1. focus on the right content distribution channels
2. adjust style and tone of voice to create greater emotional connection
3. create content that helps solve actual problems your target audience has
4. zero in on customers pain points and increase conversions rates

You should also bear in mind that your target market includes people who aren’t merely using your goods or services. Because the pool is frequently considerably larger, you must also focus on influencers, who are those that your customers go to for guidance, as well as decision-makers (decision makers).

Set Realistic Goals and Plan of Action

According to the same study cited in the introduction, 73% of B2B marketers have a marketing plan, and 40% of them have a written version of it.

I contend that this study actually demonstrates the fact that just 40% of marketers genuinely have a marketing strategy. Because it is often too intricate to just sit in one person’s head, there is little responsibility if it is not put in writing.

Setting up attainable marketing objectives and analytics is difficult. You’re going to underestimate while you’re doing it for the first time. very likely by a significant margin.

Get your hands dirty, is the advise I provide.

Watch first with whom you are making comparisons. Compared to industry leaders, you most certainly have a significantly smaller marketing budget. Instead of immediately engaging them in conflict, try to outperform businesses that are just one or two levels above your weight group.

Second, make sure to list the steps you must take to accomplish your objectives. It’s a good goal to increase organic traffic by 50% in 12 months. Don’t stop there, though. Take it apart. Define the number of content pieces you must publish and the number of backlinks you must create to reach your goal.

You will already be one step ahead of most content marketers if you do that for all of your goals.

Master the Basics

I like to think of content marketing as the use of material to increase traffic, leads, and sales while fostering awareness and trust. In most cases, in that order.

When you approach it that way, you will see that the only way to succeed is to grasp the fundamentals of:

• content strategy (target audience research, keyword research)
• creating content (selecting the right content type, consistently producing well-structured content with actionable advice)
• content improvement (on-page seo)
• distribution and promotion of content (off-page SEO, PPC, influencer outreach, social media marketing)

Any company that isn’t large enough to have an internal marketing team faces a challenging issue. Even if you outsource it, it still pays to be knowledgeable about the fundamentals to make sure the company you are working with is making the most use of your money.

Content Marketing Best Practices in 2023

With solid foundations in place, it’s time to investigate the best content marketing strategies you should start using in your company in 2023.

1. Create Keyword-Based Content Strategies

Having a clear, keyword-based content plan is, in my personal experience, one of the most common mistakes firms make. They believe that producing good material alone is sufficient. Sadly, this situation does not apply to “if you build it, they will come.”

You need a content strategy built on in-depth keyword analysis if you want to expand by turning organic traffic into leads and customers.

Even in industrial B2B niches, where we have a few clients, the rivalry is escalating significantly. Throwing content at a wall and hoping that something sticks hasn’t always worked, and it’s not going to work in 2023 either.

2. Find Ways to Provide Additional Value with Your Content

Brands are becoming more and more aware of the need of high-quality content. Find innovative ways to provide value by making your material easier to use and more easy to consume if you want to fight for the top spots in SERPs for competitive keywords.

That can actually mean a variety of things, including:

• Making sure that long form pieces are logically structured and come with an easy to use content table.
• That broad and general advice gives place to actionable tips and relevant real-life examples.
• Supporting complex concepts with custom animations or (info)graphics that include steps, diagrams, and other visual representations that increase the understanding of the topic.
• Reaching out to experts in the field and sharing their thoughts on specific issues.
• Adding polls, quizzes, and calculators to make content more interactive.

3. Be Consistent

Marketing with high-quality content is similar to working for a fitness objective. Consistency is the essential component.

• produce and publish content consistently
• have a minimum level of quality every content piece should satisfy before it goes live
• try to keep a consistent style and tone of voice across all channels
• have a set of visual brand guidelines to create a recognizable visual style

4. Build What You Can, Outsource What You Can’t

It’s challenging to increase content output while maintaining quality. I suggest contacting a content marketing service for assistance if your company lacks a dedicated marketing staff.

However, that does not imply that you should turn over all of your accountability to a company. It also doesn’t imply that you should provide them complete control.

For instance, we collaborate with a few companies that employ exceptional content writers that are experts in their field. In this situation, we operate as editors and create briefs for the content, review outlines, add custom visuals, and ensure that the content complies with best on-page SEO techniques.

Up other words, those companies rely on us to fill in any gaps in their marketing expertise and knowledge.

Maintaining some level of involvement is also necessary to ensure that the material is consistent with your brand’s voice and tone, as well as to coordinate any concurrent lead generating and other promotional efforts.

5) Leverage Your Analytics

Only companies using a systematic approach to content marketing will see a significant return on investment as more firms vie for customers’ attention.

We recently spoke with a marginally well-known interior design brand. Since the majority of that traffic is brought in by material targeted at the awareness phase, they have over 500k monthly organic visitors but only moderately high conversion rates.

The majority of their spending was intended to be used to create links to pages that are already performing well. Although that would probably be alright, it was more cost-effective to divide the budget into three pieces.

To continue boosting pages that are currently producing leads, employ the first portion. The second component would be used to boost the website’s overall conversion rates.

6) Be Transparent and Authentic

Consumers rate authenticity as vital when choosing which brands to enjoy and support at a rate of 9 out of 10.

People are tired of the uneasy sensation of being misled and taught what to think in a time when every business message is intended to sell something and every social media post is carefully thought out. They want for openness and sincerity.

One of the factors contributing to Joe Rogan’s podcasts’ enormous success is this.

Find issues that are important to you if you wish to support and discuss them. Be truthful about the goods and services you provide and what you have to offer.

Last but not least, try to have some fun with the content you’re writing when the context permits it. Make an effort to improve the Internet as a whole.