In today’s age of rapid content consumption—and rapid content creation—not all videos have to be award-winning productions to be successful. Depending on your audience, sometimes quick and easy is all you need.
In the B2B space, vlog posts allow companies to showcase the expertise of their subject matter experts, communicate with their audience at a more intimate level and share content in a format that’s more interesting to consume—making it a popular medium both on desktops and devices. Creating a successful vlog doesn’t happen without effort, however. Here, we offer a few tips to get it right.
Blogs establish credibility, get your name out there and remain excellent search engine fodder. The only trouble? Finding a steady stream of content to publish.
When it comes to content marketing, a calendar is essential—but how often should you stick to it, and when should you stray?
If your content marketing efforts are falling short of your goals, don’t head back to the drawing board just yet. Chances are a simple tweak may, in fact, be all you need.
The next time you have a free moment, take your latest piece of written content and cover up your company name. Without it, can you still tell that the material is written about your company? Or could it apply to any one of your competitors?
Information becomes content when it adds value to the customer experience. The best way to do this? Show – don’t tell. As a leader in your field, the best way to create valuable content is to showcase your talents, proprietary knowledge or expertise. Here are a few ways to do that:
1) Offer insight
Sure, that report laden with raw data makes sense to you, but chances are it’s just a bunch of numbers to your clients. Offering context, and explaining why the data is important to your clients’ business, is a great way to illustrate the value of your expertise.
2) Boil it down
Sometimes the most valuable content is that which breaks down a complicated topic into laymen’s terms. We’re not talking about “dumbing it down” – we’re talking about writing for your audience. Not only does this help your clients better understand the topic at hand, but it shows that you’re approachable and you know what you’re talking about.
3) Pick a side
If you have an opinion about an industry-related topic, don’t be afraid to share it with your audience. The most share-worthy content is that which evokes some sort of emotion. If clients (or potential clients) agree with you, they’ll appreciate an article that articulates their thoughts. If they disagree, they might be motivated to leave a comment and start a discussion. Basically, as long as your opinion is factually based, you really can’t lose.
Want to learn more content-generating tips? Download our free report, Feeding the Content Beast.
When it comes to generating new content, many businesses tend to reinvent the wheel rather than work with what they already have. Chances are, if you’ve been writing content for a while, your next blog post is already written. Here are a few places you can find it:
1. Old content
The best place to find new content is by reading through content you’ve already written. Particularly popular posts are a good place to start. Try exploring a different angle or updating outdated information.
2. Larger materials
A whitepaper doesn’t only have one purpose. Break it down into smaller chunks, pull out some interesting statistics, grab a quote or two and you have enough blog posts, newsletter articles, tweets and Facebook updates to last you for a while. An added bonus? All that material can link back to the original whitepaper.
3. The stockpile
If you have time to sit down to write a blog post, try to write a second one with a longer shelf life. Building a content reserve can come in handy – and save you when you just can’t find a decent story idea. If you’re not that organized, however, the comments of previous blog posts are also a great place to find ideas.
Want to find out more? Download our free report, Feeding the Content Beast.