by Francois Muscat | Feb 14, 2018 | Content Marketing
Short blogs have their place and time in any content marketing strategy. But, there is definitely something to be said about long-form content. These pieces are often very engaging and can go a long way to helping a reader progress on their buyer’s journey.
-
Challenges
- Not everyone writes as well as a professional copywriter or journalist and these pieces take skill and time.
- Another challenge is the fact that people have short attention spans – if you are boring them with drawn-out copy, they can easily click away from your article.
-
Why Long-Form Content Should Be Included
There are many reasons why long-form content should be part of your content marketing strategy:
- From an SEO perspective, Google considers long-form content authoritative. However, this doesn’t mean you can waffle on with poorly formulated content and expect to claim a top position in search results.
- To get started, consider a few topics that would serve as educational content for your target audience. Ideally, this should be a topic that requires detailed explanations and can’t really be covered in a shorter blog post.
- To ensure that your long-form content isn’t overwhelming, break it down into shorter pieces with sub-headings. Also consider visual aids, bullet points and infographics to help break up the longer paragraphs.
People are inclined to share long-form content because it can provide value to their online networks. It also shows their friends and followers that they follow authoritative sources. If you need help with your content marketing strategy, then contact WSI OMS today.
by Francois Muscat | Jan 24, 2018 | Content Marketing
Content marketing doesn’t have to refer only to blogs. In fact, great content marketers know that their digital marketing strategy becomes a lot more powerful if they plan to create and utilise a broad array of quality content – from blogs to infographics and, of course, videos. If you are new to crafting epic video content that your audience can’t get enough of, we have some helpful advice to share…
Get to the Point
You need to give your audience a reason to watch your video from start to finish. In order to do that, make sure that you begin your video with the subject and message that you wish to address, and you can embellish it from there.
Be Mindful of the 8 Second Rule
The average time that it takes for a person to skip past a video on Youtube is 8 seconds. So keep this in mind before hitting record!
Find Creative Ways in Which to Draw Attention to Your Brand
You definitely don’t want your videos to be overly promotional – but you do want to weave in your logo in one way or another. Do it subtly by integrating it as a watermark here and there, getting someone in the video to wear it, or perhaps going the old-fashioned route and displaying it in the corner of the screen.
Do Competitor Research
Ultimately, you want your videos to be original… but you also want them to be better than those of your competitors! So do some research and find out how long your competitors’ videos are, what’s working for them, and what’s not. You’ll gain plenty of insight into what may be the right approach for your content creation going forward.
For helpful assistance when it comes to content marketing in South Africa, get in touch with a digital marketing company, WSI OMS. We look forward to helping you dominate the online world!
by Marianna Muscat | Jan 23, 2018 | Content Marketing
If you are to successfully make a name for your brand in the world of content marketing, there are 5 essential skills that you simply cannot do without. We take a closer look at each one of them below.
Ultimately, it doesn’t matter how epic your social media marketing skills are, they won’t really amount to much if you don’t have epic content to promote on the platforms! It, therefore, comes as no surprise that the most essential skill within a content marketing team is that of quality content creation.
Strategy Development
Once you have created some epic content, you will need to be able to strategize in terms of the best way to get it out there, ensuring that it reaches the right people at the right time. Someone who specialises in digital marketing strategy is thus integral to the success of your campaigns.
Editing
Even if you have a great story to tell through your content, if it is full of spelling and grammatical elements, it won’t be taken seriously. In fact, mistakes such as these can lead to potential customers doubting the quality of your brand and the products/services that you have to offer.
Targeted social media posts can help to boost a brand’s content marketing efforts. You will, therefore, need a social media savvy person on your team – someone who will also have what it takes to handle all of your community management and deal directly with your followers’ questions and comments.
A quirky emailer is an easy way in which to draw attention to some of your best pieces of content. Having someone on your team who has experience when it comes to using email marketing tools is, therefore, a massive bonus.
If you would like to gain access to an already existing team of content marketing experts, call on the digital marketing gurus at WSI OMS. Contact us today to learn how we can help you.
by Marianna Muscat | Jan 9, 2018 | Content Marketing
Ultimately, if your content marketing efforts do not lead to interest and engagement from your audience, they are unlikely to do your overall digital marketing strategy any favours. Here are our top tips for ensuring success and crafting content guaranteed to fascinate your audience every single time:
-
Facts Are Everything
Your audience is sure to react more strongly to content that presents them with facts and real data, as opposed to opinion-based posts. Research has also shown that content which contains visuals that appear scientific (such as pie charts, for example) garner a much greater response from readers.
-
Throw in Some Quotes
It’s incredible how simply adding a quote to your content can make you seem like an instant authority in whatever it is that you are writing about. For best results, place the quote at the beginning of the content rather than hidden away somewhere in the middle.
-
Tell Stories
Everyone loves a great story – they’re easy to relate to and keep you in suspense, especially if the story is a real-life story. Keep your readers engaged by injecting stories into your content, as opposed to simply making your point outright.
-
Break Up the Content
Massive paragraphs of content can overwhelm readers, resulting in them skipping past and doing something else online instead. Break up your content with the help of sub-headings and you’re sure to keep them interested, boosting the chances of them sticking around to read the entire piece from start to finish.
Want to know more about content marketing and on how to impress your target market? Call on the online marketing professionals at WSI OMS. Contact us today for information regarding our vast range of services from website design to social media marketing and everything in between.
by Marianna Muscat | Dec 20, 2017 | Content Marketing
If content marketing is already helping to enhance your digital marketing strategy, the chances are good that you are looking for new ways in which to boost your efforts even further. Here is a list of the top 4 online tools that are sure to help you obtain even greater levels of success going forward.
-
Answer the Public
This website allows you to find out exactly the types of questions and keywords that people are typing into Google that relate to your business and its products/services. This insight is sure to provide you with inspiration in terms of new content ideas guaranteed to get your readers’ attention.
-
MozBar
MozBar is an intelligent toolbar that provides you with in-depth metrics, including that of Domain Authority. These metrics will make it easier for you to find the best websites on which to publish your content, therefore increasing your SEO value and, as a result, enhancing your reach.
-
Wordcounter
Using the same words or phrases over and over again can really turn the experience of reading a piece of content into a chore! Luckily, Wordcounter provides you with a list of your most frequently used words and expressions, thus helping you to keep things fresh and interesting!
-
Grammarly
Use this amazing tool to check the spelling and grammar of your content before publishing. It can even be used when posting onto social media marketing platforms, such as Twitter!
Still looking for inspiration when it comes to taking your content marketing efforts to the next level? It’s time to get in touch with the team at WSI OMS! We are a leading digital marketing company with a focus on helping our clients build and maintain a positive reputation online. Call us today for more information about our wide range of services.
by Marianna Muscat | Dec 12, 2017 | Content Marketing
Content marketing is often referred to as an art – an art that takes a lot of trial-and-error to get right. What works for one company may not generate the same results for another. However, having said that, there are a few common challenges that almost all content marketers will be faced with at some point or another. Below, we take an in-depth look at these challenges, as well as provide advice on how to overcome them.
-
Keeping Content Fresh and Interesting
After a couple of months of writing content for your brand, it can prove tough to come up with fresh, new ideas and approaches to successfully engage with your audience. The solution to this challenge is to look for a new perspective. Instead of only involving your content team in the brainstorming sessions, get the entire office involved. Or, better yet, reach out to your audience itself and use your content marketing efforts to start telling real customer stories.
-
Successfully Inspiring the Audience
Have you been noticing a decline in audience engagement? The reason for this is likely that you have been focusing too much on product-oriented content and social media marketing strategies. Instead, start focusing more on your audience, what they want to read, as well as any problems that they may be experiencing – and provide them with a solution! As already mentioned, telling real customer stories is also a great way in which to inspire and motivate your audience to take notice of your brand.
Do you simply not have a large enough team or the right in-house resources to produce the level of content that you feel your business deserves? The best solution to this problem is to start outsourcing your content requirements to an online marketing agency. An agency will have the experience and industry know-how necessary to generate the results that you are hoping for.
Here at WSI OMS, we are a reputable digital marketing company specialising in everything from content marketing to SEO, web design and everything in between. Contact us today for more information about our range of services.
