3 Tips to Develop an Effective Content Marketing Strategy!

Most businesses will at some point, consider creating a content marketing strategy in order to engage with customers. When you develop a content marketing strategy, you should start by thinking about your target audience rather than just looking internally towards your business. Here are a few tips to help you to develop an effective content marketing strategy.

Educational Content 

When it comes to your firm’s content marketing strategy, you should focus on creating well written content that is of educational value to your readers. If you are selling HR advisory services, for example, then you might consider producing content that provides your readers with useful tips on how to create certain HR policies or manage staff absences, etc. Your readers will then consider that you and your firm understand these areas and may potentially decide to use your services as a result.

Leverage your content

After you publish your content, you will need to promote it. Perhaps you could create a social media strategy whereby you publish your content to your company website, then post links to Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media pages so that people can share your content with their network. You may also want to share your content via an email newsletter or client update. The key is to find as many ways as possible of sharing your content and re-purpose it in order to maximise the potential readership.

The WIIFM concept

WIIFM stands for What's In It For Me? What that means is that regardless of what you are selling (product, service, etc), all that matters to your customers is that you have the ability to solve a particular problem that they are experiencing at that particular moment. The way that you phrase your marketing content has a tremendous impact on how that target audience reacts to what they are reading.

In today’s increasingly connected business world, content is becoming more important. Some clients are more likely to visit your website or social media page than your office premises. As such, creating the right content strategy for your business is key.

4 tips to Optimise your Email for Mobile Devices!

74% of smartphone owners use their devices to check their email (Source: Gartner)

It has been estimated by Radicati that by the end of 2018, mobile email users are expected to total over 2.2 billion & 80% of email users are expected to access their email accounts via a mobile device.

Rather than the statistics, if you check at how you check your email versus how you were doing it just a few years ago, you will realise the importance of smart phone email compatibility.

Mobile Email Usage! Source: PanoramaStock

The rate at which emails are opened on a mobile device is rapidly increasing. So, when it comes to your business’s approach to email marketing, you need to make sure your messages look great no matter what size screen your audience is using.

Here are 5 easy but important tips to optimise your email so that it is responsive to both small and big screens alike:

Formatting

An easy way to make your emails more mobile-friendly is to use a single-column template. This will make it easy for people to see all of your information without having to click to zoom in. People consume information differently on a smaller screen. One of the biggest differences is how quickly they can scroll through and scan information. As such, you should format your email content for people who like to scan. Start with a short header message that sets up the content people are about to read. The copy that follows should be clear and concise. Replace lengthy paragraphs with short, snappy sentences that let people know what you’re doing, why it’s important to them, and what action you’d like them to take. You should also avoid lengthy paragraphs that can slow down the reader and distract them from giving your content the attention it needs.

Images and Branding

Include an eye-catching image that helps the reader connect with the message you’re sending out. Bear in mind that on many mobile devices, images won’t display automatically and some will turn off displaying images by default. As such, it is important not to overload your email with too many images and to always make sure you have text to provide the details people need.

Include High Resolution Images

High resolution images will ensure images are sharp and crisp. Readers will be pleased with the content present. More than that, it will improve the click-through rate of images' hyperlink!

Strong Call-to-Action

Now that you’ve set your message up to work well on mobile, the last step is to make sure your readers clearly understand the action you want them to take. If you want people to show up to an event, or call to place an order, it is important to clearly state what you want them to do and give them the information they need to take action. If the next action is online - to visit your website, register for an event etc. then you should include a link that’s visible and easy to click on any screen size. Remember that on mobile devices, your readers need to be able to use their finger to click or scroll. Avoid stacking multiple links or putting different links too close together. Whenever possible, add a button that’s easy to click from a phone’s small screen.