Digital Marketing Blog

Content marketing is often something that we can leave by the wayside when it comes to building and maintaining an online presence for your business. There are plenty who consider the method akin to metallic paint on a new car - shiny, but not good for much - merely an optional extra. On the contrary, I'd argue that content is the glue that helps stick all of your marketing efforts together, and it's not to be dismissed so readily. And in fact, if you're here, I'd posit that you're considering content marketing, perhaps for the first time, and you're working out how it's supposed to help make things better for your business' website traffic.

If you're suffering from any of the following, I'd suggest you implement a content marketing strategy.

How do you grow and maintain your business' subscribers?

They might not be the first thing on your mind when you're developing and executing your content marketing plan, particularly if all you're looking at is the bottom line. To someone fixated on the finish line, managing a subscription base might feel like an unnecessary extra, a bunch of people standing in your shopfront who are yet to make any kind of purchase. They can feel like a waste of space, but far to the contrary, I'd like to argue that a solid subscription base is brilliant news for your business. Today I'm going to explain why, along with how you can build this avenue of customer acquisition up.

Today I learned that 74% of all internet traffic in 2017 will be video, according to this report by Syndacast. When I read it, I had to sit and think for a bit. Three-quarters is a lot. We've got fast (and mobile) internet, and the ability to watch it nearly anywhere our smartphones can get reception. So, it makes sense. But still. That's a lot.

What does this mean for you and your business, if you're getting into the swing of content marketing? Well, if you're not already creating some kind of video content, then you're going to want to in the near future. Maybe you've always meant to, but the last time you tried, things...didn't quite work the way they were supposed to. If that's the case, then this article is for you. Today we're looking at the pros and cons of producing short videos for content, and how to do it better.

It's a place most of us have been. It's you and the blank page, with the cursor blinking on and off, as though to remind you that yes, that deadline is coming, and no, you still have no idea on what to write for it. The world of content marketing is pretty intense, and it's not uncommon to find yourself at the end of your rope with a blog post slot that needs to be filled and you're not sure what to write about.

Which is why I've compiled all of my methods for working around this obstacle for you. They'll help.

"So, when are you gonna get started on the website update?"

"I haven't had time yet. I'll get started on it once I've had time to breathe"

Is this a conversation you've had before? Sometimes it's true; sometimes we really are so busy that we can barely sit down, let alone entertain the thought of taking on website maintenance. And yet, there are always tasks that sit in our home and workplace that are going to be done 'Just as soon as there's time'. Even when there might arguably be time, those jobs - cleaning out the shed, completing that bit of paperwork, updating your website - invariably end up at the bottom of the to-do list. Why is that?

I'd argue that rather than there not being 'time' to update, we've simply decided that it isn't a priority - at least, not the kind of one that we need to act on in the near future. This can be a serious issue if the task in question is something which could be crucial for your business, like updating your website.

It's a sad story that you're probably familiar with. You build a website - the product of months of crunch time, overdue and over budget, you get it over the line, and then leave it. Initially, there's a surge of growth, and then...nothing. Things go quiet, and you're left wondering what's caused it.

There are a few reasons why that might be. Today we're looking at one of them. If you've experienced a slump in traffic a few months after a complete website update and you're wondering why, then this article will help.

Well, he finally did it. Leonardo DiCaprio won his Oscar. The actor's relentless pursuit of the highest award in his field has come to fruition after years of effort. So lengthy and so noticeable was this pursuit, in fact, that it had reached memetic status, becoming something of a joke.

"Oh, Leo's taken another Oscar Bait role this year. Do you think he'll do it?"
"Nah. My money's on Film X taking it at the last minute."

And this year, he's finally struck home. Why do you think that is? And what kind of relevance would pop-culture happenings have to successful content marketing, exactly? It can seem like a bit of a stretch.

On the contrary; the success of DiCaprio mirrors why content marketing succeeds or fails, and whether or not you actually know your target audience.

Why does your business have a website?

It's a question so fundamental that we don't really think about it. You have a business; you probably need a website. You built your website because it was the 'done thing'. You did it because you need to be visible to searching customers. You did it so you could have a new platform to reach out to your ideal customers. The point of you building your website, and indeed, any company looking to grow their business online, is to generate new leads and sales for your business.

Now, what happens when you commission a website rebuild, usually? Well, most of the time, a website rebuild takes months of time and waaay too many resources. As a result, you can end up with lead and customer generation slowing down because there's one or two critical things that they rely on that get caught up in the middle of the rebuild and can't be touched.

If this sounds all too familiar, I'd like you to take a deep breath, because I'd like to tell you about a rebuild strategy that offers the benefits of a refurbished website without the massive time/energy sink. It's totally possible. Let me show you how.

Keep Moving Forward.

One of my inspirational greats is the late Monty Oum. He was a forward-thinking creative, and he understood the difference between merely working on a concept, and turning that concept into a finished product. One of the things he would press was the need to keep moving forward; to set goals and then fulfil them, to be able to keep growing and changing and improving in order to see success.

So those three little words are often ones I write in my margins. They're a good reminder for when I get preoccupied with present issues or slow down with a project or a piece of writing.

Growing your business is something I guess you're looking to achieve, and you'll need to set goals and expectations to make that happen. Here are 5 different ways you can set better goals to propel your business' growth online.

Do you run an adblocker?

An adblocker is an extension to your web browser of choice, and it does pretty much what is said on the label - block nearly every type of ad you encounter while browsing. The technology has been around for a while, but it has become increasingly more common in recent years.

What does it mean for you? If your business' main form of digital outreach is through online advertising, then it means lost re

venue. A lot of lost revenue. Perhaps enough lost revenue to start considering an alternate option.