6 Content Marketing Strategies You Can't Ignore in 2021

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One habit that isn't changing anytime soon is that most people take time to research a company, product, or service on the internet before making a purchase. In 2020, Internet users rose an additional 7.4% to 321 million daily users. Digital marketing is a necessity for companies; your website is often your first opportunity to impress potential clients. 

A well-rounded content marketing strategy will help you connect with your ideal buyer, move potential customers through a buyer's journey, and delight your clients to improve retention. 

A well-written blog article will clearly convey your message to your reader and search engines. It's important for both to understand the context of your content. By utilizing SEO best practices, you will increase your content’s opportunities to show up in search queries for different keywords relevant to your industry or niche. It takes time and money to develop high-quality content. However, it's the cornerstone of every digital marketing strategy because of all the different ways you can repurpose a long-form piece of content.

One of the quickest ways to enhance written content and greatly improve your opportunities to rank in search is to add a video. There are two ways to include written and video content together in a blog post. If you start with the video, you can add a transcript of the video's spoken words. If you start with the written content, you can add a video to provide deeper content on a topic. This may draw in visual learners who don't have the time or patience for longer blog posts.

Another great way to use video marketing is on social media. Instagram Stories, Facebook Stories, and Google web stories all offer visual opportunities to connect with potential leads in unique ways.

If you're looking to expand your audience and video isn't your preference, consider developing a podcast or recording an ebook. Podcasts are constantly growing in popularity, along with audiobooks. While audiobooks are sometimes more of an investment, they are becoming more accessible as libraries invest in Libby and Hoopla memberships.

Email marketing is a key part of a holistic content marketing strategy because it allows you to personalize and target your communication with each contact. Email is used for every aspect of a customer's buyer's journey, starting with lead generation. You can continue to engage your customers and delight them by offering insider discounts on new products or services. 

The visual learning style popularized by Neil D. Fleming is one of three distinct types. Fleming explains that visual learners need to see information to learn it. This "seeing" takes many forms from spatial awareness, photographic memory, color/tone, brightness/contrast, and other visual information. Include visual content in your content marketing such as infographics, photos, graphs, charts, slide decks, and web stories. One easy way to incorporate visual content is to have a custom image with every blog post.

As you strive to extend your digital reach, it's helpful to leverage social media. Social media channels like Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and LinkedIn are excellent places to connect with your target audience, share content, and answer questions.

It's important to spend time developing a buyer persona. This way, you will know which social media platforms will best connect your brand with your target buyer. You will want to plan out your social media posts. It's important to look ahead and consider ways you can incorporate interactive content such as polls.

As you develop your content marketing strategy for 2021, take time to think about how you can incorporate each of these aspects into your overall digital marketing efforts. If you need help thinking through how to implement your ideas best, give us a call. We're content marketing experts who specialize in customized strategies.