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Professional interviewers are the artisans of journalism. They possess the knowledge and skills to lead real-time conversations and obtain valuable information even from the most inaccessible interviewees. They have the power to balance between aggressive questioning and peaceful listening. They have the talent but also a strong work ethic. And most importantly, they prepare thoroughly for each interview.

If you, as a content marketer want to achieve the same level of expertise as these professionals, you have to be ready to invest a lot of time and effort in training. You will also need a good interview strategy and we are here to help you with that.

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It’s probably accurate to say that over 90% of all businesses in the world uses some sort of content to market their business. It’s been proven time and time again that content marketing is one of the most effective forms of marketing to have ever graced the internet.

But, just because every business is doing it, it doesn’t mean that you can’t stand out from the crowd. In fact, it doesn’t matter what your competitors are posting. All that matters is the quality of the content that you’re posting and how your readers respond and engage with you.

With all this mind, today we’re going to explore several ways you can create the best content possible for your business and how you can use this content to get ahead of your competitors.

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In the challenge of getting visitors to your website with the intent of converting them, what is the best route? Do you throw money at well-crafted advertisements? Do you focus on a strong search engine optimization (SEO)? Do you focus on maintaining a blog and pursue a content marketing campaign? Do you craft a social media campaign that uses Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat?

The truth is, there are a variety of tactics that you need to focus on to drive potential customers to your website. But the one you really want to put effort towards is synergizing your content marketing and search engine optimization. 

 

Blogging isn’t hard, but blogging on a regular basis can be.

This is why it’s critical to create a blogging strategy that works for you.

According to the recent Content Marketing Institute’s survey, 46% of marketers have a documented strategy for managing content as a business asset, and there’s no question about it that you should have one too! Having a blogging strategy saves time, helps you create better content and you’ll feel like you’re not always in a mad dash to publish a post.

While the blogging process is personal and many bloggers have a different approach, we want to share one that’s working for us. It’s a systemized approach to creating content – you break the blogging process into 5 steps and do each step for all your posts together.  

So, here is the practical guide to creating a blogging strategy that actually works.

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There is no doubt that any marketer will agree with me – Email Outreach is a strategy that has always been in-demand. And the reason why it works great is simple. Thanks to this very strategy you can spread any kind of information personally with the one you want to reach out to.

Easy to say but a bit complicated to achieve.

Why is it so tricky?

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The whole landscape of marketing is shifting; marketers who succeeded by wielding a large megaphone and blasting potential customers with promotional material (“COME BUY OUR PRODUCT!”) are finding their tactics less and less effective as consumers skip, mute, or otherwise tune out commercials. 

In marketing’s new epoch, businesses create leads and valuable customer relationships by creating and sharing valuable, free content, a technique known (predictably) as “content marketing”. As a marketer or business owner, the trick is no longer about how many times you can stuff your business’s value proposition into a 30-second commercial. Instead, you must naturally catch and keep people’s attention long enough for them to care about who you are and what you’re selling. 

Unfortunately, too many businesses equate “great content marketing” with “I can’t start until I have a massive budget of tens of thousands of dollars to hire graphic designers, videographers, and local marketing agencies”. This is a misconception: low-budget content marketing does not have to mean bad content marketing! Even the smallest of businesses have a chance to wow customers with a marketing strategy that has been around for time immemorial: a compelling story!

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Managing a team of writers and designers is a delicate process. While you’re running the business side of a blog or agency, you also have to tap into the human and creative side of content marketing.

Oftentimes these two sides can pull against each other, leaving writers and editors alike to cope with each other’s egos and insecurities.

This is when arguments flare up, deadlines are missed, and both parties are left feeling frustrated or taken advantage of.

Here are two common examples of writer problems that content managers face, and a few steps to solve them in a way that is fair and keeps the peace.

Dealing With Missed Deadlines

Dear Spokal:

I manage a team of 10 freelance writers to help with client work. Most of the time my writers submit great work, but sometimes they miss their deadlines. This puts me in a bind because I have my own deadlines our clients and don’t want the agency to look bad. Even worse, I can’t seem to get my writers to understand the importance of meeting deadlines. What can I do? Help!

Late in Longueuil

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Quick! Name a social media platform. Name another one! And another! Again! Argh!!

Once your heart returns to a normal BPM (that was rather exciting, eh?), consider the four platforms that you shouted in panicked response. You most likely started with Facebook, then probably mentioned Instagram and/or Snapchat and/or Pinterest, and finally…?

There’s an excellent chance that one of your four was Twitter (if you mentioned something other than those ones…I don’t even know who you are anymore). Twitter, the platform everyone loves to dis. Twitter, the one that people claim to not use anymore. Twitter, how the mighty have fallen.

Except nuh-uh.

Twitter: The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.

If you follow the social media world at all, or are involved in digital or content marketing in any way, you’ve seen countless articles and posts declaring Twitter either dead, dying, or really, really sick.

It’s growth is anemic. It’s numbers look puny compared to Facebook, and increasingly Instagram and Snapchat.

But Twitter ain’t over the hill just yet. It’s still a (relatively) popular kid:

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Content is king! Content marketing is the only marketing left! Content isn’t just the king, it’s the kingdom!

Blah, blah, blah.

You’ve heard it before. And you’re probably still dutifully cranking out content as fast as you can create it. I commend you for your dedication. <fist bump>

But it’s not like you have a choice. Content marketing is the de facto godfather of the digital realm. It presides over cyberspace with an iron fist. Disrespect it (by not doing it), and you’re swiftly left beaten and bruised by the side of the New Jersey turnpike after being thrown from a moving car.

Don't disrespect the godfather…. Photo courtesy of tim-johnson(CC Attribution)

A little melodramatic? Perhaps (I did grow up watching Scorsese films). But you do take a risk if you’re not on Team Content (t-shirts available in the gift shop). It generates leads and traffic, spreads brand awareness, and helps to increase conversions and revenue.   

Your competition is doing it. The big guys, little guys, and startups are onboard. 89% of B2B and 86% of B2C marketers are using it. And so should you.

But you’re doing it wrong if you’re killing yourself creating original content all the time to share with your networks.

You, my friend, need content curation as much – if not more – than content creation. 

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Marketing and promoting your business should be an ongoing process. A good marketing strategy is the scaffold that allows your business to grow because marketing should be an ongoing process. It can be easy to become confused or lost. Gain control with this guide to what a fantastic marketing strategy should be.

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Imagine several helium filled balloons, all bobbing about in the breeze. Each balloon is attached to a string, a strand that holds them all together. One balloon is not enough to lift the weight of your business but when all the balloons are tied together, just like a well-planned, executed and reviewed marketing strategy, your business will lift up, up and away.