Content made simple
Gone are the days when advertising was the privilege of big brands with deep pockets and small businesses struggled to stand out… The world is a different place, marketing has gone digital, and now more than ever consumers are online using social media to find information. This means even the smallest companies now have the same opportunity to advertise (and for a fraction of the price!)
It’s not enough for companies to simply have an online presence however. Businesses have access to their target audience, literally at their fingertips, but without a strong marketing strategy, they cannot utilise this.
At ELE, we know the importance of good, strong content. It’s all well and good throwing up a couple of social posts and hoping for the best but to truly make the most of the new online world, you must engage your audience, stand out with thought provoking content, provide straightforward call to actions and back this all up with clear messaging. All of this makes content critical to the success of any marketing strategy.
So some of you may be wondering, what do we mean by content? Put simply, content can be anything and everything! Written blogs, visual carousels, videos, infographics. The possibilities are endless!
The most important note to remember about content is that this is how you will attract, engage, and convert prospective clients into loyal customers. In today’s world, trust goes a long way. If you can position your brand as a voice of authority, providing credible, knowledgeable information on topics you know will interest your target audience then you’re winning the game. Free, useful info = trust and lasting relationships.
So that’s content, but what is evergreen content?
Content that remains relevant over time is what we call evergreen. Examples of evergreen content are topics such as how to lose weight, how to fix a leaking tap, or in our case, how to create effective web copy. They are unconnected to current news or one-off events such as sports results, reality TV show winners, or the release of a new film. But they are things that are consistently sought out.
Part of your marketing strategy should include market research. Knowing the topics that your target audience are likely to search for, provides a good basis for creating evergreen content. A real advantage of having evergreen content is making life simpler. Every piece of content does not need to be unique, thought provoking or out of the box.
As we said before, content can come in many forms; blogs, videos, social media posts, emails, case studies and infographics are among the many different types, and can all be included in an evergreen content strategy. Another bonus is that evergreen content ideas don’t need to be limited to one type of content. Recycle, reuse, repurpose. To really maximise your reach, a blog can be repurposed into an email campaign. An email campaign can be reused in a social media post. A social media post can one day be an infographic and the next be recycled into a video.
This all sounds amazing, but how do I go about building a bank of evergreen?
There’s no doubt that having a bank of evergreen content adds value to your strategy. It means you don’t need to constantly think up new and exciting things to talk about. So without further ado, here are our top ten tips on creating evergreen content:
- Do your research. Evergreen content relies on SEO to maintain its relevance, so the first step is to undertake some thorough keyword research. This will help you to identify the key search words that’ll help to drive traffic to your website or social media pages! High search results on Google = relevance.
- Think about relevance. Avoid date or time-sensitive issues. Consider the entire piece of content (including headings, images and references) to make sure there is nothing in there that can potentially date the information and dilute its value over time.
- See what your competition is doing. Monitor the market to see which evergreen articles are currently ranking and how they’ve trended over time. True evergreen content shouldn’t show a declining trend! Take advantage of this by consistently promoting your evergreen content to maintain visibility.
- Understand your audience. It sounds obvious, but it’s important to understand the audience the evergreen content is for. Think about challenges they face and what’s important to them. This will help you choose topics to focus on that they will consistently search for.
- Planning is key. The only way to ensure your evergreen content is effective and delivers the expected results is to build a plan. What are you going to talk about? How will you keep on top of your content? How will you ensure you don’t miss opportunities for engagement? Keeping your finger on the pulse will give you an insight into the questions your audience has and the opportunity to provide them with the answer.
- Show off your expertise. Case studies are a great way to position you as an expert by telling a story about how you’ve delivered in the past. They also provide the opportunity to showcase customers and demonstrate the positive relationships you have with other clients to boost your authenticity.
- Think about your priorities. Juggling a lot of balls can sometimes lead to content taking a back seat. Having additional resources can increase your capacity when time is tight and allow you to keep your content plans on track. Engaging a professional copywriter to create well written and presented content on your behalf will allow you to ensure the evergreen content is posted when you want whilst leaving you to concentrate on core business activities. After all, we know you’re busy. Time spent writing content is time you could be dedicating to clients!
- Refresh existing evergreen content. Harking back to relevance, it also makes sense to repeat the process every few months. Conducting some new research, updating info, checking weblinks and introducing new elements can keep your evergreen fresh and high on the rankings.
- Don’t be a one trick pony. The digital world is always evolving so it’s important to consider new communication channels or platforms that were maybe not in place when your evergreen was originally created. Be mindful of opportunities other media forms can offer!
- And finally. Creating in-depth guides and tutorials is great for answering common questions or problems your audience may have. Using step-by-step explanations will also allow you to capture traffic searching for information on all parts of the process. This type of content is a great way to position you as an expert and generate brand equity.
Contact ELE to get started!
Ready to take the next step on your evergreen journey? Drop us a line today.
