marketing, you can see the emotion these people feel after reading a piece of content they know is extremely valuable to them.

These are the people who end up sharing your content, joining your email list, and buying your products and services.

So to create more effective content and run more successful campaigns, focus on the value your content is providing to people.

This is what will ultimately lead to a powerful content marketing strategy.

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To Wrap It Up

These digital content marketing secrets may have challenged what you previously believed about certain aspects of internet marketing.

I hope that you were able to read them with an open mind, and hopefully I convinced you to try a few that you might never have considered.

As with anything in digital marketing, you never truly know what will work for your business until you test it.

So test away, and maybe you’ll discover a few of your own secrets to share.

The success of your agency depends on its ability to produce wow factor in the content you create for your clients.

By “wow factor,” we don’t mean flowery tomes.

We’re talking about content that produces leads.

You’re not writing a best-seller, after all—you want your clients’ content to bring in business. Read the rest of this entry »

Branded content marketing is becoming a powerful top-of-the-funnel strategy for many businesses.

It keeps them at the forefront of consumer’s minds, and it helps to build a positive brand image.

This form of content marketing also takes advantage of social media to spread brand awareness.

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What Is Branded Content Marketing?

You might be asking yourself:

“What is branded content marketing?”

A Forrester report defines “branded content” as:

“Content that is developed or curated by a brand to provide added consumer value such as entertainment or education. It is designed to build brand consideration and affinity, not sell a product or service.”

Branded content marketing primarily provides entertainment or educational value. It connects that value to the brand’s overall image.

Here are a few types:

• Creative videos
• Social media engagement campaigns
• Consumer input into product decisions
• Educational ebooks and content
• Participation-based content
• Responding to what consumers are discussing in real time with content that’s related to those conversations

We’ll be discussing each of these in full.

Forrester has identified four ways branded content can help build a brand’s image:

• Educate and inform to build a trusted brand.
• Create topical, shareable content to build a remarkable brand.
• Develop stand-out content to build an unmistakable brand.
• Become part of your customers’ daily routine to build an essential brand.

(Source: Forbes)

This type of content marketing builds trust and helps a brand stand out amongst its competitors. It also tends to get shared and talked about on social media more than other forms of digital marketing.

The selling is kept to a minimum. That’s what makes branded content a smart top-of-the-funnel strategy.

Branded content marketing help you build a trusted and remarkable brand
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The Difference Between Regular Content Marketing and Branded Content

According to Our Social Times, regular content marketing campaigns focus more on the product or service. The content is usually more rational and informative.

It also takes place further down the buying cycle. Unlike branded content, ROI is more about lead generation and sales than building a positive image of the brand.

Branded content marketing campaigns are often focused on promoting entertainment-type content, such as creative video advertising.

The aim is to resonate with the consumer on an emotional level, rather than focusing on the actual product and unique selling propositions.

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3 Successful Branded Content Marketing Examples

These three companies used branded content to effectively spread awareness, educate and help their consumers, and cultivate a positive brand image:

General Electric’s — “GE Reports”

GE Reports is General Electric’s digital magazine. Launched in 2008, it covers research, strategy, innovation, and opinions on a range of topics:

• Business
• Digital transformation
• The Internet
• GE’s business results
• Manufacturing
• Public policy
• The global economy

Tomas Kellner, a former Forbes journalist with a background in engineering, is the managing editor of GE Reports. According to an interview by NewsCred, Tomas and his team aim to publish content that gets noticed by the press. This earns additional coverage for GE.

They have also used the GE Reports platform to launch more than a few pieces of branded content.

In one video, they had Matthew Dear, a prominent DJ, record sounds of GE’s jet engines. He then mixed and looped these sounds into a techno beat.

It got over 400,000 views on Youtube and allowed GE to tap into a new audience they would have otherwise missed: Fans of electronic dance music (EDM) and Matthew Dear.

Brand value for GE: GE Reports helps them get free coverage on social media and news sites (as opposed to sending out paid press releases) and they can be more creative with the audiences they tap into.

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Australian Metro’s — “Dumb Ways to Die”

Despite its whacky name, this campaign actually lead to less train-related accidents in Melbourne.

Public service announcements are notoriously boring. They’re like your parents scolding you for not doing the dishes or cleaning your room.

They tend to get tuned out.

Metro took a different approach that was bound to get attention. They created a short, animated video called “Dumb Ways to Die.”

The cute little characters begin by dying in silly and outrageous ways, but by the end of the video, they’re all dying in the train-related accidents that are actually happening in real life.

Then, finally, it ends with Metro’s core message. Take a look:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJNR2EpS0jw?rel=0&controls=0&showinfo=0&w=620&h=349]

Because of this campaign, there was 10% reduction in near misses and accidents, and the campaign website received over 1 million pledges to be safe around trains.

They also created an app that got downloaded over 35 million times.

Try getting those results from a regular public service announcement.

Brand value for Metro: Not only did they accomplish their goal of reduced accidents, but the video showed that Metro cares about their passengers’ welfare. This spread a very positive brand image.

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Red Bull and The Stratos Jump

The Stratos Jump: A viral internet sensation sponsored by none other than adrenalin junkie energy drink, Red Bull.

On October 14, 2012, Felix Baumgartner executed the supersonic freefall from outer space.

He became the fastest man ever in freefall, by reaching a preliminary speed of Mach 1.24 (833.9 mph). In other words, he broke the speed of sound.

“When you are standing on top of the world, you don’t think of records anymore; all you think is that you want to come back alive.” — Felix Baumgartner

Nowhere on the official website do they discuss that Red Bull’s mission was to spread brand awareness and their image as a high-octane energy drink.

In fact, Red Bull Stratos’ stated mission is “to transcend human limits.”

Yet they were able to transcend human limits and help their brand go viral. I’m sure Red Bull’s competitors were watching and weeping.

Check out the jump for yourself, and don’t forget to take note of the branding:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHtvDA0W34I?rel=0&controls=0&showinfo=0&w=620&h=349]

Red Bull sales in the U.S. rose 7% to $1.6 billion in the six months after The Stratos Jump.

According to a private company, Red Bull sold 5.2 billion cans worldwide in 2012, a 13% increase over the year prior.

Branded content marketing gave Red Bull wings.

Brand value for Red Bull: The Stratos Jump reinforced Red Bull’s image as an energy drink that supports action, adventure, and risk taking — the same core values their target audience exemplifies.

Learn how Red Bull used branded content to sell 5.2 billion cans in 2012
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The Move From Traditional Advertising to Branded Content (And Content Marketing in General)

There’s a reason why older advertising techniques, like billboards, newspapers, and radio, are now dubbed “traditional” advertising.

These techniques are being supplemented by, and in some cases, completely replaced, by newer forms of marketing.

These forms achieve the same objectives as traditional advertising, but in ways that consumers actually want to be advertised and marketed to.

Consumers want to become educated buyers who glean as much information as they can before making a buying decision. They want to do their research and have conversations using this knowledge.

Branded content (and content marketing in general) facilitates these conversations. They become inroads into consumer’s lives where brands can engage them on the same level.

They’re not talking to consumers, like traditional advertising, but rather with consumers.

Sharing, tweeting, liking, and commenting all become digital word-of-mouth that fits in seamlessly with the social networking consumers are already doing.

Not to mention, word-of-mouth is still the #1 most trusted form of advertising and promotion:

Not coincidentally, word-of-mouth is followed closely by branded websites, consumer opinions posted online, editorial content, and brand sponsorships.

The move from traditional advertising to branded content marketing can be seen both theoretically and in the data.

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How Consumers Want to be Sold to These Days

Consumers hold the power.

Whereas brands and salespeople used to hold the knowledge about their products and services, consumers now have access to this information before making a purchase or engaging with a brand.

They’re smarter, and they want brands to acknowledge that and market to them in ways that facilitate this new buying process.

Here are four ways consumers want to be sold to these days:

• Storytelling
• Useful (free) information
• Getting involved in the marketing and promotion
• Feeling as though brands have insight into their lives

Let’s break down each of these branded content marketing methods:

1. Storytelling

People love stories.

Stories move you, consume you, and engulf you in new worlds and insights. And guess what? Every brand has a story, and every consumer engaged with that brand has a story.

These are the stories that help your brand resonate in consumer’s hearts and minds.

Lyft does a great job of this. Their #WhyILyft campaign showcases why drivers and passengers choose Lyft and how the service has affected their lives.

Here’s an example:

This tiny blurb communicates that Lyft is more than a job for Justine. She uses it to unwind from stressful days, connect with people, and see the city through their eyes.

This form of branded content reaches people on a higher level, by capturing the deeper emotions behind the product or service.

Lyft has a full page of these stories from their campaign:

2. Useful (Free) Information

Consumers have the power to research anything they want about a product or service,

But it can be even more powerful if that learning material is provided by the same business that’s selling the product or service.

Here’s an example:

Copyblogger is a content marketing blog that sells a number of digital products. Their digital products help people achieve certain goals online:

• More sales
• More traffic
• Increased search engine rankings
• High performing websites

They’ve paired their products with 16 in-depth resources that give people the background they need to use them effectively (and a free 20-part course in internet marketing):

Each ebook breaks down the subject so readers can fully understand it. Then they finish with a branded pitch that leads naturally into one of their products:

This useful free information gives potential customers the foundation they need to want that product or service and the skills to use it effectively.

Prospects see Copyblogger as a teacher and mentor, rather than a retailer.

3. Getting Involved in the Marketing and Promotion

Social media is a powerful platform to build engagement with your brand.

In many cases, you can build this engagement and achieve your business goals at the same time. Two entities have done this beautifully:

• The ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) Association
• Starbucks

Do you remember the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge? It took social media by storm.

Everyone from average Joe’s to famous celebrities were pouring buckets of ice on their head, stating a donation to the ALS foundation, and nominating someone else to do the same thing.

Talk about viral marketing!

The campaign has raised $77 million in research funds and $23 million in patient services, among other areas:

The Ice Bucket Challenge did a number things right:

• They got people involved. They riled up support for a cause and gave people an exciting way to participate.
• They introduced a viral component. They didn’t just say, “Use the #ALSIceBucketChallenge hashtag and share it with your friends.” They said, “Nominate someone else and get them involved!”
• They took advantage of influencers. In society, famous people are the influencers. Once these people began accepting the challenge, the campaign really took off.

People felt good about supporting the organization. They got involved and had a part in the impact it made. That was the key component that lead to its success.

Starbucks has done something similar with their Frappuccino Flav-Off campaign.

They took votes from fans and launched six new Frappuccino flavors:

Using #FanFlavors, they were able to spread the vote to as many people as possible.

When these customers enter a Starbucks, they get excited to pick one of the new flavors, because they took part in that launch.

4. Feeling As Though Brands Have Insight Into Their Lives

When someone “gets” you, that’s a strong connection.

Brands attempt to establish this connection all the time by portraying real life situations in TV commercials and other ads.

Why?

Because consumers want to feel like brands “get” them — that they understand them.

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How Your Brand Can Use Branded Content Marketing

You’ve seen how other brands have done it. Let’s talk about your business can incorporate branded content.

Here are three of the most powerful tactics:

• Run campaigns that get customers more involved in your products.
• Invite your audience into the content creation process, through participation-based content.
• Listen and respond to what consumers are discussing on social media in real time and create content to address those discussions.

1. Run Campaigns That Get Customers Involved in Your Products

You don’t have to ask people to pour ice on their heads, but you can use a similar process to the Ice Bucket Challenge and Frappuccino Flav-Off campaigns.

First, decide how you want to get your audience involved:

• Do you want them to vote on a new product?
• Do you want their help creating a new product?
• Do you want their help Improving existing products?
• Would you like them to buy a certain product so you can donate a portion of sales to charity or medical research?

Be creative, but make your campaign the center of focus, with your product as the vehicle.

Then determine a hashtag to go with it. Almost all successful branded content marketing campaigns use hashtags.

They help your campaign stand out in the clutter of social media, and it acts as branding each time someone participates.

After you’ve chosen a hashtag, create official rules/guidelines and put them on your website.

Then promote the campaign like crazy:

• Announce it to your email list and on all of your social media accounts.
• Run paid advertising campaigns using Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. Choose the networks that match up best for your audience.
• Use different forms of media to promote the campaign, including videos, articles, testimonials, stories, and infographics.

2. Invite Your Audience Into the Content Creation Process

To do this one, first choose a form of content for people to participate in:

• Article
• Video
• Infographic
• Song

For articles, you might have seen expert roundups before. If not, expert round ups are articles that collect opinions from influencers on one topic.

Usually, the publisher emails as many influencers as possible and asks them to answer a specific question.

Here’s an example:

Once the article is published, the publisher reaches out to each expert and lets them know the post is live and that it would be awesome if they shared it.

You can do the same thing with your audience.

Just like any campaign, create rules/guidelines on your site, a hashtag, and promote it like crazy.

But this time, send people to a page where they’re asked to submit their opinion on one topic. Then ask for their contact info if they want to be notified when the post is live.

Collect all of those opinions into one article, reach out to each person who participated, and ask them to share it.

You can follow a similar process with videos, infographics (like promoting a survey), songs — whichever form works best for your audience.

3. Listen to What Consumers Are Discussing on Social Media and Create Content to Address Those Discussions

One of the most powerful notions in content marketing is to create content that is timely.

This means the topic is relevant to your audience, and you promote it as soon as possible after that relevance exists.

This can mean responding to current events, social change, changes in consumer behavior, etc.

One way to do this is to monitor what consumers are discussing on social media, create branded content that relates to those discussions, and promote it to those people.

The best tool I’ve seen for social monitoring is BuzzBundle.

BuzzBundle is a piece of social media management software that allows you to monitor discussions on multiple social networks. You can then respond to those discussions in real time — all from one convenient user interface.

First, download the free trial of BuzzBundle. Then open the program.

It will ask you to create a few personas. Each persona links up to a social media account of your choice.

Create a persona for each network you’d like to participate on:

Then head into the Keyword Groups tab on the left and click Add:

Type in keywords related to topics your audience might be discussing. BuzzBundle will use these keywords to scrape social media networks and find where these discussions are happening.

Once you’ve created a keyword group, click the Streams Tab and Find Buzz:

BuzzBundle will start scraping social media for those conversations. (This could take a few minutes.)

When it’s done, the program will have pulled up all of the conversations that include your keywords. You can now go through these conversations and respond directly from BuzzBundle.

Next, create content that addresses these discussions. This could be an article that helps your audience achieve a certain goal, a branded video, or an infographic.

When you’ve published that piece of content, head back into BuzzBundle and promote it.

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Using Branded Content to Stay Ahead of Your Competitors

Just to reiterate, here are the goals of branded content marketing once more:

• Provide educational or entertainment value
• Build trust in your brand
• Stand out in consumer’s minds
• Become a part of your customer’s daily routine
• Resonate with the consumer on an emotional level

Your aim is to spread awareness and a positive brand image. By involving your customers and engaging them on an emotional level, you become the brand they trust and connect with.

When deciding whether or not to choose you or your competitors (that aren’t as involved in their lives) you will become a more obvious choice for them.

People buy from brands they trust. They buy from brands they’re accustomed to buying from. And they buy from brands they’re exposed to more often.

This is exactly what branded content marketing does.

It keeps you at the forefront of their thoughts when considering which products to buy, and helps your business become one of their first choices when they have a need to fulfill.

Create a plan to incorporate branded content into your strategy, and let it rip.

It’s no secret that mobile is changing the way everyone does business online.

Think about how often you use your phone to browse websites, access social media, fill in forms, and conduct searches. Now translate that usage to every smartphone user.

Salesforce states that 83% of mobile internet users expect a seamless experience across devices. Users expect the usability of their desktops to translate to their mobile devices.

As with any major wave in business, marketers have to adjust to consumers, not the other way around. This is especially so in content marketing, as you’re trying to engage, build trust, and make sales – all at the same time.

83% of mobile internet users expect a seamless experience across devices
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I’ve compiled 9 mobile content marketing trends that could have profound effects on your business in the future.

These trends are only going to continue upwards as time goes on. Marketers should be aware of them and adapt to fit consumer’s lives.

Here are 9 of the most powerful mobile content marketing trends we’re facing:

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1. Increase in Overall Mobile Internet Usage

Check out these startling facts about internet/mobile device usage from December 2010 to December 2014:

• 21 percent of Millennials no longer use their desktops to go online.
• More than 75 percent of all Americans who use the Internet (age 18+) now access digital content on both desktop and mobile devices, which is an increase from 68 percent a year ago.
• The 55-years-and-older consumer segment is actually the fastest growing faction of mobile users.
• Smartphone usage is up 394 percent, and tablet usage is up 1,721 percent.

Source: comScore

More people than ever are using their phones/tablets to browse the Internet. What does this mean for your content marketing efforts?

With everything you publish, you need to consider how it’s going to look on mobile and if it will be effective. Follow these guidelines:

• Paragraphs in your blog posts should be no more than 3-4 sentences long.
• Your images should fit the screen.
• Text should be big enough to read on small devices, without straining the reader’s eyes.
• Your website should be easy to navigate.
• Your forms should be user-friendly and functional.
• Videos should load the same as they do on desktop.
• Pop-ups should fit the screen.
• Users should be able to get the information they need and not be hindered because they’re using a mobile device.

These are just some of the mobile content marketing guidelines you need to consider as usage increases in the future.

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2. Google is Favoring Mobile-Friendly Pages

In an official Webmaster Central blog post, Google announced that starting April 21, 2015 they would start favoring mobile-friendly pages in search results.

“Starting April 21, we will be expanding our use of mobile-friendliness as a ranking signal. This change will affect mobile searches in all languages worldwide and will have a significant impact in our search results. Consequently, users will find it easier to get relevant, high quality search results that are optimized for their devices.” – Google Webmaster Central Blog

This should have came as no surprise. Google is always trying to provide the most relevant, user-friendly results possible. Mobile devices are no exception.

According to a Searchmetrics study, some of the top sites have already taken hits in their mobile SEO visibility:

What does this mean for your website? Well, if you saw a hit in your mobile search engine traffic, this algorithm change might be the culprit.

“I would not be surprised if large sites can take up to a month to be displayed as fully mobile friendly. So make sure your most important pages are indexed as mobile friendly sooner than later.” – Barry Schwartz, Search Engine Land

To see if your site fits the description, use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Tester. If it doesn’t, follow this guide to make your website mobile-friendly or this plugin if you’re using WordPress.

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3. The Rise of SMS Marketing

SMS marketing involves consumers opting in to receive texts from a company. These texts can contain promotions, deals, loyalty rewards, alerts, and other marketing materials.

For example, if you opt in to one of Amazon’s text message updates, you can receive a text anytime there’s an upcoming deal available for your Kindle.

According to Salesforce’s 2014 mobile behavior report, 91% of consumers who opted in to a company’s SMS texting found it useful.

And EZ Texting, an SMS marketing service, states that over 50,000 clients use their service in businesses such as:

• Bars and nightclubs
• Restaurants
• Real estate
• Retail
• Small businesses

These consumers want to be marketed to in one of their most coveted inboxes – their text messages. That’s a big discovery for marketers.

The key, like with any marketing channel, will be balancing value provided with value extracted. Abusing someone’s text message inbox even one time can get that right retracted.

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4. Mobile Content Marketing Lead Generation: Considerations and Conversion Rates

49% of B2B marketers are heavily engaged in mobile marketing for generating leads. (Source: MarketingProfs)

As more of your traffic transitions to mobile devices, the way you optimize lead generation will change as well.

Here are a few common ways to generate leads:

• Sidebar forms
• Pop-up forms
• Landing pages
• Feature boxes
• Pop-up lightboxes
• End-of-post opt-ins
• In-text forms

If your site is mobile-friendly, your sidebar form is probably one of the last items your visitors scroll to. Instead of being at the top of the page, it’s now below the body content.

This means you should consider installing other opt-ins as well, like pop-up forms or feature boxes, to engage visitors immediately.

Estimated conversion rate: 0.3-1%

Your pop-up form must be formatted for mobile. Many pop-forms tend to lose their formatting, making it difficult or impossible to submit contact information (even if the visitor wants to). Not optimizing these for mobile could leave leads on the table.

The following is an example of a poorly formatted pop-up. It’s not an opt-in form, but its design causes a lower user experience:

The next form is formatted well. It allows а user to scroll up and down to read the full text, and the opt-in field and button are user friendly:

Estimated conversion rate: 2-5%

If your site is mobile-friendly, your landing pages are most likely formatted for mobile. But you should make sure they’re easy to navigate to on any device.

Estimated conversion rate: 5-25%

A feature box is an opt-in at the top of the page. It comes before the content and is usually the first opt-in a visitor sees.

Because of this, feature boxes can be effective for converting mobile visitors. Here’s an example:

Estimated conversion rate: 5-7%

Pop-up lightboxes should be formatted the same as your regular pop-up. Make sure they can be filled in and submitted on any device.

Estimated conversion rate: 2-10%

Opt-ins at the end of your posts and in-text should also be formatted for mobile.

Estimated conversion rate: .4-1.2%

If you can set up all of your opt-ins to be user-friendly on mobile devices, you’re ready to get favorable conversion rates, as a report from Mobile Marketer shows.

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5. Converting Sales on Mobile

Check out these statistics regarding smartphone purchases, from an Interactive Advertising Bureau’s study:

• Men (56%) are more likely than women (45%) to make purchases via smartphone.
• 76 percent of males ages 18-34 make a smartphone purchase in a typical month. 59 percent of females in this age group make the same type of purchase.
• 39 percent of 18 to 34-year old smartphone users said they spend at least $51 or more making purchases via smartphone in an average month. That compares to 27 percent of survey participants overall.
• Smartphones ranked second only to computers among CE devices used for shopping.
• 40 percent of smartphone owners said they use their device to research products.

Source: TeleCompetitor

This means that most young adult smartphone users, regardless of gender, make at least one purchase from their phone each month, and 39 percent of them spend at least $51.

Men (56%) are more likely than women (45%) to make purchases via smartphone
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Consumers are willing to spend money using their mobile devices. As this trend continues, digital marketers will need to ensure their landing pages are mobile-friendly, that the page conveys trust in the payment system, and that the payment process is as seamless as possible.

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6. Mobile Apps Supplementing or Replacing Websites

Apps can turn the most cumbersome website into a clean, user-friendly interface.

Many banks have gone this route, as their websites can be hard to navigate on mobile devices.

Apps can supplement websites or completely replace them in terms of functionality and usability.

Marketo notes 3 mobile app trends for marketers to take advantage of in 2015 and beyond:

1. Mobile apps as landing pages

Just like landing pages are a single page with a dedicated goal, companies will start creating niche apps (with push notifications) to act as mobile landing pages.

2. Small and medium-sized businesses will use mobile apps for lead generation and brand awareness

SMBs will follow the lead of larger companies in creating apps for their businesses. However, small and medium-sized businesses will have to market their apps harder to get downloads.

3. Established companies will put mobile apps at the core of their product or service

More companies will launch new products and services where the app is the product — much like Uber and Snapchat.

Each of these trends can be used by marketers to reach additional users more efficiently.

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7. Increased Mobile Ad Spend

Mobile is growing faster than all other digital advertising formats in the US, as advertisers begin allocating dollars to catch the eyes of a growing class of “mobile-first” users. – Mark Hoelzel, Business Insider

With increased mobile usage comes increased spending on ads targeting mobile devices.

eMarketer found that in 2016, global mobile advertising spend will surpass $100 billion and account for more than 50% of all digital ad expenditure. This will be the first time this has ever happened.

Companies can expect to spend more and more on mobile ads, shifting their budgets in parallel with how mobile usage is growing.

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8. Increased Focus on User Experience in Email Marketing

Email is still a top channel for promoting products and services. According to these studies…

• 91% of consumers reported checking their email at least once a day. (ExactTarget)
• Email marketing was ranked as the best channel in terms of return on investment, with 68% of companies rating the channel as ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ (Econsultancy)

And according to EmailMonday, mobile email opens have grown 180% in three years, from 15% in 2011 to 42% in 2014 (Campaign Monitor “Email interaction across mobile and desktop”).

With more people accessing email on their mobile devices than ever, and the consistent effectiveness of email marketing, marketers need to make sure their emails are user-friendly on mobile devices.

Many email marketing services offer a plain text option (as compared to HTML) so marketers can choose to make sure their emails can be read adequately on any device.

As more and more people open emails on their mobile devices, mobile formatting will become more crucial to maintaining your ROI from email marketing.

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9. Optimizing Your Social Media Posts for Mobile

The #1 category in terms of overall digital engagement, accounting for 20% of total digital time spent, social networking now generates more than 70% of its activity on mobile. When considering the category’s contribution to total digital ad spending, its rapid shift to mobile marks an important sign of the times for the internet economy. (Source: comScore)

70% of social networking is now done on mobile devices. That’s the same percentage as entertainment/music:

Needless to say, for your posts to be engaged with, they should be optimized for mobile viewing:

• Your images should be the right size for each specific network.
• Your calls-to-action should fit in the required space without an ellipses (…).
• Any text in the image should be big enough to read.
• You should expect users to click through on their mobile devices, meaning your website should be optimized to greet them there.

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To Wrap It Up

These trends in mobile content marketing affect the way users engage with your business and how you market to them.

It’s important for marketers to understand these trends, adjust their businesses to them, and eventually take advantage of them.

That’s how you will continue to grow your business as mobile becomes a bigger and bigger part of consumer’s lives.

In the constant battle for traffic, leads, shares, and sales, many marketers forget to pay attention to one key thing:

Trends.

As a brand, you need to constantly innovate new ways to market to your audience. People become desensitized to the same messages being conveyed over and over in a similar way.

That’s where seasonal content can bring your business back into the spotlight.

Seasonal content marketing is a great way to add variety and capture (or recapture) your buyers’ attention.

It’s content that’s either themed around that particular season or helps your audience take more advantage of it.

With big retail brands, you see time-specific marketing in the form of “Fall Sales!” and “Holiday Savings!”

In content marketing, you may see it in the form of seasonally themed infographics or helpful guides related to that time of the year.

But what makes it effective?

First, you get to capitalize on B2C buyer mania:

• Black Friday
• Christmas
• 4th of July sales
• Viral branded content marketing campaigns

Buyers plan for these seasons and are ready to pull out their wallets. The goal of seasonal content marketing is to make sure your business is the one they think of first when their wallets come out.

Next, you also get to capitalize on B2B events, like different quarters and bank holidays.

Seasonal content is often more shareable than regular content, which boosts brand awareness. And the season is already on their minds so your content enters naturally into their lives.

Learn how to dominate Q4 with a fresh seasonal content marketing campaign
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The Two Main Kinds of Seasonal Content

The “seasons” aren’t limited to winter, summer, fall, and spring.

In fact, just about any trend related to your business can be considered a season.

There are two main kinds of seasonal content marketing:

• Time-based content (the regular seasons of the year)
• Event-based content (Thanksgiving, Memorial Day, bank holidays, etc.)

There can be a lot of overlap between these types, but if you happen to be caught in both seasons, you’ll need to determine whether you’re targeting one or both.

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Examples of Seasonal Content

Here’s the key with seasonal content marketing:

You should make your product or service the centerpiece of the campaign, not the season.

The season is merely a vehicle to change up your marketing and make it more shareable.

For B2C companies, here are some great examples:

1. Gift guides

2. Seasonally themed infographics

3. Holiday or seasonal recipes

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Here are some ideas for B2B companies:

1. Business strategies that work best for that season

2. Product guides to get a leg up on your competition

3. A great example of B2B seasonal content from Personnel Today

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Keyword Research for Seasonal Content Marketing

By definition, seasons are trends.You can be sure to see these trends reflected in both monthly searches and search engine traffic.

Even though the odds of most businesses creating content and getting it ranked that same season are low, you should still base your content around these keywords for two reasons:

• You know those topics are popular for that season and are more likely to get shared
• You might end up ranking for them next season

Here’s how to find seasonal keywords:

First, head over to the Google Keyword Planner. Then type in a keyword related to your niche:

Scroll down and click on the “Keyword Ideas” tab and hover over the “trends” icon next to your keyword.

This will show you a graph of its monthly searches over the past year:

As you can see, searches for the keyword “buy running shoes” peak around the beginning of the year (New Year’s resolutions) through summer (nice weather) and drop back down around Thanksgiving and Christmas.

If I was a shoe retailer, I might run seasonal content marketing campaigns about “how to buy the right running shoes” starting in January. I would also publish content about how to follow through on a New Year’s resolution (and maybe even some real life case studies!)

Since people tend to hit the gym and exercise before summer, I would give that campaign a boost around April—May.

Then I might tone it down and finish off the campaign once September rolls around, because people aren’t as interested in buying running shoes.

If you want to know exactly what’s trending at any moment, Google Trends is a great resource.

Simply type in a topic you’d like to get some data on, and Google will tell you what’s trending on the Internet at that particular time.

You can then use this data to send out content that’s extremely relevant to that time period.

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Timing Your Campaigns Correctly

Timing is critical in seasonal content marketing.

To maximize your results, your goal is to get two things right:

• The start of your campaign
• What types of content you publish/promote and when

You should start your campaigns just before the peak of the season. This makes sure you’re one of the leaders, rather than following in everyone else’s footsteps.

For example, according to SiteProNews you should be starting your Christmas campaigns in early October. This is when customer demand begins to rise, as people buy gifts in preparation for the holiday season.

Starting promotions before your competitors also helps your company stand out.

However, if you start too early, your campaign might fizzle out before interest really starts to climb. So start slowly and gradually push out your better content.

This builds anticipation and makes sure your best stuff isn’t falling on deaf ears.

Anticipate the Seasons and Prepare

Many businesses are subject to consumer buying trends. This is where you get “slow” seasons and “busy” seasons.

Especially for these businesses (but not solely for them), it’s important to take advantage of slow times and prepare for the busiest times of the year.

First, you should know exactly when your busiest seasons start. Mark them on the calendar and make sure everyone at your company is aware.

Then, during your down seasons, research the possible buying trends for each busy season.

Use Google Trends to see what topics in your industry were trending last season. This will give you insight into what types of content will perform best.

If you’re in the middle of the season, use Google Trends to find out what’s trending right now.

Then, brainstorm how you can make your content unique. Look at what your competitors published last season and see how you can improve upon it:

• Can you add better graphics?
• Can you make it longer and more detailed?
• Can you include additional resources that your audience would find valuable?
• Can you incorporate viral components, like hashtags, that your competitors tend to ignore?

Characteristics like these can help your content stand out.

To plan your content, you should also establish an editorial calendar. This will keep you and your team on track with planning, creating, publishing, and promoting all of your seasonal content:

This WordPress plugin makes it really easy:

Finally, identify the key business objectives you want to achieve. These can be, but are not limited to, the following:

• Social shares
• Traffic
• Email subscribers
• Lead magnet downloads
• “Add to Cart” clicks
• Sales

When next season is almost upon you, analyze how your last campaign went and what you can do better this time.

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Content Promotion Considerations

As with any content marketing campaign, content promotion is King. Without promoting your content to the right audience, it won’t do much for your business (no matter how good it is).

But when promoting seasonal content, don’t forget this notion:

Seasonal content inherently involves temporary interest.

It’s best to focus on social media and outreach campaigns that you can turn on and off at the drop of a hat. This will maximize your reach and ROI.

You should be able to push out your content quickly, effectively, and to the right audience.

Here are a few methods I suggest:

• Facebook ads
• Google Adwords
• Paid Twitter promotions

Each of these tactics act like a traffic faucet that you can turn on or off whenever you want. You can even control how much exposure your content gets, based on the monetary investment you put in.

For example, to prepare for Black Friday and Cyber Monday (and in between both days) Dell used Facebook ads to increase sales 150% through paid social advertising and get a 2.16 margin of return on their ad spend:

They also managed to beat their original revenue goal by a solid 8%.

(Source: Sprinklr)

These types of paid advertising strategies give you the ability to push out your content quickly and reach the right people at the best possible time.

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Drop “Time Bombs” Into Your Content

“Time bombs” are references to current events. You can throw these into your content or sparse them around your campaign as articles themselves.

An example in the marketing space could be when SEOmoz rebranded to Moz. Referencing an event like this, or basing some of your content around it, could help your content get more exposure.

In the B2C realm, you could reference pop culture events, like the release of Justin Bieber’s Christmas album:

Time bombs give your audience hooks they can immediately connect with.

This could be referencing something from pop culture, a trending story in the business world, or the outcome of a sporting event.

Whichever you choose, time bombs can make your content more relevant and more shareable.

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Match the Season to Your Brand

The season shouldn’t decide how your brand is portrayed. It should act as a vehicle to get your brand’s message out there in a different and unique way.

In other words, don’t let it take over your message.

B&Q, a British home improvement and DIY retailer, did this beautifully with their #ChristmasUnleashed campaign.

This campaign was seasonally themed, but continued to convey their core message of “unleashing the DIY expert within you.”

Remember your “Why” and your business’s core values.

Remember how your business ultimately helps people, and send that same message in ways that fit in naturally with the sentiments of the season.

What does your business offer that’s relevant to that particular time? It’s not just about your products and services, but about connecting to the very real emotions and situations your audience experiences.

Match the season to your brand, not your brand to the season #SeasonalContent
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Wrapping It Up

Seasonal content marketing can be a powerful way to take advantage of people’s natural buying trends.

But rather than inundate your audience with “Holiday Savings,” you enter their lives on the same wavelength.

Just remember to:

• Base your content around keywords that you know are trending for that season
• Time your campaigns just before the peak of each season
• Prepare during your slow times
• Use paid promotion to get your content out quickly and effectively
• And match the season to your brand

How do you plan to use seasonal content? Let me know in the comments below.