Are you sick and tired of the same old content marketing tricks that just don’t seem to increase your traffic?
Well, you’ve come to the right place. Today’s audiences are tired of the “same old, same old”, so the time is right to be innovative, take a few risks, and implement some all-new tactics into your strategy.
If you’re risk averse, never fear – while these tips may be unusual, they’ve been thoroughly tested:
1. Expert Content
In a very recent, fascinating study on content marketing best practices, Nielsen research found that “expert content,” like news coverage or a thought leader endorsement, really works.
A fantastic example of this principle is Guy Kawasaki’s role as a chief evangelist of Canva. Even when promoting his own products, he’s an avid user of their tools:
The lift that Nielsen saw with expert content, which is an 88% percent increase in brand familiarity, doesn’t work as effectively if the relationship seems unnatural or contrived.
2. Help Your Customers Be Better at What They Do
I can guarantee that your readers and customers all have something in common. They want to do their jobs effectively and live comfortably. Hootsuite recently revealed that one of their most popular blogs is The 7 Essential Apps for When You Have to Work on Their Phone. Not only was it relevant to their tech-savvy buyer personas, it had the potential to help them impress their boss.
3. Cut Way Back
HubSpot’s Corey Eridon recently challenged her audience to consider cutting their content back, and providing more value in fewer words to today’s attention-challenged audiences. Her suggestions included:
- Writer shorter introductions
- Never assume your readers are beginners
- Use pretty pictures and great data
- Let go of the idea there’s a perfect word count
4. Be More Relevant
Can your message be relayed with a True Blood reference? If there’s any way to build an instant rapport (and some serious exposure) through content marketing, it’s by getting a cultural reference right.
I couldn’t help but adore HootSuite’s recent blending of social media networks and HBO’s hit series Game of Thrones in a totally shareable social media image:
5. Spend More Money
Did you know that 88% of businesses are now engaging in content marketing, and the average company spends 31% of their marketing budget on creating fantastic content? I’m a firm believer that content is a cost-effective way to acquire customers, but you might not be able to perform miracles on a shoestring budget.
6. Scrape Your Blog
Most people don’t need to harness and process terabytes of information in order to improve their traffic. In fact, the first place to start is probably an audit of your content assets, also known as “scraping your blog.”
I’d explain the process in-depth, but Noah Kagan already did. The tutorial includes plenty of helpful gifs and step by step instructions that are considered to be new content marketing tricks.
7. Be an Early Adopter of Facebook Insights
When it comes to social media networks as data repositories, Facebook is filled with everyone’s interests, product habits, education, work history, friendships, and more. That’s why you should join me in being absolutely ecstatic that Facebook is starting to roll-out insights, a paid service where you can pretty much learn exactly what you want to know in tidy little reports.
8. Use Video Already!
Video is a particularly powerful way to market products that may be stiff, hard-to-love, or highly technical. Cisco’s recent “Umi” campaign lent a highly personal touch to a tricky product, and could be easily emulated using a basic webcam:
9. Think Small
Infographics are so 2013. I personally believe that “mini infographics” are about to pop as a form of social media or blog content. I love the example below from CMI, which could easily be replicated using PowerPoint:
10. Don’t Be Afraid of a Total Reset
Blogs stagnate. It happens all the time. One of the worst (and most common) mistakes I encounter is marketers who are afraid to take a critical look at their content strategy. Don’t be that marketer – your readers will forgive you as long as you don’t disappear too long. Look for new content marketing tricks!
11. Share Some Data
It’s no secret that being a nerd is pretty cool right now. Data is definitely in. So why not drastically boost your traffic by designing a survey, and publishing your results in the form of an original white paper? These kinds of content marketing activities can build brand respect, links, and long-time readers.
12. Initiate Awards
Everyone loves being recognized for their effort, so why not start some industry awards? This very tactic worked for content expert Marcus Sheridan of the Sales Lion back when he was in the in-ground pools business, and it continues to work well for Lee Odden of Top Rank Blog:
13. Start a Microsite
Do you need to market to a subset of your brand’s buyer personas? Are you about to launch a pretty sweet new product? Microsites are definitely alternative, and super cool. While some would argue that this tactic is mostly for brands with an established audience, it certainly can’t hurt to launch a pilot of niche content promotion.
14. Stop Using Stock Photography
If you can only pick one tactic to improve your content marketing, make a commitment to improve your visual aspects. Once you gain proficiency in the abundance of free photo-editing and graphic design tools available online, it’s not likely to take more than a few minutes each time you publish, and you’ll surely see your traffic from social media soar.
For honest reviews and recommendations, check out 14 Tools to Create Images for Your Blog Posts in 5 Minutes or Less.
15. Host a Webinar
If your company has a top-of-the-funnel problem, capturing more traffic could be as simple as hosting a webinar. According to Alinean research, webinars are a particularly powerful tool for buyers in the early research stages:
Make sure you’re not emulating something that’s already been created by a competitor, and take this opportunity to attract and educate your prospects.
Eager to dive into some of these content marketing tricks and methods? Check out our recent blog, 7 Reasons Why Copywriters Must Be Shameless.
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