While it may seem like some companies are just naturally-born marketers, more likely than not they have put a lot of time, thought, and resources into their content. It can be hard for even the most seasoned writer to produce engaging content, post consistently, and do it all while managing other aspects of their business. If you’re like most marketers, the number one content marketing challenge of 2017 will be consistently producing engaging content.
What Does it Mean to Engage?
“Engaging content” is one of those marketing terms that means different things to different people, depending on who you ask and the context of that content. Some common goals of engaging content may be:
- Grabbing the reader’s attention early and being able to keep them reading
- Addressing a reader’s needs or pain points
- Offering a new perspective
- Being entertaining and informative
This may seem like a hefty list, but let’s look at some ways to break down writing engaging content into a few steps.
Think About Your Audience
In order to address your reader’s pain points, you must first understand who your reader is! You’ve likely heard some common concerns from your clients — when they can retire, how much money they will need, how to plan for their child’s education, and more. Take these questions into consideration when writing content to make it applicable to their questions and concerns.
Research Ideas From Others
As Benjamin Franklin said, “there is much a difference between imitating a good man and counterfeiting him,” but this isn’t to say you can’t scour your resources for new ideas. Most of the best marketers follow other blogs, study up on social media techniques, and mirror the strategies of their competitors. As long as you aren’t copying word-for-word what another person is saying, we recommend studying your industry and echoing what you see being successful.
Focus on Consistency
For the second part of the challenge, consistency, there are many strategies to help you keep your content marketing up to par. First sign up for an automated posting tool. Tools like Hootsuite or Buffer allow you to craft your own social posts and schedule them at a later date. Tools like our Social Foundation Campaign allow you to supplement your custom content with automated, evergreen content. By combining the strategies, it will be easier than ever to automate your social media.
It may also help to set up an editorial calendar and plan your blogs out in advance. Think about the next six months. What goals do you want to accomplish? What do you want to educate your clients on? Are there any current events or market changes your clients should be aware of?
All of these questions will help you craft the outline of your content calendar. Then, you can fill in the holes with blogs, videos, and social posts. Make sure you stay organized to keep track of your posts and their traction (Content Marketing Institute shared a great template you can use to get started).
