Regardless of how it continues to be perceived by marketers, content still holds a prominent position within the dark arts of digital. However, with constant shake-ups in algorithms, content marketers have had to get better and better at creating quality, lengthy and trusted copy that warrants sharing.
Content is often looked at with a hint of trepidation, and for good reason. There is no other marketing avenue that is so vital, yet so unpredictable. It’s also something that requires a considerable amount of attention and investment of time – something that most people who set out to do it simply don’t have. This is down to the fact that quality content offers value to the consumer. For a lengthy piece of web copy to be able to do that it needs to represent an expert take on your industry; an insider view for which a reader’s time invested in reading is justified. Often the person who can lend that viewpoint is the person whose time is most precious. For example, a head strategist or even an MD. Couple that with the little issue of frequency, (content marketing isn’t a one-off, it needs to be repeatedly invested in and revisited) and you’ve got yourself a positively vexing package.
No matter how much you might want to, we’re afraid that if you want to get noticed in the digital era, you cannot overlook content. If you don’t have the time to invest in writing or are aware that your abilities aren’t up to scratch, you should consider outsourcing your content marketing to an agency who has the time and expertise to spend on writing articles for your blog.
Getting your Expert Voice Heard
There’s no use in investing in quality content if you don’t constantly strive to reach your audience. Social media is great as it provides the perfect platform for content distribution. By utilising your network to promote further sharing and distribution you can create a dialogue about your industry that your content, your copy and (most importantly) your brand is the centre of.
Content Distribution on Social Networks
Without a thorough proportion of strategy devoted to distribution, content marketing is destined to fail. However, every industry’s audience is as different as every industry, and choosing the most appropriate network for purposed distribution is an exact science. Depending on whether your business is B2B or B2C, your content will work better with engagement on a particular network.
New data provided by research from Hubspot & Buzzsumo has given us as marketers a far greater insight into where and how an audience is more susceptible, and helped to indicate which channels, post length and headlines will maximise engagement for each different industry.
Distribution of B2B Content
The data acknowledges that B2B requires rational, expert and lengthy content due to the nature of industry procurement. This should offer value and be of benefit to the reader. Unsurprisingly, it lends itself to the professional network LinkedIn, with an average post receiving 25.7 shares compared to a mere 9.8 for it’s B2C counterpart. However, Facebook cannot and should not be overlooked for B2B content marketers. While often shares do not live up to that of B2C, the data suggests that Facebook had surpassed Google in driving traffic to all websites, and a quarter of all traffic across the web.
As far as headlines are concerned, the study concluded that B2B marketers should be willing to think outside the box and sway away from producing stock-style titles like lists or dos and don’ts. While these can provide value, a B2B audience is likely to read the content, so you will benefit from offering something fresh and different that stands out from the crowd.
Distribution of B2C Content
On the other end of the spectrum, B2C content should be inspirational, emotional and primarily entertaining. Facebook is the winner for distribution of this style, with the average post gaining 85.58 shares. B2C content should be crafted with Facebook distribution in mind, as a considerable proportion of your referrals will come direct from there if done correctly. Another network that was successful for B2C, but comparatively bad for B2B, is Pinterest. B2C content receives an average of 4.97 shares through the network.
B2C content style should always remain primarily entertaining in order to get results from distribution, and titles should be clearly purposed to develop intrigue. One of the most popular title phrasings, according to this data, is “make you laugh”, “# pictures that” and “# signs you’re”.
Whether B2C or B2B, your content marketing strategy will seriously benefit from a careful and considered approach to distribution down social networks. Invest in it, and you will see the results. If you need any help with your content or content marketing strategy, get in contact today.
Edited by Olivia Newman – 2/08/19.
