10 Content Marketing Hacks to Improve and Elevate Your Digital Marketing Strategy

What if your content marketing strategy could run circles around your competitors?

By now, every business worth it's salt has created a digital marketing strategy. Unfortunately, most businesses are using the same playbook in a failing attempt to become an industry leader.

You don't have to stick with that playbook, though. You can actually throw it away and start the kind of digital marketing strategy that others have only dreamed of.

Want to know how to get started? Here are the content marketing hacks your business has been waiting for.

1. Demographics and Analytics

Your marketing likely revolves around key demographics and customer segments. There's just one problem: your info might already be old and out of date.

For example, it used to be a surefire strategy to market to millennials via Facebook. Now, though, the leading social media platform has lost over 11 million millennials in recent years.

This demographic didn't stop using social media, however. Instead, they flocked to services such as Instagram and Twitter instead.

Such information is important because you most likely need to do an audit of your core demographic. Use analytical tools to study demographic behavior on multiple channels, then leverage those insights into your marketing, products, and services.

This won't be quick nor easy. But it's the best way to ensure you are putting the right marketing in front of the right people.

2. Cutting-Edge SEO

SEO is at the heart of most content marketing strategies. After all, without solid SEO marketing, most customers would never discover your content, to begin with.

Sadly, SEO is a bit like demographic information: your company is likely to be behind the times. Let's begin with your chosen keywords.

It's easy to see SEO as a bidding war between a handful of high-profile keywords. But the smart play is to hire an SEO expert who can take advantage of longtail keywords that lead to improved customer conversion.

Such an expert can also keep your company in line with recent changes in technology. For example, if you're still using HTTP pages instead of HTTPS, your SEO has been suffering because Google thinks plain old HTTP is a security risk.

It's time to change up your SEO strategies. You might be surprised who ends up discovering your content!

3. The Visual Marketing Revolution

As you know, a stopped clock is still right twice a day. And bad marketing advice may still be accurate when you examine it from the right angle.

Facebook landed themselves in some hot water when they published erroneous statistics about how much their users loved video content. This caused the infamous "pivot to video" in which countless publishers ditched much of their traditional writing in favor of video-based content.

As it turns out, Facebook's suggested "pivot to video" was a really big lie. But in the right context, it's true that users love video as part of an organic content marketing campaign.

Instructional "how-to" videos make great additions to your website and social media accounts, for example. And videos of live events (such as product launches and premier parties) help to bring your company to life in the eyes of consumers.

Video and text should work alongside each other when it comes to content marketing. As always, a good balance of content is the key.

4. Mobile Content Focus

How do you think that customers are actually finding your content? The safest bet is "via a mobile device."

The majority of online users now surf using mobile devices. Nonetheless, countless businesses still have content and websites that are optimized for desktop rather than mobile.

In terms of your professional websites, you need to switch all of them to responsive design right away. That ensures that everything looks right regardless of how the user is browsing.

In terms of content, you need to seriously consider something optimized for smartphones and other mobile devices. This can range from an engaging SMS campaign to creating a custom app.

With a serious mobile focus, you can create more captivating content than ever before. 

5. User-Generated Content

Sometimes, modern digital marketing strategies involve putting a new spin on an old trick. For example, the classic notion of a brand ambassador.

In the past, promotional items such as cups, Koozies, and t-shirts were powerful marketing tools. That's because they cost little to create and encouraged satisfied customers to start conversations about your business.

Now, the best way to do this is to focus on user-generated content online. And the easiest way to get started is via your existing social media accounts.

Consider making a post each week challenging users to come up with funny memes related to your company. You can also turn it into a contest, with the winner of the month's best meme getting a small prize from your company.

While there is always the risk of negative user-generated content, you can always police the content on your own social media accounts. And it's worth that risk to leverage the power of your most passionate customers into modern-day brand ambassadorship. 

6. Social Media Push

Speaking of social media, you need to make this a major part of your digital content marketing strategy.

With any luck, you already have a few social media accounts. Your goal, then, is to post smarter and not simply post harder.

For example, automation software can help you schedule posts and tweets in advance. You can then make sure posts come out when your key demographic is awake and likely to be browsing.

That same software can help you share content across multiple platforms as well. When you've got a sizzling new article, you can share it with followers across multiple platforms with the press of a button.

Don't be afraid to share helpful content from others as well. This builds your online clout and may plant the seeds for future partnerships and online collaborations. And working with someone who understands modern digital culture can give you the edge you need.

7. E-Mail Marketing: Return of the King

By now, you've probably figured out the secret to good digital marketing. When it comes to content, everything old is new again. The trick is just finding a new way to take advantage of strategies such as e-mail marketing.

Why is e-mail marketing important again? The simplest answer is that more people use e-mail every year. Half the planet already uses e-mail, and recent research suggests we'll have 4.2 billion users by the time 2022 is over.

In order to reach these customers, you'll have to develop a few new e-mail marketing tricks. For example, encourage people via social media to sign up for your mailing list. Offer them a good incentive for doing so, like a free e-book that is relevant to their needs.

Additionally, you should use e-mail software to add a personal touch to the messages you send. Such personalization takes very little time, but it helps make each e-mail that much more persuasive.

8. Influencer Alliance

One way or another, you probably have strong opinions about online influencers. Here's the honest truth, though: you're going to need their help to really take your content marketing to the next level.

The good news is that you aren't going to be hiring expensive celebrities to market your brand. In fact, the best influencers are usually surprisingly affordable. The bad news is that you need to find out which influencers your demographic cares about first.

Once you have some names, reach out to them and ask if they'd be willing to promote your products. If so, you need to find out whether they would do it in exchange for free products or if they want some kind of fee.

Ultimately, this strategy plays a huge part in additional users discovering your content. We don't call them "influencers" for nothing!

9. Tired? Recycling. Wired? Upcycling

One classic content marketing technique involves recycling your older content. While that may get you the results you need, it's far better to consider upcycling that content instead.

What is "upcycling", exactly? This refers to taking old content and creating something genuinely new. For example, you can take an old instructional blog and turn that content into a demonstration video.

You may also consider any technique that makes information visible. For example, condensing that dense presentation into a colorful and compact infographic.

The goal here is to do more than generate additional content with very little effort. Your ultimate goal should be to transform yesterday's solid content into something relevant for the users of tomorrow.

10. Landing Page Innovation

Our final advice for your content marketing revolution is pretty simple: you need to rethink the landing page for your website.

On the content end, it's important that you are directing users to your landing page whenever possible. After all, while a social media post or video may be engaging, it is your website that helps seal the sale.

Unfortunately, many landing pages are slow and cluttered. You'll want to make sure your page loads quickly to reduce the bounce rate and is easy for users to navigate.

Make sure your landing page has a CTA, just like your other content. While the CTA usually goes at the end, you should consider an "above the fold" CTA for a really short landing page.

Your Digital Marketing Strategy Redefined

Now you know how to revamp your digital marketing strategy. But do you know who can polish your content marketing until it shines?

We specialize in helping companies of any size reach their full potential. To see how we can help you triumph over a crowded field of competitors, contact us today.