4 tips to make your content more effective right now

Every marketer knows that content is King – but if your content is failing to hit the mark, or just isn’t performing as well as you thought, knowing where to go next is difficult. In this post, we’re going to share a few insider secrets for you to arm your content marketing activity with the know-how you need to create cracking content every day of the week!

1. Mix it up When you’re first working with a web designer on getting your new business website built, you’ll naturally be focused on the page, product and category descriptions, with a few blog posts thrown in for good measure. Once your new website is launched however, you have plenty of opportunity to mix things up a bit.It’s always a good idea to try lots of different content formats and keep a variety of formats on regular rotation. This keeps your content fresh and your audience engaged. Think about adding in some videos for example (always one of the most popular formats for audiences), images, infographics and listicles. 2. Test your content You’ve heard about A/B testing your email subject lines and landing pages but have you ever transferred this principle to your blog content? If not, this is a great tip and very easy to action. When you’ve spent time developing a blog post, the last thing you want is to see dwell time on page lacking or relalise that people just aren’t clicking through to read the full piece.Even if your post is performing OK, A/testing can kick it up a gear – and it’s really easy. Try different images, headlines and opening sentences to find that sweet spot which sees your visitors hungry to read more. 3. Be inspired by your industry, rivals and influences Research is a journalist’s best friend and the same should be true of your content marketing. If your pool of ideas is getting a bit stagnant or you’re struggling to think of new angles, chances are your audience might be getting a bit bored too and that means fewer click throughs, less interest and less time on page.Up that engagement factor easily by studying what’s working for others. Find a few influencers in your field and devour their content. What subjects get the most likes and shares? What are your competitors doing well? What stories, topics and issues are making news headlines? 4. Try new channels There’s no hard and fast rule that all of your content must go on your own website or existing social media channels. Don’t be afraid to mix it up by checking out other channels too. That could mean adding a new social network to your portfolio, it could be writing an exclusive piece for a prominent industry publication or partnering with a blogger. Try new channels and you’ll find new opportunities, new readers and develop new strategies to get your message heard.