Last updated 20.5.23

It might seem strange that an agency would write an article like this about our industry,  however, some things just need to be talked about among friends.

Let me just say that not all digital marketing agencies give you bad advice. To be honest, most of them know what they’re doing and are qualified to advise you. Some have slipped through the net and just some of the points below are things they just ain’t telling ya!

Content marketing isn’t an exact science and no one is saying it’s that easy to do. However, with a bit of practice, you could produce relevant, quality content in no time.

You Can Do It Yourself

Can be done by you or a staff member

Did you know that content marketing can be done by anyone in your company? Even you!

In fact, we advise a lot of companies to get as many staff members involved in this process. That way the workload can be shared around and different staff members can give a unique perspective on the subject matter.

Different content for different sections

If there are several parts to your business, why not get different parts of the organisation to write about their part. For example, if you are a factory producing goods, I’m sure your staff could talk about different parts of the manufacturing process.

Tip: The content doesn’t need to be perfect. In fact, you can get the content checked over by one of your staff who a has a good grasp of English grammar or hire a freelancer to look it over before it’s published.

You Have So Much To Write About

Not only can you write about the many things going on within your company, you can also talk about things going on in the local community or even local suppliers you use. Many marketing departments make it their business to know any special achievements obtained by their staff so they can write about and publish it. The list is endless…!

Don’t be fooled into thinking there isn’t much to write about – there’s tons!

It Needs To Be Scheduled

You need a clear strategy of how frequently you’ll be publishing content (we advise at least once a week, minimum). If it’s written content, you also want to write out your titles ahead of time and a general summary of what you’ll be writing about.

You need to schedule your posts in a diary

I suggest using your favourite calendar (we use Google) to schedule your content and write the person’s name next to that piece of content so they know what they need to do and when.

500 Words Is Useless, You Need Over 1000

They advise you that 500 words is enough

Back in 2014/15 500 words were a sufficient number of words to include in your article. Unfortunately, this is no longer acceptable. Why? Competition in several fields started writing longer form content, putting pressure on everyone to scale up their word count.

Explain the article in detail

Explaining a topic in 500 words is pretty easy, but I’m sure you’ll find yourself missing different topics that might be helpful to your reader?

If you use WordPress for your website software it actually shows you the word count at the bottom of your post so you know you’re on the right track.

The Format Is Just As Important As The Content

Meta tags & page structure are important

When I say format, the use of the correct Header tags (sometimes referred to a “Htags”) in the article, having a proper introduction and summary to your piece is mandatory.

Highlight sections you want to bring to your reader’s attention by using bold, italic and underline.

Since most people are reading your content from a mobile device now, you need to space out (add paragraphs) a lot more often than you normally would.

Using Social Media Is Key

Publish your content to the likes of Twitter & Facebook

If you want more than just your staff to read your articles, you need to find a way of publishing in more places than your website alone. This is done by posting your articles to social media (also called social media marketing). Facebook and Twitter are the favourites, however, there thousands of places to post your content to.

You Can Hire People From Around The World

Freelancers Are Great All Around The World

If you’re not confident producing the content yourself, why not hire a freelancer to do this for you? Finding a great writer is much easier than finding a good SEO company (for a start, there are more).

You Need Great Quality Pictures

People prefer text with visual images

Using great quality pictures (see resources) is a must if you want people to engage with your content. Looking at a page of writing with no colour and pictures can be pretty boring –  just make sure you check what type of licence you need to use certain images.

The links in our resource page are free to use without giving the photographer credit.

Video Is Now Becoming Important

(Sometimes referred to as video marketing)

If you’re just writing content on your company blog, strap yourself in since this is pretty much yesterday’s news…

Video is fast becoming one of the most popular ways of consuming content online today. You don’t need to spend a fortune and buy really expensive equipment, you can actually get really good quality video and OK sound from the latest smartphones.

Firms Are Now Hiring Full-Time Content Writers

Depending on the size of your firm, it might be an idea to employ a full-time content writer. This can either be in-house (they work for you) or you can employ a freelancer.

Sites like Upwork and iwriter are just two sites you could consider using.

Summary

So, is it for you? Do you fancy giving it a go? If you do, you will see long-term rewards. Consistently pumping out content weekly is really good in getting your company name out there. Add social media posting to the mix and it’s a pretty powerful inbound marketing strategy.

Of course, there’s no pressure to produce the content yourself. This article is suggesting that its possible for companies to do it for themselves.

If this isn’t for you, then sit down with a digital marketing agency who can work out a plan of action and guide you through the task of both producing and distributing your content.