Staying relevant as a content agency means keeping up-to-date on all the latest content creation and marketing techniques, especially if they’re proven to be effective. Once a tactic no longer works, you have to move on quickly so ensure that you don’t end up spinning your wheels and wasting both you and your clients’ valuable time. Luckily, following the trends by keeping tabs on popular search engine news and content marketing research can keep your agency relevant so you aren’t left trailing behind the competition. Here are some things you should be doing right now:
Local Targeting
If you’re working with clients who run a brick and mortar business or serve local customers in-person, it’s a good idea to create content that targets locally based consumers. For example, instead of simply writing about how to get stains out of vehicle carpet for a car detailing company, discuss natural products or specialized services available in the client’s local area. This technique won’t yield you millions of hits from around the world, but it will ensure that the leads your content does create are made up of those most likely to be interested in the products and services you’re ultimately promoting.
Mobile Accessibility
Google’s latest big algorithm update involved scouting out websites and content that is optimized for a mobile experience on smartphones and tablets. So in addition to making sure that the webpage your content will be posted on is easy to navigate on small screens, you need to create short, succinct paragraphs within your content so it’s easy to follow while scrolling.
Frequent subheadings help to break content down into small digestible parts so readers don’t get lost if they have to look up from their screen or tend to another task in the middle of reading your content. Short paragraphs and unique subheadings also happen to look good on larger computer screens, making it easy to streamline your content and make it accessible to a various types of Internet users.
In-Depth Pieces
While short pieces aren’t necessarily a no-no, they shouldn’t make up the bulk of the communications you create for your clients. Focusing on long form articles that provide in-depth insight, information, solutions, and reviews will help you generate more recognition for your clients’ brands and establish them as knowledgeable authority figures within their product or service niches.
When creating long form content, start with an outline that answers the traditional “who, what, when, where, why, and how” questions as this should help you better understand your target audience and how you can meet their needs more effectively. Of course you don’t want your readers having to scroll through several pages to read one article so when you find that the word count for a specific piece starts edging over the 1,500 mark, consider creating a series out of it and split the content up into a couple of different pieces before publication.
Visual Engagement
Visual aids do a good job of helping readers better understand the information that’s being presented to them. Colorful visuals that relate to your content will help to bring it to life, and even draw in those who wouldn’t normally stop and take the time to read an article they come across.
General photos that represent the idea of your content, infographics that back up statistics and obscure information, as well as animations that exaggerate aspects of the topic at hand are all effective options to consider. The bottom line is that every piece of content should accompany visual engagement whenever possible.
It’s important to keep in mind that if quality isn’t made a priority, no content marketing trends are likely to produce the results that you and your clients are looking for.
