Like everything else, digital trends in content marketing 2020 too are undergoing a change. The way we create, market, and analyze content will have some new facets. Blogs, social media content, websites, and apps will all still be on the content marketer’s job list. But there are going to be 5 new areas to focus on. January is the month when most content strategies for the year begin to take shape. Ensure these 5 latest content marketing trends are a part of your calendar for the year. Content Marketing Trend #1: User-Generated Content Short for User Generated Content, UGC started as a way for users to express their opinion and turned into a tool for marketers. UGC started with people sharing reviews of products and services. This was fanned into something much bigger with the usage of social channels. The free publicity worked in favor of the brand… until negative reviews gave birth to a new job in the digital landscape, known as online reputation management. Users decided to hold brands to ransom by increasing their amplification volume on social media. Some also go to the extent of tagging the company CXOs to be heard. This has driven brands to create a counter-strategy of sourcing, displaying and amplifying positive UGC. In the background of this play and counterplay, the fact of ebbing brand trust also came to light. At the beginning of this decade, content marketing trends 2020 showed that over 60% of people trust consumer comments more than the brand message. While the trust helps, this isn’t foolproof either. The Shed at Dulwich experiment, stories on AI bot reviews and, of course, planted reviews for SEO are also alternative fakes in the real world of UGC. What does this mean for marketers to generate great UGC? Understand your UGC sourcing points. UGC starts at a point when the user has made a purchase and is having a moment of delight on usage. For many companies, all customer-facing functions from pre-sales to sales to after-sales servicing allow opportunities to generate UGC. To ensure you are generating this, create channel touchpoints and reminders in all your customer lifecycle journeys. Record and attribute feedback to a campaign or strategy and work. Make it a point to reward your brand advocates and train all your customer-facing touchpoints to customarily ask for feedback at the end of the experience. Get to the root cause of negative UGC. Use custom strategy to manage UGC from each channel. If you are a B2C brand with an active customer base on social media, you can use FB and Insta visitor posts to be moderated and pulled into your site for the showcase. Twitter is often used as a complaint forum so you can either source out positive UGC to be posted on the channel (via campaigns/contests) or have different handles for brand and customer queries. Allow guest and influencer posts. Create a community of your users: A community (either brand owned or general) is a great way to source out the most engaged users of your brand, nurture them and elevate them as brand advocates. They are your non-paid (of sorts) sales managers who can, in this day and age, sell more than you can imagine. Also Read: 6 Reasons Why your Content Marketing may be Failing and How to Fix it Content Marketing Trend #2: Voice will get bigger The way we search is undergoing an overhaul. Google is releasing more updates every day than we can track. But the trend lines show a clear inclination towards voice search. Don’t believe us? Observe a 4-year-old with a mobile searching for YouTube videos. The search went from “London Hotel” to ”Cheap hotel in London near Hyde Park”. Subsequently, the way we write content to cater to this new audience also needs to change. Search results are now focused on not only having the best answer to user queries but also answering questions on Google directly. In addition to this, we also have Siri, Alexa and a few others competing for giving answers quickly. In the near future, you will be wondering how much your friendly neighbourhood search engine can do. If you didn’t hear the ‘a-hah…’ by Google Assistant during Sundar Pichai’s keynote address at Google I/O 2019, you simply HAVE to watch this video. https://www.facebook.com/EconomicTimes/videos/10155431554932694/ OK Google, Show me content trends in 2020 for voice search. Focus on Featured Snippets: Featured snippets, well, get featured, right on top of organic search results in the form of an ‘answer box’. Content featured here is your best bet on generating traffic. Here’s an interesting read on how you can go about doing this. Write for user intent: When you search for your brand, Google will show you the most common set of queries around your brand. Write a blog to answer each of these. Also ensure that your FAQ section is updated and your site is interlinking well to the answers to the most commonly asked queries. Use long-tail keywords: Have blogs and content specifically targeted at long-tail keywords. In fact, ensure these are quality, authoritative blogs and also meet additional criteria of having over 5000 words, content chunking and keywords highlighted in the right proportion. Improve page speed: Speed is key in getting your website up for general and voice search. Don’t take your eyes off the ball on this one. Use structured data: Adding Schema markup allows machines to better interpret the content you are putting out. This will be key in making your content ‘readable’ for voice search. See Infographic: Why Content Marketing Works? Content Marketing Trend #3: Personalization is your next big digital content trend The new throw-around word in Content is conversational marketing. Is it really possible to have a direct conversation when you are speaking to the mass of your audience? Advertising has done this over the years. For instance, talking to different audiences with different messaging. A fairness cream may mean different things to different women. A
Month: January 2020
7 Reasons Why Outsourcing Content Can Stop Being a Pain and Become a Pleasure
Content creation and marketing are among the most underrated tasks in marketing. It requires a mix of many skill sets along with the ability to constantly keep up with changing formats and burgeoning requirements. A content creator needs to be well-versed with various specialized forms of content like text (blogs, website copy), ad content (banners), images (visual content), social media content, audio, video, presentations, and other emerging formats. In addition to creation, there is the tough task of classification and storage for easy retrieval, content dissemination within the organization and outside, a content marketing and re-marketing strategy and analytical knowhow to determine the ROI derived from the content. In addition to all this, the constant check for outdated content and revising it is a task on its own. Although this sounds like the usual job description for a content manager, it is nowhere close to being simple. Often, the sheer volume of content can be exhausting. The job requires not only editorial skills but sound technical knowledge and functional knowledge of ATL, BTL and digital formats of content. The most immediate solution is to outsource some parts of the work to an external agency to do the heavy lifting. It eases the internal pressure and also allows you to expand the volume of work as and when required. The bone of contention here is that ‘managing the agency’ now gets added to the content manager’s job description. The agency-client relationship is one that needs to be handled with patience and understanding from both sides. Persistent deadlines or a deadweight team member can often strain the relationship, causing damage to the process as a whole. Even then, outsourcing content should be a valid consideration when you are making your strategy. Here’s why: 1. Tap into the skill sets of professionals you require, as and when you need it This is, by far, the biggest advantage of content outsourcing. While some content needs will be ongoing, a lot will change according to your campaigns and needs of your organization. From creating emailers in new languages to tweaking content on the landing page, or a GIF to announce a new product variant, you will require professionals with different skill sets at different times. Having a content marketing agency on board will give you the flexibility to pull in expert resources as and when you require. 2. Save time for your business The biggest contribution you can make to your organization is to drive a content strategy. With a load of content creation services outsourced, you will have the bandwidth to contribute on critical aspects of ‘why’ the content is being created and what are the best ways to drive its ROI. 3. You can create and publish more content Imagine that your Search Engine Optimization agency shares a new strategy that you write 10 long-form blogs every month in addition to 10 short articles. Don’t forget, you also need to do all the other regular content. If you have a sales meet at the end of the month, you may also need to create collaterals for it. Demands vary on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis and you will need flexible support to be able to deliver on these demands. 4. It’s cheaper From producing short films to translations, you will require professionals with various skills as a part of your content team. Hiring individuals with such specialized skills will not be the best strategy as, more often than not, each individual will be required selectively and will come at a lofty salary. Instead of hiring an entire team, outsourcing content to various agencies can be a better approach to saving on costs. 5. Get fresh viewpoints and ideas Everyone is creating content to the extent that the daily churn can be overwhelming at times. It is important to take a step back and not lose sight of the big picture. With new campaigns and channels, it is important for you as a content owner to be able to innovate constantly. Having an agency partner will mean getting specialized ideas from industry experts. You can collectively tap on their knowledge base and creative talents to come up with ideas. It also helps to have a sounding board with multiple viewpoints to be able to take a weighted decision. 6. Experiment with different types of content From infographics to cinemagraphs to Whatsapp updates, having a partner churning out content will give you a wider range of content to experiment with. It takes persistence and to keep experimenting with a particular type of content to determine if it is working for your audience. Having a partner share different formats as per your calendar requirement can allow you to schedule tryouts and have a more data-driven approach to your content marketing. 7. It is easier to measure your ROI At the end of the day, all our work comes down to how well we can measure the ROI for it. Measuring ROI from content is tricky as it is almost never the only variable in the equation (like blogs or SEO). It is easier when you are A/B testing emails or landing pages. Traffic, engagement, leads and ultimately conversions are some of the metrics that will have to be measured for all the content you create. Discussing these early on with your partner agency and setting key performance indicators (KPIs) will allow you to measure the ROI on your content on an ongoing basis. With the reports and analysis coming in, you can now spend constructive time to act on the feedback to tweak your strategy. Conclusion: Having a content partner allows your organization to take a lean and agile approach for all your content needs. Having you helm the relationship and own the strategy ensures the best use of your time and expertise. If you are looking for an agency that can not only create content but do it with a ROI focus, drop a
5 Content Marketing Ideas to Showcase Your Brand This Republic Day
India’s emergence as an independent republic is observed with much pride and gaiety on the 26th January of every year. Since 1950, this day has been deemed as a national holiday, and it not only evokes patriotic sentiments in the common man but also allows him to spend quality time with loved ones and indulge in happy pursuits. So, what does this mean for brands? It means leveraging the unique importance of the Republic Day to showcase your products and services in a whole new light! From sales and discounts to new product launches, most brands engage in a variety of marketing activities around this time. But that is not all. With the advent of digital marketing services, attracting the attention of the target audience is a whole different ballgame. The concept of marketing has witnessed several transitions in the last few decades. While Marketing 2.0 was about highlighting the features and benefits of a product, Marketing 3.0 is all about sentiment. Brands are now shifting focus from talking about the product directly and moving on to things that consumers connect to, as human beings. It’s the emotions and sentiments that stay at the forefront — the product itself recedes to the background. Keeping this in mind, it’s a good idea to build some unique content for Republic Day. Here are five different approaches that have worked really well for brands in the past. Tugging at the heartstrings Appealing to people’s sentimental attachment to the country is one of the most effective ways to plan a Republic Day campaign. Most effective sentimental campaigns focus on one aspect of India that’s particularly appealing and then build an entire campaign around it. While images can work with this one, we’ve generally found that short videos with the right words, images, and background score have the maximum impact. Here are some great examples: Tata Salt In 2019, Tata Salt used the hashtag #NamakKeWaastey and created a wonderful video using salt art. The video talks about the spirit of the Indian constitution, which can always make the sentimentalists teary-eyed. We often take for granted the freedom and privileges of living in the largest Democratic Republic in the world. Here’s a salt art tribute revisiting some of the many reasons to celebrate the Indian Constitution #NamakKeWaastey pic.twitter.com/35v7aZjDzD — Tata Salt (@_deshkanamak) January 25, 2019 Sony Pictures Network Sony Pictures really nailed their Republic Day Content last year — their beautiful video talks about unity in diversity in their filmmaking. This one was a tear-jerker— and a perfect example of sentimentality meets patriotism. View this post on Instagram Cinema that entertains and binds this great Republic together! ❤️ Here’s wishing all our fellow countrymen a #HappyRepublicDay! ?? गणतंत्र दिवस की हार्दिक शुभकामनाएँ । ? A post shared by Sony Pictures Networks (@sonypicsprodns) on Jan 26, 2019 at 12:42am PST Paper Boat Paper Boat focuses on a very specific kind of Republic Day sentiment— nostalgia. With vivid memories of numerous Republic Day celebrations in school, this one finds an immediate connect with its audience. This campaign is particularly clever because the theme of Paper Boat’s overall marketing also revolves around nostalgia— and this post fits in perfectly. Tongue-in-cheek While one doesn’t traditionally associate humor with Republic Day, it’s still a great opportunity to design some witty, tongue-in-cheek content. Here are some examples of brands that nailed it: Zomato This image is the perfect example of tongue-in-cheek — it wishes the reader a happy Republic Day, while also focusing on their love for food (which in turn is very closely related to their business). Chances are, many viewers saw the image, realized they were hungry, and decided to order from —you guessed it — Zomato. Visual product placement This is one of the easiest and yet most effective ways to create a successful Republic Day campaign. All you need is an incredibly creative graphic that allows you to integrate your product with a Republic Day campaign seamlessly. Here’s our list of brands that really got this right: Amazon This campaign is simple yet so effective — making the tri-color a part of the Amazon packaging integrates the product and the Republic Day message with great ease. Strangely enough, Flipkart put up a very similar post not long after Amazon — but they went a step ahead to subtly emphasize that Flipkart was “born Indian”! Oreo Oreos Republic Day image gets it completely right. Visual, evocative, and most importantly, delicious-looking — need we say more? Engagement building campaign Republic Day is a major foundation stone in the idea of India as a nation— which makes it a big talking point, especially nowadays. Hence, a great content marketing services idea would be to build a thought provoking campaign, inviting opinions from the viewers. This doesn’t have to be very political or controversial — it can even be fun and frivolous! Myntra This is one of the best examples in this category. Myntra uses the constitution— and the principle of fundamental rights — to create the hashtag #RightToFashion. It then asks users to come up with their own definition of style and fashion— redefining their Right to Fashion. It’s fun, relevant, and designed to instantly invite engagement. Also Read: Here’s How Brands Used Social Media to Celebrate Republic Day 2019 Action-driven campaign Since Republic Day is such an important and momentous occasion, it’s a great way to encourage viewers to take some action— building on a particular sentiment associated with the day. Here are a couple of great examples: Axis Mutual Funds With this campaign, Axis Mutual Funds is focusing on what it means to be a responsible citizen— and correlating that with what it means to be a responsible investor. https://www.facebook.com/AxisMutualFund/photos/a.719225541430944/2193682630651887/?type=3 Robin Hood Army and Girliyaapa This was one of the more interesting Republic Day campaigns from last year. The Robin Hood Army collaborated with popular YouTube channel Girliyapa
Content Writing 101: How to Become a Successful Content Writer
Content writing can be a tricky profession today. On the one hand, everyone’s potentially a writer in the age of the internet, which can make it really hard to stand out. On the other hand, with the number of brands that rely on content marketing agency today (newsflash, it’s almost everyone), there is no dearth of opportunities. It’s important to remember that being an effective content writer is very different from writing for magazines, newspapers, and journals. It also isn’t the same as typing out a few posts on your different social media channels. At Justwords, we have built a successful business over the last decade because we truly empower our writers, investing in them, so that they get the skills they need to succeed. Here are some of the basic things you need to keep in mind while embarking on a journey as a content writer: Find your niche(s) This is one of the most important things you need to do as a content writer, especially if you plan on freelancing at some point. There are a huge number of content writers today; and many of them are floundering, unable to make a sustainable career out of writing. And then there are others who are on top of their game and are constantly in demand. The major difference between these two sides is this — people who succeed at content writing, get ahead of the curve, and invest time and effort in finding the right niche(s). To be a successful writer, you can’t be a jack of all trades. You have to find niches that you’re good at and stick to them. To choose the right niche, think about three things: Is it a profitable niche where writers are in high demand? Is it a niche where I can build expertise and write with authority? Is it a niche that I would enjoy writing about? Zero in on the niche that fits the bill and then stick to it. You don’t have to stick to just one niche — you can develop expertise in multiple niches as well. But you need to find these niches and build your expertise— don’t try to write about everything under the sun. It may mean multiple assignments in the short run, but it won’t ensure a sustainable content writing career. Also Read: 10 Tips To Get Past The Writer’s Block Write as if you’re talking It’s important to understand how content writing differs from any other kind of writing. At the end of the day, your words are the medium through which a brand is connecting to its audience. In the age of constant information and instant gratification, people are not going to work hard to read your content. This means, your content needs to be simple, interesting, and effortlessly readable. One of the best ways to write in a simple, readable way is to imagine that you’re not writing a blog— you’re just having a conversation with a member of your target audience. When the blog takes on that conversational tone, it automatically clicks better with readers. Use short simple sentences, don’t convolute things too much, and try to relate to your audience. Also Read: The content writer’s easy grammar cheat sheet Formatting is everything If you think spewing some words on a blog is enough, think again. Today, people scan content, rather than read it. For people to go through your content in a matter of a few seconds, it really needs to stand out. Here’s how: Use bullet points wherever you can, to draw attention Use subheads and short paragraphs Incorporate images and infographics wherever you can — visuals drive home the point much faster Learn the rules of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) As a content writer today, you need to know the basics of SEO — it gives you an immediate edge over competitors. Fortunately, you don’t have to know too many technicalities. As a writer, the main SEO-related skill you need to have is to be able to figure out which keywords (anything from a few words to a long-phrase) need to fit into which content piece. You can do this by using simple tools like SEMRush or Google’s Keyword Planner. Once you have a set of keywords, you need to be able to incorporate these organically within your content. This means that the keywords should exist in your content, but never in a way that feels forced. Keyword stuffing is a huge no-no— remember, you’re writing for your audience first and foremost and not Google’s algorithm. Also Read: 13 actionable copywriting tricks to get your SEO content rocking The world is your oyster One of the biggest advantages of being a content writer is the freedom and flexibility that come with it. You can get several well-paying gigs even as you work from the comfort of your home— which means you can work as a content writer from anywhere in the world. What it also means is that you should be able to find clients across the world (especially if you write in a global language like English). Invest in marketing yourself — set up your website, showcase your portfolio of work, and focus on meeting the right people. Marketing yourself as a writer can seem a bit intimidating but it’s well worth the effort. You’ll find yourself commanding higher rates and working with better clients, and not just in your home country, but across the globe. At the end of the day, content writing can be one of the most satisfying and lucrative professions. But given the sheer amount of competition, you have to make sure that you invest enough time and resources to acquire the right set of skills. Do try these tips and let us know if they worked for you. If there are any important tips we’ve missed out on, let us know in the comments below. Watch: We are a Content-First Agency
5 Types of Content to Get More Traffic to Your Blog
Are you suffering from blogger’s block? Or, just wondering how to liven up your blog so that you can find a better connection with your audience? If so, you’re not alone. Most content marketers struggle with this at some stage of their journey— maintaining a blog that’s consistently exciting isn’t easy. Luckily, over the years at Justwords, we’ve been able to figure out certain types of content that can immediately boost your blog calendar. What’s more, with different types of content, you can even recycle old content in new formats — like old wine in a new bottle, so to speak. So if you’re looking to make your blog richer or increase blog traffic, make sure you incorporate these 10 types of content. How-to articles/tutorials An effective how-to article is one of the best ways to draw attention from your readers. Here’s why: Many queries on Google are related to learning to do something — whether that’s changing a tire, baking a cake, or writing a good blog post. A how-to post guarantees that you will be found by people looking to solve a specific problem. “How to” posts come under the category of “evergreen content”. This means that as long as you keep making minor updates, your article will continue to be relevant to users, even if they are reading it 3-4 years down the line. This increases the longevity of your post and brings a steady stream of traffic. It’s a great way of informing people about your business. If your how-to post is essentially a summary or short glimpse of what your business does, you’ll definitely be in the minds of users when they’re looking for a paid solution. Also Read: 8 Proven Ways to Increase Traffic to Your Blog in 2020 Topical, curated content You don’t have to do Content creation from scratch — curating a newsletter with high-value content from thought leaders in your industry is a great way to add that extra zing to your blog. You need to keep a few things in mind here: Choose quality over quantity— only share articles that add value to the users. If you spend time in researching quality content, it will help build your credibility as an industry expert. The format and theme of the newsletter are critical — it’s the way you link different pieces together and showcase them through a particular lens that really matters. The frequency of a curated newsletter depends on the nature of your content, and how easy it is to find quality content in your industry — it can be weekly, fortnightly, monthly or even daily. Also Read: How to Write Content That is Future-Proofed for Google Algorithm Updates Product Reviews and Comparisons If it makes sense in your content marketing plan, product reviews or comparisons are a great idea. Customers are always looking for reviews before they make purchase choices so this one is guaranteed to get you those eyeballs. These blogs are also fairly straightforward to execute and can become a staple part of your blogging calendar as long as they don’t detract from the overall messaging and aesthetics of your blog. Of course, once you become a regular with reviews, chances are that you’ll be inundated with free samples of products, which is a nice little bonus! Also Read: How Customer Reviews Can Bring a Whole New Meaning to Your Content Marketing Infographics It is said that 70% of all sensory receptors are in your eyes — which means that humans are visually wired. What’s more, color visuals are likely to increase our willingness to read something by 80%. In short, anything that’s extremely visual is appealing — and that’s why infographics are becoming so popular. Some things to keep in mind: Infographics are a combination of great content and great design. It’s important to have a great theme, a particular format for presenting the content, and some great data to back you up. At the same time, you need a top-notch design— consider using a professional graphic artist to build those infographics. If you can’t create your own infographic, you can still share existing infographics. Most of them are ready to be embedded — so add a paragraph or two of your own perspective, and share an existing infographic. Also Read: Visual content formats that can triple your content marketing results Case Studies Case studies are one of the most effective ways to demonstrate your value to potential users. If you’ve already achieved fantastic outcomes for someone, a prospective customer needs to know that. Keep the following in mind when designing case studies: It might be tempting to throw in all the facts about a particular case. But it’s more important to design a compelling narrative that draws readers in. If a user reading your case is able to connect with the situation being presented, your job is 70% done. Focus on outcomes — big, important metrics make a huge splash. Showcasing the impact you had in a real, meaningful way will go a long way in finding the right customers. Don’t try to show off your work. Be more focused on showcasing the actual solving of customer problems through the case. Using these content types is a sure-shot way to get more blog traffic and add some freshness. Best of all, many of these content types can become a recurring feature in your blogging calendar. If there are any other content formats that you’d like to add to this list, let us know in the comments below!