Content development is at the heart of any successful marketing campaign. These days, marketing your business requires you to think beyond traditional advertising and broadcasting approaches.
You provide additional value to your products and services through a well-planned content marketing strategy. But gathering the content you need for your website or blog isn’t always easy.
The following are a few ways that you can gather high-quality content on a consistent basis and achieve greater results for your business.
Ask the Right Questions Related to Your Content
Asking key questions allows you to have a more focused (and successful) website or blog. This focus allows you to speak directly to your ideal customers and meet their needs.
The following are the types of content that businesses must provide over time:
- Website copy
- Landing/Sales pages
- Blog posts
- Social media updates
- White papers
- Free guides/resources for lead generation
The right questions help you determine what information or resources your business is lacking and identifies any existing content risks that you need to consider.
Take the time to discover whom your content is for. This is the fundamental question you need to answer in order to gather the right content. High-quality content isn’t enough if it’s aimed at the wrong audience.
Next, identify the needs of your ideal audience. Your content is meant to answer questions, provide solutions, and educate your audience on issues that are related to the products and services you provide.
Tap Into Existing Content Resources
There are many sources that you can leverage to gather content for your website. Your industry is full of content that can be used to provide insight into the needs of the current marketplace.
Industry blogs have audiences who are seeking services and products that are similar to your own. They highlight the right and wrong ways to engage with audiences.
Identify the various thought leaders in your industry. Gather any blog posts, interviews, or industry articles these individuals publish. These will provide invaluable ideas for your content development.
Automate the Content Gathering Process
You can use RSS to stay up-to-date on industry blogs, allowing the latest content to come to you. Similarly, Google Alerts is a free service that lets you receive notifications on published content containing whatever keywords, names, or websites you choose.
Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter can be automated through the use of lists that let you follow specific users. This makes it easy for you to setup a customized source of content ideas that you can use for your blog.
Consider unique angles that you can take on the topics already being discussed. What information gaps are there that you can fill through your own knowledge and expertise?
Are there any current events that are related to your industry? Contributing your insights into an existing conversation allows you to reach an already interested audience and provides more content ideas for your website.
Create a Content Calendar
Gathering content for your website or blog requires a structured approach. Knowing what topics and themes you’ll address in advance makes it easy to develop content that your audience needs.
Setting up a content calendar lets you diversify the type of content you gather and distribute in order to meet a variety of business objectives. It provides a roadmap for your future content generation and allows you to monitor its performance.
Gathering content for your website or blog is an ongoing process. Knowing the right questions to ask is the first step to ensuring that you gather the right content for your audiences.
You can follow industry blogs and use social media platforms to gather ideas for your own content development. Establishing a content calendar with your short- and long-term goals in mind lets you focus your efforts for maximum results.
Let us know what strategies you’re using for your own content gathering process. What’s worked for you? What hasn’t worked?
Share your own insights in the comments section below so that we can help you fine-tune your content marketing strategy and achieve consistent results for your business.
