The ‘Content Rush’ – the gold rush of online marketing
Get content fever 
We’ve seen major developments in the world of online advertising and with the explosion of content marketing the advertising world has definitely entered a kind of gold rush, where great content is the pursuit of this enterprise. Is your online marketing strategy on par?
What is content marketing? Content marketing is a creative and consistent form of marketing that differs from other forms because the thing it helps you to do is attract and acquire customers interested in your brand – by focusing on the creation and distribution of valuable content to help them make decisions regarding your company, products or services.
The potential of targeted advertising and its effectiveness, when positioned correctly, is nothing new to inbound marketers, but with so many staking their claim with online content marketing, we’re seeing 2013 as the year where everyone will have to dig deep to unearth truly valuable content that fulfills its purpose.
So in terms of gold, here are a few valuable insights for the prospective content miner:
The golden currency of online content marketing
Content is your currency – your gold – you have to dig for it and weigh it up to see how valuable it is.
The content you decide to publish is the one thing that is yours to control when it comes to your social presence online and also offline.
Content lets you show people why they should choose you over your competitor selling the exact same quality product/service at about the same price, just next door to you. Content can drive people to action and it defines and differentiates your business or brand – not your products – on social media. Great content – and more to the core of what content really is – great communication will be your competitive edge in online marketing.
Shoot golden arrows with great content
Target people not ‘markets’ or ‘consumers,’ by writing and publishing content as if to an actual type of person who has specific interests that can potentially relate to your business or brand.
Concentrate on the journey that leads to their decision-making. Speak their language to resonate with them – even if it means using words like ‘fo-shizzle’ or words ending in ‘-licious’ (just joking –but seriously).
Content as good as gold
Content has to have value for everyone – for your customers and clients, your prospects and yourself. Valuable content communicates what you have to offer that is truly of value to your audience and is positioned according to their needs.
Stake your claim with content
There is huge value in laying emphasis on your company’s uniqueness.
Your content should work in harmony with your business logic. Develop a strategy that is based on your company’s unique offering, so that your content is differentiated from your competitors’. Develop a complete competitor analysis to see where the gaps are – There are some great competitor analysis templates to make use of. Use your marketing resources by taking what you already have and restructure it so you can tell your story to a wider audience and gain more reach. Employ the use of new platforms and channels where it is appropriate for your business – whether that includes YouTube, Twitter, blogging, Facebook etc.
The golden key for content
Optimise a keyword strategy that lets your target audience find their way to your content by implementing SEO, using the proper page structure and covering current social #topics.
The gold chain that links your content 
Content should cause a specific response – whether it relates to a behavioural or an emotional reaction. A call-to-action should be linked to the next bit of content that leads them on through the brand-journey. Content should be purposefully linked to promote an action – even if it is just to engage, educate or be entertained – it still creates a brand experience.
Weigh your gold 
Use visits, downloads and conversions to measure how good your content writing is – or whether it is in fact good, but not getting found by your audience. Ensure that all the right plugins are there for social sharing – so you can track and measure it. Use search trend analysis such as Google Zeitgeist to gain insight into current search trends and to gain insight into your target audience’s needs and behaviours. You may require the help of an expert in copywriting from an online marketing agency to get you started.
…and remember to keep reading our posts and checking in on facebook for more news on how our online marketing company, Semantica is turning online marketing, SEO and everything digital into a fine art.
