[Beginner – 102] 9 Critical Steps to Making Money for Your Business Using Online Content Marketing

Content marketing is not just a matter of posting statuses on Facebook or sending regular Tweets for that matter. You need some order. Sometimes, we assume that since access to and use of social media networks is free of charge, there is no need for a strategy.

Look at it this way, if you are targeting television audiences, the commercials you run revolve around television marketing strategies. The same case applies to the print media.

Here are a few steps toward building a robust content marketing strategy:

1. Set Your Marketing Goals

First, determine what you want to achieve through content. Broadly speaking, you would like to push sales volumes up. In the process, your business grows. However, if you make your goals more specific, you will be in a position to create meaningful content.

2. Know Your Target Audience

Before sending any messages out, know the people you want to reach. Where are they located? What do they like most? What are their spending habits? When do they buy more? Once you find the answers to questions such as these, you will be able to come up with a solid strategy.

3. Build in Triggers

Triggers are events that prod people to find out more.  For example, you do not expect to wake up tomorrow and immediately start browsing for information on motorbikes. There must be some motivation behind it. The same applies with your prospects. You need to understand what triggers them then formulate a strategy revolving around it.

4. Establish an Editorial Strategy

The tone used in your content needs to define the personality of your business. Telling people that you are selling a bicycle repair kit is insufficient. There is no insight as the kind of seller you are. When laying out an editorial strategy, look at the content’s voice and tone. Audiences should use it in order to relate with your business.

5. Define a Content Type

Content is the voice through which you speak to the masses. You should decide on the kind of content you are supposed to create.  This revolves around topics, themes and messages. Go to the forums where your prospects spend most of their time. Get to understand what interests them.  Is it social media, videos, blogs or slideshows? Remember to include calls to action.  This prompts anyone interacting with your content to act in a certain way.

6. Vary the Content Form

This is so close to the prior point on content type. However, form has to do with formatting. Decide whether you will put information across through articles, webinars, slideshows, photos or videos.  This comes because of having known in advance how your audience behaves.

Local search advertising is the wave of the future. It is targeted marketing based on your location and it allows you to attract more people who are able to and might actually become customers. When you spread yourself too thin you are likely to attract fewer people. So cut down on advertising costs and share your brand name with only those who are in your area now.

7. Pay Attention to Checking In

Checking in is what people do when they share with their followers of friends where they are in real time. It allows for free advertising for you and increases the likelihood that those peoples’ friends will join them or check out your place at a later date. Either would be good for business. There are many reasons people do this, which you can work to appeal to.

• Fame- people want to be known and heard and followed. So many people try to get more followers that they follow on Twitter. It has become a competition. Checking in allows them to show legitimately where they are and what they are doing.

• Flirting- it allows them to interact with strangers and let people know where to meet them if they really want to.

• Friends- this also allows you to make and post about new friends. They can connect with them right away via Facebook when they wish to tag them in the location. It is an excuse to get someone’s information or to become cyber friends, which is a big deal these days.

• Freebies- you can give out free coupons and deals when people check in. It increases the likelihood that they will do it, which increases the chance that more people will come than would have otherwise.

• Fun- it is simply fun to check in and seem always up to date.

• Following – it is a way to journal and keeps track of the places that people have been. It is a mini blog of sorts.

• Fancying- people can recommend these places like this. If they have a blog or just want to rave about where they are, they can easily with a geo tag attached so that others can find the exact spot.

8. Grow Your Internet Presence

Give yourself more Internet presence so that you are more likely to come to the top of peoples’ searches. Analytics and search engine optimization helps. When people look for something using keywords that your company uses, they will find your company. It is the best of advertising in the modern technological world.

You can also set up a blog about you company and have an employee keep it up or open up a forum on your website to let people review products. Just be ready for slander and people not liking things because it is inevitable.

You can also invite a blogger to come and rate your company. When you pay for the airfare and stay, they are more likely to come and advertise for you. Just make sure that their followers consist of people living in your area. Otherwise this might not help with local based marketing.

9. Explore Pay-per-click Ads

Another great way to advertise is to use pay-per-click ads. This better ensures that you pay for only those who are interested in your ad or the product. You can advertise on the side of Facebook or web browsers this way. And you can select the parameters of whose screens your ads appear on. You can make sure that only certain demographics are advertised to. This is called targeting and it helps your campaign to be more cost effective.

Use one of these local search-marketing techniques to benefit your business today.