A Complete Guide to Super Effective Content Marketing Strategies

5 billion people use the internet globally, and 4 billion people use social media. It means your brand has a lot of opportunities to connect with your customers and grow your business. The most effective way to gain new customers is through content marketing. However, content marketing is becoming ever more popular these days. As a way to connect with audiences, businesses have begun blogging. Well, it goes without saying that the better your content is, the more leads you will receive for your business. To help you out, here are the top secrets of content marketing that will give your business a strong marketing strategy.

What is Content Marketing?

Getting your head around so many types of marketing is difficult these days. Inbound marketing, relationship marketing, social media marketing, transactional marketing, account-based marketing, and influencer marketing. Seriously, there are more than 150 different types of marketing out there. There are also some that aren’t as straightforward as content marketing. Black hat marketing, for example, describes unethical SEO tactics, which aren’t as straightforward as running around in a black top hat and monocle trying to create monopolies. On the other hand, content marketing is self-explanatory. Put simply, it is the process of conducting marketing activities using various types of content.

The Most Important Secrets of Content Marketing

1. Be Sure to Choose Words that Will Catch the Attention

Are there certain words that make people stop and pay attention if I told you they are scientifically proven to do so? The brain responds to certain words triggered by eye tracking, heat maps, and even magnetic resonance imaging. People are biologically predisposed to find these words when reading a large amount of text or to skim a page. Consequently, even if they weren’t paying attention to the previous text, they stop to fully absorbing what these words were saying.

So, if you want to take advantage of the way the human brain is wired, use the following words in your content marketing:

As the brain is wired to seek out novelty, seeing words that mean new triggers a reward response in the brain, which releases dopamine.

It has been proven that the word “free” doubles open email rates, as it creates an emotional response in the brain. People are concerned that using this word will land them in spam folders, but Harhut found that as spam blockers become more sophisticated, free doesn’t automatically mean junk mail. You should always A/B test this power word and use it strategically.

Using “you” in marketing copy has been shown to drive better results since humans are wired to focus on themselves first. Talk about your customer instead of “our services”. People are persuaded when they feel the information provided to them is only readily available to some. Words like Secrets, The Truth Behind, and Sneak Peek imply exclusivity.

2. Make Sure Your Graphics Grab the Attention

We cannot give you the ten secrets to writing marketing content that sticks without mentioning graphics. Here are a few ways to capture attention when selecting photos to accompany your text:

Eye Contact – When you use images with people’s faces front and center or use direct eye contact, you’re more likely to get a person’s attention.

Eye Gaze – People are wired to follow eye gaze, so if you want them to click on something, use eye gaze to direct them.

Dashed Lines – Intriguingly, Harhut mentioned that the simple use of dashed lines might increase clicks and draw attention. This is because our common association with dashed lines is coupons. As a result, we automatically assume that such formatting is an offer or value, so we click on the image or text box and read what is inside.

3. Utilize the Principle of Scarcity

People place more value on less available things, according to the Scarcity Principle. It is believed that the scarcity principle triggers a physical reaction in our brains when we feel we could miss out if we don’t act now. Scarcity can be used similarly to FOMO marketing to create a sense of urgency in customers. An Experian study found that using urgency words increased click-through rates by 14% and transaction-to-click rates by 59% when used in marketing campaigns.

In your own content, you can utilize the scarcity principle in the following ways:

If you are promoting an event, a deal, or a timely campaign, use a countdown clock.

You can use phrases such as “flash sale”, “exclusive offer”, “be among the first”, or “enjoy it while it lasts”.

Profit from exclusivity. Offer entry to a private social media group, and use language such as “only for you”.

4. Utilize the Availability Principle

As a result of reading your content, people will automatically come to their own conclusions. So utilize the availability principle to take advantage of this. People evaluate the likelihood of something happening based on their own experiences. For example, if someone personally knows someone who had a bad experience at a certain restaurant, they’ll be more inclined to believe that that restaurant has bad food, even if all the reviews say the opposite.

Play up their own experiences in your content and use those experiences to your advantage. For example:

When writing about a specific product or service, ask your readers to imagine a time when the product would have been useful. Emphasize what they felt at the time and how your product or service would have mitigated those feelings.

Rhetorical questions will encourage them to consider “what if” scenarios while also increasing their likelihood of considering your solution’s value.

Video content is a serious winner

It has been shown that adding videos to landing pages can increase conversions by up to 80%. Consumers are 64% more likely to engage with or purchase a product after seeing a video about it online. To complement blogs and improve conversions, video content marketing can be integrated into blog entries or hosted on a regular or monthly basis.

5. Build Trust by Using Social Proof

Where do we go first when we’re not sure about a purchase? People look for confirmation from others who are like themselves when they are unsure about something. That’s social proof. In order to persuade people to perceive your business in a certain way, you can use social proof. To achieve this, it’s essential to understand that even if people are impressed by your products and services, they are still likely to seek the advice of others before making a purchase. Give your audience what they want right within your content. Here’s how a simple change in language can activate social proof:

Try saying, “Find out why so many people use our services.” Other content pieces you might consider include:

Testimonials

Quotes

Reviews (on your site)

We put together this helpful guide to assist you in getting started with User-Generated Content.

Conclusion

After reading these digital content marketing tips, you may have reconsidered some of your earlier assumptions about internet marketing. Hopefully, you were able to read them with an open mind, and this content persuaded you to try a few you would not have considered before. As with anything in digital marketing, you must test it to see if it works. Try it, and you’ll find some secrets you can share with others.