the most misunderstood “buzzword” of all time: content marketing

The Most Misunderstood “Buzzword” of All Time:

Content Marketing.

By: A.J. Ghergich@SEO

Content Marketing and SEOBuilding Content that Grows Your Business

A.J. Ghergich Ghergich & Co. Founder/CEO @SEO

SEO Driven Content Marketing

The Most Misunderstood “Buzzword” of All Time:

Content Marketing.

This is the only magic that will happen with that

approach.

Content Marketing is a direct refutation of Interruption

Marketing gone wild. 

Technology empowers consumers to give marketers the middle finger.

If everyone hates Interruption Marketing why does it still exist?

Because it used to work…

1994 Wired Magazine ad for AT&T 44% Click-Through Rate

World’s First Banner Ad

Interruption Marketing worked great until it was overused and abused.

0.13% Click-Through Rate…OUCH!

Flash Forward to 2015:Google Rich Media Click-Through

Rates

Interruption Marketing at its Finest

My immediate next step was to re-install an ad blocker on my

chrome browser.

Apparently I’m not alone…

Adobe’s Latest Report on the Rise of Ad Blockers is Shocking

Apple just announced they will allow

ad blockers in iOS 9.

This is where I’m supposed to

tell you Content Marketing is going to save us…

Content Marketing Flips the Script

But I can’t…

Content Marketing followsthe same dangerous path Interruption Marketing took.

Content is fast becoming the banner ad of modern

marketing.

Quantity is up but quality is down. People tune us out in

droves.

Here’s How We Fix It

 Your content must provide value and prioritize the

consumer’s needs over your company’s needs.

I call this approachConsumer First

Marketing.

  Consumer First Marketing thinks about those consuming

your content first, and you second.

4 Steps:Turn Your Blog into a Social, Traffic, and Link Earning MagnetUsing Consumer First Marketing

Consumer First Marketing Case Study

Step 1: Define Your AudienceUse Facebook to unlock consumer persona data.

Using Open Graph Search we found CustomMade’s consumer base had a strong affinity for the outdoors, environment, and sustainability.

Using Facebook Audience Insights we found their consumers loved content from TreeHugger, Mother Nature Network, Inhabitat, and One Green Planet.

Using Facebook Audience Insights we gleaned detailed demographic data for the fans of the four environmental sites we outlined.

Using this data we refocused the blog on sustainable topics to

better align with CustomMade’s audience

interests.

Step 2: Brainstorm & Create ContentIt doesn't have to be hard!

Don’t reinvent the wheel…

Use software like BuzzSumo to identify the most successful posts on sites your consumers already can’t live without.

Make a few amazing pieces per month

vs. 100 “acceptable” pieces per month.

Acceptable just doesn’t cut it anymore.

Step 3: Produce Visual AssetsVisual Assets are the key to editorial success.

Pro Tip: Stock photos are not visual assets.

Also, True Detective Season 2 was not an acceptable sequel…but I digress.

Examples of Visual Assets

Asking an editor to check out your latest post will likely fail.

Even if it’s good.

Asking an editor if they want access to exclusive

charts/graphs you’ve created will succeed.

Step 4: Execute Thorough OutreachHere's how to do outreach that actually works.

If it’s not worth promoting it wasn’t worth

creating.

During the content creation phase you should complete an EXTENSIVE outreach

list.

Segment Your List

Use Tools Like Followerwonk, Klear, and BuzzSumo to Find Influencers

Followerwonk

BuzzSumo

Klear

Using these 4 steps we created content our

research told us would succeed. And in turn, we

succeed too.

Put Down the Plastic: How to Move Away from Plastic Dependency

10,300 Social Shares

Our content started getting picked up by the top green blogs and influencers, like Greenpeace.

Our infographics regularly appear on big sites like The Huffington Post and Upworthy because of our outreach efforts.

Additional 28,300 social shares from The Huffington Post alone

Editorial Proof MethodGetting on The Huffington Post doesn’t mean you’re going to get thousands of social shares and traffic.

Many posts on large sites fail to gain traction.

This is because they never get promoted to the main category

or homepage.  

How to Get on the Homepage of The Huffington Post

Create a Link Post on Facebook that points back to your earned media placement.

Promote your Link Post with targeted Facebook ads.

The likes/shares from the Link Post will sync to the social share count on your earned media placement.

Editors promote their best performing content to their main

category or homepage.

By running paid promotion to your earned media you give the editor proof that your post will perform. 

Why are we going through all this effort to get earned

media placements? 

External links improve domain authority which flows through the entire

site. 

Content Marketing's Impact on Domain Authority

Results

In just 62 posts, social shares improved from 5 to 3,100 per post.Earned links improved from 0.14 to 14 root domains per post.The number of Keywords ranking in Google increased by 11,751.

Adopting the Consumer First Marketing approach will change

how you approach content marketing and dramatically improve your

results.  

Presentation is pinned @SEO. Feel free to ask me any and all content marketing and SEO

questions. 

Thank you