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Media Shower writer Tyler Banfield is well-known for his work in marketing and ecommerce.
According to a recent survey from the Content Marketing Institute, 88% of B2B respondents used content marketing in 2015. However, only 30% of B2B marketers felt that their organizations used content marketing effectively during the last year.
Even though 86% of B2B companies plan to spend as much or more on content marketing in 2016 as they did in 2015, the survey found that struggling to produce engaging content is the most common reason organizations fail to drive their desired results from content marketing.
For companies that understand the potential power of content marketing but have yet to fully unlock it, here are the five keys to finding success with content marketing in 2016:
1. Be Consistent
Just like the most successful athletes are those who take the most shots or swings, the companies that find notable success with content marketing are the ones that stick with it. While not every blog post is going to be a home run, the cumulative effect of consistently publishing the best possible content and actively promoting it adds up over time. Companies must find a sustainable approach to content marketing that allows them to balance consistently and quality.
2. Spend More Time on Headlines
Not all headlines come as easy as this one.
We live in a world that’s full of distractions. Whenever someone is online, they’re only a few clicks away from hilarious YouTube clips or anything else that they enjoy. Companies need to remember that every piece of content they publish is competing with everything else that’s online for attention.
When someone is scrolling through their Facebook or Twitter feed, they’re only going to click a blog post link if the headline catches their attention. The same is true if an individual is looking at a list of ten links on a Google results page. Learning how to write great headlines and then doing so every time is the only way for companies to make their content stand out.
3. Use Images and Video to Increase Engagement
In addition to writing great headlines, integrating images and videos into written blog posts is a proven way to grab and hold people’s attention. Given that video is projected to account for 69% of all Internet traffic by 2017, properly complementing blog posts with visual elements is the best way to keep posts as dynamic and engaging as possible.
4. Review Analytics Data and Adjust Accordingly
Just about everyone who does content marketing will agree that there’s no way to know for sure which pieces of content are going to have the biggest impact. That being said, using analytics data is a great way to maximize your chances for success. Through regular reviews of your website’s analytics data, you can see which posts are connecting with readers and which posts are barely having an impact.
You can also look at metrics like incoming links and social media shares. By focusing future efforts around topics that are related to what’s already done well for you, you’ll be much more likely to publish a piece of content that makes a very big splash.
5. Work with the Right Team
It’s not easy to succeed with content marketing. The good news is it’s also not impossible. Working with a team like Media Shower that understands all of the best practices covered above and puts them into practice on a daily basis is the best way to find content marketing success. Learn more about how our content marketing service works.