Content marketing is one of the key methods of marketing on the Internet. The essence of content marketing is posting information, images or video about products and services in a variety of locations on the Internet to draw search engine and human interest to your website. The ultimate goal is that a percentage of this interest will generate conversions to sales.
Internet marketing strategies are built on the concept of numbers. In order to get one sale, numerous people need to see your marketing effort, click on your links and go to your landing page to buy a product or a service. From that group of people, one or more will buy.
Content marketing uses assorted platforms to distribute content in order to funnel people to your landing page. Companies of all sizes use content marketing providers to create this content for their marketing campaigns. This list of companies includes well-known corporations such as Pepsi and tiny mom and pop entrepreneurs.
It is easy to get caught up in the content marketing game. New social media websites pop up frequently. Besides putting content on your own website, auxiliary websites and Facebook, you can add image content to Instagram, Pinterest and Flickr, and video content to YouTube, Vines and Tumblr. The list of sites to add content to is endless. People tend to flock to the newest site in droves. Once the site is hot, you may feel obligated to post content there.
The truth is that posting content to every new site is a bad idea. No one has an unlimited budget for content marketing nor do they have unlimited time to post. A better idea is to stick to a planned marketing strategy and limit your content marketing to three or four sites. By overextending your content marketing, you lose the impact that a focused marketing strategy provides.
Reexamine Your Plan
It is a best practice to review your content marketing plan every six months to a year. At that time, you can consider new websites and alter your overall plan. If your current plan is successful, there is no reason to jump ship and move to the newest site. If it is not successful, figure out why. The most important factor to remember is that your marketing should be resulting in sales conversions.
Considering a New Site
When considering a new site to place content, there are a few questions to ask.
- How old is the site?
- Who are the members?
- Does this site connect with my target audience?
- Does my content fit in here?
- Will this company be in business long enough to disseminate my content?
- Is the site staying within legal bounds?
- How well is my intellectual property protected on this site?
Remember that some sites are not trustworthy or stable financial entities.
Your Own Website
The most important place to include content marketing is on your own website. By adding compelling content, customers will go to your website to find what they seek. By linking your information, images and videos to product sales pages, you will drive traffic within the pages of your site to convert to sales. By meeting the needs of your customers through your website content, you will drive sales conversions.
Paula A is a freelance writer who has been writing on the Internet since 2008. When she is not writing, Paula creates and maintains websites, searches for handmade art treasures and nibbles on chocolate to keep herself motivated.
