Content marketing is a key tool for blogs and bloggers who want to drive up their site’s “hit” rates. The more “hits” a site has, the more successful the blog. The question for bloggers is how to use the concept of content marketing to drive the success of the blog.
Do It Yourself:
Target Audience
Choosing an audience is the first part of this journey. Your audience determines the content you are producing, cause ya wanna draw their attention and keep it. “…match your goals and your content goals with searcher goals.” (Fishkin, 2017)
Ask the 5 Ws and H
Who, what, when, where, why and how are all questions to ask after choosing a target audience.
Who is the target audience?- Are they millennials? Engineers? (something that’d be funny to make a play on like a student studying mechanical engineers with a knack for creating new ice cream flavors…?)
What is the focus of the blog going to be?- The target audience has been identified, now it is time to choose the content. What is it the audience wants to read?
When will the blog be available?- A beginning blogger should post frequently and regularly. Why frequently? The more you write, the more content for readers, and the better the writing becomes. Why regularly? Posting regularly gives readers a time to know when to come back. Readers are more likely to follow a blog when they know it will be available monthly, weekly, or daily.
Where will the blog be found?- What
keywords or phrases will the audience be searching to find the content? Does it make sense that the blog shows up under these keywords and phrases?
Why is the content relevant?- The content of the blog should fit the interests of the target audience. Does the content relate to what the readers need or want to see?
How will the blog impact readers?- The blog should be written with the intention of impacting readers in one way or another. Whether it is encouraging readers to start exercising or to try out a new dessert recipe, content should be written with specific purpose.
Quality Content
This goes back to what the readers want to read. The content of the blog should be focused directly on the readers. It is important to provide clear, detailed content that interests the target audience and keeps them coming back for more.
Fishkin, R. (2017). The Perfect Blog Post Length and Publishing Frequency is B?!!$#÷x – Whiteboard Friday. Moz. Retrieved 28 August 2017, from https://moz.com/blog/blog-post-length-frequency