If you have a website, you most certainly have content. Very few people find your content by accident. If nobody knows about your excellent video, case study or post, it might as well not exist.
In order for your content to get noticed, you need to show it to the right people. To a perfect audience which will see value in it and become your advocate or customer. All you need is to find these people and get them interested in what you have to say.
You already talk to your future fans through social channels like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, newsletters, blog, etc. Elsewhere you get traffic from links, reviews, and recommendations you earned. You can also pay for the privilege to be where your potential clients are and catch their interest by putting your best content forward.
In this post I am going to talk about paid advertising - just one part of a more comprehensive and coordinated content marketing strategy.
Where To Start With Paid Media Content Marketing
Start with your overall content strategy and promotion. Make sure that your content promotion on paid media fits the overall content promotion strategy and integrates with other campaigns you are running. Review what you are trying to accomplish with your content strategy and identify promotion opportunities paid media can help with.
Make your paid promotion strategy complement and help main content marketing strategy. Do not get distracted by the latest fad or shiny new channel. Stick to the main plan.
Paid advertising is good for content discovery and brand awareness. If you have a need to generate new visitors, new subscribers, new advocates, paid content marketing is for you. It could include old style radio and television ads as well as online marketing, like promoted tweets and Facebook posts, or retargeting.
Remember, paid media helps you get in front of a large audience with your content. It is a great way to introduce your brand to more people, collect leads through subscriptions for further development, or test your content and audience interest.
Decide what to measure and define your KPIs. Every business will have different metrics based on the strategy, but it is important to know how your promotion is doing based on concrete data. For example, if you are trying to generate brand awareness, you might measure time on site and pageviews. If you are trying to get more leads, number of new subscribers or content shares on social networks would be a meaningful metric. You can also measure cost per lead or cost per converted customer.
Know and understand your audience. Regardless of the budget, a solid strategy can be extremely beneficial if you take into consideration who you are targeting, their behavior and interests, optimize your campaigns and landing pages. You will be using paid media to bring qualified visitors to your website, blog, or mobile app. You will know what you are trying to accomplish, how you are going to reach your goal, and what kind of internet users you want to reach.
Lessons from marketing on other channels can provide insights into what your audience is interested in and what content they respond to. Use this information along with Analytics to craft your customer profile. Incorporate demographic analysis, geographical information, interests, emotions, and behavior trends.
Paid Media Channels
Once you know where your target audience is, you can pick specific channels to try. Weather it is targeted ads, social media, or any other paid media channel, they have to follow paid media promotion strategy and overall plan. Learn about the rules of each channel to fit in. Utilize emotions your audience responds to in your ads and content. Integrate paid media into content promotion campaigns that are already running. Always look for opportunities to add value to existing campaigns by giving them more exposure through paid advertising.
One of the most successful paid channels is social media. Make paid promotion a part of your social media strategy. Define your paid social media goals and strategy, your audience, and the message. Most importantly, define content that fits the channel - any promotion channel. Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, StumbleUpon, Reddit, or Buzzfeed are different from each other and require understanding of how people behave and interact on each network.
Content Promotion Networks
Try content promotion networks, like Outbrain, to spread your stories throughout the web. Use this as an opportunity to feature a relevant article on prominent news websites. Blog posts and videos are usually the most successful types of content. It is an excellent way to expand your fan base and acquire some devoted readers.
Examples of content promotion networks:
Content retargeting is an effective way to bring people back to your website by offering them more content. If they already liked what you had to say once, it is very likely they would want to listen again. Sometimes all it takes is a reminder to turn a passer-by into a loyal advocate.
Examples of retargeting networks:
- Google Remarketing with AdWords
- Facebook with AdRoll
- Resonance
Engaging ad copy and optimized landing page are the final steps in the process. Landing page should give visitors what you promised in the ad and lead them to the next logical step - conversion. It is what separates the promise of the ad and the satisfaction of getting what a visitor wants. Therefore, the landing page needs to have a compelling call-to-action, devoid of clutter, and visually attractive.
Lessons learned
Incorporate the lessons you learned back into your content. Create more content that generates most customer interactions and promote it on other channels. Include links to other interesting content on your website that is relevant to your visitors.
Paid advertising is just one channel of a more comprehensive and coordinated content marketing strategy. The key to success is knowing your audience, what they respond to - in the context of rules of engagement of that paid channel. Don't forget to set KPIs from the start, measure success, adjust campaigns or channels or message to increase engagement.
Question: Which paid media channel did you find the most beneficial for your business? Do you have other recommendations or tips on how to start paid content marketing?
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