Most content marketers are storytellers at heart; they get into the field because they see stories' value. Everything that contributes to marketing—from keyword research to PPC ads management—has similarities to the creative writing process. However, telling stories in marketing is not an end but a means; a brand's story should help it grow. Growth is intimidating, and it often involves changes and discomfort. A marketer who wants to embrace growth will also have to change the story their brand tells. Before embarking on new campaigns or telling new stories, note your brand's performance in these areas to see whether it is on the right track.
One of the most basic indicators of your content's success is your pages' performance in search engine results rankings. Google rankings are a great indicator of success. If your content quickly climbs page rankings, you know that it is resonating with many people. Google's standards are demanding, and only the best make it to the front page, so if your pages are seeing a boost, you know that people are finding your posts valuable.
You are maximizing your growth if your posts consistently bring in traffic from around the internet. If they're coming from one source, you might not have optimized the posts for platforms where you have a presence. For example, if your content brings in readers from Facebook but not Instagram, you probably do what you need to for people to notice your posts in the former platform, but not in the latter.
If you gain qualified leads from website traffic, you will naturally see more engagement. Increased engagement is another indicator that your brand is growing. For example, if people reach out to you through chat or email, are starting conversations on social media about your offerings, or otherwise indicating interest in your brand, it means you are doing something right.
Blogs, videos, and posts are examples of inbound marketing, and these materials are supposed to get people interested enough so they will want to talk to you and learn more about your products. You're growing the way you should if people are voluntarily reaching out.
If you hear nothing but crickets, though, you must reconsider. Examine your marketing funnel, identify points that might be filtering people out, or check your analytics to see which topics cause people to leave early. It might be possible that the story you're telling is inconsistent with your actions. For example, if you emphasize your reliability as a company, but your website is slow to load, people might not believe what you say.
There is no better metric for your marketing success than conversions and direct purchases from your posts. If your conversations with prospects or your landing pages are getting people to fork over their hard-earned money, you are undoubtedly doing something right! In this case, you could do two things. You can give people more of what is working, or you can test new content types and see if they'll like that too.
The number one thing you need to gain more subscribers, purchases, or clients from your content is consistency. If you regularly release high-quality content, you will be more likely to fulfill users' needs and capture their interest.
Note that your content needs to be both regular and high-quality. You cannot have growth if you sacrifice either quality or punctuality. On the one hand, if you release posts only when you feel like it, users will not know when to expect your work. As a result, they will not view you as a go-to for answers. On the other hand, if you churn out low-quality work, they will choose other sources to get better information.
Besides consistency, your content also needs to fit into the larger frame of your inbound marketing strategy. If you produce blog posts that do not link to your products or services, you're creating more work for fewer returns. Ensure that the interest you generate from your videos or posts has somewhere concrete to go; this is why calls-to-action or CTAs are a necessary part of marketing.
Have at least one CTA in everything you publish; just a single paragraph that ties in with your video or blog topic is enough. Writing CTAs well, however, takes some practice. If you want to maximize your traffic, you should hire agencies that provide SEO writing services to do this for you.
Finally, you need to engage with people about your content. Enhance the customer experience by having chatbots that can handle a large volume of conversations at all hours. Don't rely entirely on automation, however. In nearly all instances, having a human respond to questions and provide a personable face to your brand can spell the difference between a simple query and a conversion.
Virality and empty metrics mean nothing in the greater scheme of things. Just like with storytelling, you need a strong foundation for the narrative you want to create around your brand. Virality relies on wit; it is sparkly, fast, and moves a massive amount of traffic at once. However, content marketing relies on wisdom; it incorporates a brand's message and goals into articles and videos. Content that responds to audiences' most pressing concerns leads to growth in the long run.
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