The only thing likely to trend on the same scale as TikTok clips and memes in 2022 is binge-able, scannable, snackable content.
And it’s not just because we’re lazy; it’s also because we’re busy.
A recent study found that the average person spends nearly 3 hours daily on their phone and almost 7 hours 50 minutes a day consuming digital media. That’s a lot of content to consume.
Ready to hop on the content marketing bandwagon and get your share of the digital pie?
Picture this: You and your content marketing team decide to create a list of content topics.
You enlist the services of subject-matter experts, a copywriter, and a designer to help you create original, shareable content that will resonate with your target audience.
After weeks of hard work, you finally launch your campaign, only to find that no one is reading or sharing your content.
What went wrong?
It’s simple: your posts are good, but they’re disconnected from each other, lacking a single, unifying theme.
When creating content, it’s essential to consider the bigger picture and ensure that all of your pieces work together to form a cohesive whole.
Enter the content style guide.
A content style guide is a document that outlines the dos and don’ts of your brand’s content, from tone and voice to grammar and punctuation. It also guides how to format your content for maximum readability and impact.
Creating a content style guide may seem daunting, but it’s pretty simple.
Here are a few tips to get you started:
1. Prioritize Topical Authority and Relevance
Before topical authority became a thing, search engines relied heavily on backlinks and keywords to rank content. The more keywords and backlinks a piece of content packed, the higher it would rank in search results.
That meant many low-quality, keyword-stuffed content ranked highly, regardless of whether it was helpful or relevant to the searcher’s query.
Google’s algorithm has come a long way since then, and the company now puts a lot of emphasis on topical authority.
Backlinks still matter, but they’re not the be-all and end-all of SEO; topical authority is.
Google no longer rewards websites for their ability to create keyword-rich content; instead, they focus on how well a piece of content fits into the context of your site.
Google now rewards the depth of expertise because of their emphasis on E-A-T and YMYL (your money, your life) guidelines.
The overarching goal of Google’s E-A-T algorithm is to surface the most helpful and relevant content for searchers, meaning that content must be keyword-rich, accurate, well-researched, and trustworthy.
Here’s what you should do:
- Showcase how well you understand a topic by publishing comprehensive, in-depth content that covers the topic from all angles. Instead of writing on a whim, build your content around pillar pages and clusters to ensure each piece is thoroughly researched and adds value to the reader.
- Pillar pages are the cornerstone of your content strategy. They’re long-form, evergreen pieces that serve as an authoritative resource on a given topic. Pillar pages are supported by a cluster of related blog posts covering a specific subtopic. Together, these pieces create a comprehensive picture of your brand’s expertise.
- Collaborate with other subject matter experts (SMEs) in your field to co-author blog posts, infographics, and other pieces of content. That will not only add depth and expertise to your content, but it will also help broaden your brand’s reach.
- Curate data from reliable sources to back up your claims. When citing statistics or research in your content, link to the source. That will add credibility to your content and show that you’re not just making things up as you go along.
2. Produce Value-driven Content
Pic Courtesy: HubSpot
Let’s face it: the internet is saturated with content.
If you want your content to stand out, you need to produce pieces that are informative, well-researched, and valuable to the reader.
What does “valuable” mean, exactly?
Value-driven content solves a problem, answers a question, or provides information readers can use to improve their lives or businesses.
It’s content that is truly helpful, not just fluff or filler.
For example, a value-driven blog post might teach the reader how to start a business, save money on their taxes, or get in shape.
A value-driven whitepaper could provide insights on increasing conversion rates, reducing customer churn, or improving employee productivity.
The bottom line is that your content should offer something of value to the reader, whether it’s information, advice, or entertainment.
Here’s what you should do:
- Determine what your audience wants and needs from you. What problems do they need help solving? What questions do they need to be answered? What type of information would be most helpful to them?
- Produce valuable and informative content pieces, not just regurgitating what’s already out there. Offer practical suggestions, original insights, and actionable advice that the reader can use to improve their life or business.
- For example, if you’re a D2C brand that sells skincare products, your content might focus on topics like “How to Choose the Right Skincare Products for Your Skin Type” or “The Benefits of Natural Skincare Ingredients.”
3. Get Serious About Video
Video is no longer a “nice to have”—it’s a necessity.
In fact, online videos now make up 82% of all internet traffic.
What’s more? Research has shown that video is one of the most effective contents for achieving marketing goals like brand awareness, lead generation, and sales.
One study found that 84% of marketers say video has helped them increase website conversion rates. Another found that including a video on a landing page can increase conversion rates by 80%.
Clearly, if you’re not already using video as part of your content marketing strategy, you need to get on board—and fast.
Here’s what you should do:
- Create a mix of video types to appeal to different audiences and meet different marketing objectives. For example, you might produce product videos to increase sales, brand videos to raise awareness, or how-to videos to generate leads.
- Include video in all stages of the buyer’s journey, from top-of-the-funnel (TOFU) content that raises awareness to bottom-of-the-funnel (BOFU) content that drives conversions.
- Optimise your videos for search with catchy titles, descriptions, and transcripts, and promote them across your owned, earned, and paid channels for maximum reach.
4. Make Your Content More Interactive, Engaging, and (Most Importantly) Fun
One of the best ways to make your content more engaging is to make it more interactive.
Interactive content is any content that allows the reader to take an active role in the piece rather than just passively consuming it.
Types of interactive content include quizzes, polls, surveys, calculators, and games.
Not only is interactive content more fun for the reader, but it’s also more effective at driving engagement.
Here’s what you should do:
- Identify opportunities to make your content more interactive. For example, if you’re writing a blog post about the benefits of meditation, you could include a short quiz at the end to help readers find their perfect meditation style.
- If you’re producing a whitepaper on employee productivity, you could include a calculator that helps readers estimate how much time they could save by implementing some of your recommendations.
- In your email marketing campaigns, you want to throw in some GIFs, memes, or other visuals to break up the text and add some levity.
5. Go Beyond Text to Make Your Content More Visual
It’s no secret that humans are visual creatures.
In fact, research has shown that our brains process images 60,000 times faster than they process text.
What’s more, when people hear information, they can only remember 10% of it three days later. However, if that same information is paired with a relevant image, they can retain 65% of it three days later.
Clearly, if you want your content to be remembered and shared, you need to make it more visual.
Here’s what you should do:
- Include more images, infographics, charts, and other visuals in your content.
- When creating visuals, use high-quality images relevant to the topic and will appeal to your target audience.
- Ensure your visuals are optimised for search by including keywords in the file names and alt text.
6. Pay More Attention to Your Headlines
Your headline is the first—and sometimes only—thing people will see of your content, so make it count.
While eight out of 10 people will read your headline, only two out of 10 will read the rest of your content.
So, if your headline isn’t captivating, you’ve already lost 80% of your potential audience before they even start reading.
What makes a good headline? There are a few key things to keep in mind.
- Your headline should be clear, concise, and to the point. It should also be exciting and relevant to your target audience.
- If you can, include keywords that people are likely to search for, as this will help your content get found in search engines.
- Finally, your headline should reflect the content people will find when they click through.
- If you make false promises or oversell your content, you’ll only end up disappointing your readers and damaging your reputation.
7. Prioritise User Experience in Your Content Strategy
If you want people to stick around and consume your content, you must ensure the user experience is top-notch.
User experience (UX) is how someone feels when interacting with your website, app, or digital product.
It considers everything from your site’s overall look and feels to how users interact with your content.
When your UX is strong, people will positively associate with your brand and be more likely to return for more.
There are a few key things you can do to improve UX on your site or blog:
- Make sure your site is easy to navigate. People should be able to find what they’re looking for quickly and easily.
- Use clear and concise language in your headlines and throughout your content.
- Include plenty of white space to make your content easy to read.
- Break up your text with subheadings, bullet points, and other visuals.
- Make sure your site loads quickly. No one wants to wait around for a slow-loading website.
- Make your content personalised and relevant to your target audience. People want to feel like you’re speaking directly to them.
8. Make Use of Content Template
Content templates are pre-designed layouts that you can use to quickly and easily create new pieces of content.
They provide a structure for your content, so you don’t have to start from scratch every time you sit down to write or design something new.
Not only do content templates save you time, but they can also help improve your content quality.
When you have a pre-designed template to work from, it’s easier to ensure that your content is well-organised and looks professional.
There are several different types of content templates you can use, including:
- Blog post templates
- Social media post templates
- Email newsletter templates
- eBook templates
- Lead magnet templates
Here’s what you should do:
- Find a content template that you like that would be suitable for the type of content you want to create.
- Download the template and save it to your computer.
- Use the template as a starting point for creating your piece of content.
- Fill in the blanks with your information and ideas.
- Customise the template to make it your own.
- Save your finished content and publish it on your website or blog.
- Create a Compelling Call to Action (CTA)
Every content piece you create should have a call to action (CTA).
HubSpot offers free content templates that you can download and start using today.
You can also download the content templates from backlinko and clickminded.
9. Pay Attention to Google’s Core Web Vitals
In May 2021, Google rolled out a new algorithm update that emphasised “core web vitals.”
Core web vitals are a set of metrics that measure the quality of a user’s experience when interacting with a website.
They include things like page load time, interactivity, and visual stability.
The new algorithm update was “fully rolled out” by August 2021.
What does this mean for content marketers?
If you want your content to rank well in Google, you need to pay attention to core web vitals.
Ensure your website loads quickly and that your pages are interactive and visually stable.
Here’s what you should do:
- Use Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool to check the core web vitals of your website.
- Make sure your site is fast and responsive.
- Use a content delivery network (CDN) to improve loading times.
- Optimise your images and other visuals.
- Minimise the use of plugins and third-party scripts.
10. Implement an AI-First Content Strategy
In recent years, there’s been a lot of talk about artificial intelligence (AI) and its potential to transform content marketing.
And indeed, AI is already starting to change the way we create and consume content.
For example, AI-powered tools like Grammarly and Hemingway Editor can help you improve your writing quality.
An AI-writing assistant such as Jasper, Clearscope, or Quill can help you to research and write your content more efficiently.
And AI-powered chatbots can be used to provide customer support and deliver personalised recommendations.
Here’s what you should do:
- Use AI-powered tools to improve the quality of your content.
- Use AI to research and write your content more efficiently.
- Use AI-powered chatbots to interact with your audience and deliver personalised recommendations.
- Monitor the latest trends in AI and adopt new technologies as they become available.
- Experiment with different AI-powered content formats and see what works best for your audience.
11. Write for Aspirations Not Needs: What Your Customers Want to be and Where they Want to Go
When creating content, consider your audience’s aspirations, not just their needs.
Your customers don’t just want to buy products or services — they want to improve their lives and reach their goals.
Instead of bragging about your products or services, look at how your products enhance their lives and make them better. Create content that speaks to their future and remind them of what it will be after using your products.
Here’s what you should do:
- Write down your audience’s aspirations.
- Create content that speaks to their future and reminds them of what it will be after using your products.
- Make sure your content is helpful, informative, and inspiring.
- Use strong calls to action that encourage your readers to take action.
- Monitor your results and adjust your content strategy as needed.
12. Pick a Niche and Dominate It
You don’t want your content to be all over the place. There should be at least one thing that you do better than all your competitors.
For this, you want to choose a niche and excel in it.
For example, if you’re a B2B software company, you could focus on content marketing for small businesses.
If you’re a B2C fashion brand, you could focus on content marketing for millennials.
The key is to find a niche that you can dominate.
Once you’ve found your niche, it’s time to start creating content.
Here’s what you should do:
- Choose a niche that you can dominate.
- Create high-quality content that is relevant to your niche.
- Promote your content through SEO, social media, and paid advertising.
- Monitor your results and adjust your content strategy as needed.
- Be on the lookout for new opportunities to reach your target audience.
13. Pick At least One thing that You’ll be Doing Consistently Every Day
Content creation isn’t easy. It’s a lot of work. And it’s easy to get overwhelmed and give up.
36% of content creators say it’s a challenge.
Diving headfast and creating everything at once is a recipe for disaster.
You’ll quickly get burnt out and give up.
So, while creating long-form blog posts, images for social media, and videos for your YouTube channel, don’t forget the power of consistency.
Have at least one thing you’ll be doing every day without fail.
It could be something as small as writing a sentence or two for your blog post.
It could be posting one image to Instagram.
It could be about writing a short 200 to 300 words article on LinkedIn or designing an infographic using Canva.
No matter what it is, make sure you do it every day.
The goal is to develop a habit. Once you’ve developed the habit, you can increase the frequency and scale of your content creation.
Here’s what you should do:
- Choose one thing you will do every day without fail.
- Make sure it’s something that you can realistically do every day.
- Once you’ve developed the habit, increase the frequency and scale of your content creation.
- Monitor your results and adjust your content strategy as needed.
14. Be Human, find a Voice, and Be Consistent
If you want your content to be successful, you need to find a voice and be consistent with it.
Your voice is what makes you unique. It’s what separates you from the competition.
And it’s what will make people remember you.
The best way to find your voice is to be human. Be yourself. Write the way you speak.
And don’t be afraid to show your personality.
Here’s what you should do:
- Be yourself. Write the way you speak.
- Show your personality.
- Be consistent with your voice across all your channels.
- Be emotionally intelligent. Use the right tone for the right situation.
- Monitor your results and adjust your content strategy as needed.
- Show your face. People want to see who they’re talking to.
- Be relatable. Write about things that people can relate to.
- Use stories. They’re a powerful way to connect with your audience.
- Be vulnerable. Don’t be afraid to show your weaknesses.
- Be authentic. People can see through fake.
15. Create a Content Calendar and Stick to It
To be successful with content marketing, you need to be organized.
And the best way to do that is to create a content calendar and stick to it.
A content calendar is a tool that helps you plan, organize, and publish your content.
It’s a great way to ensure you’re consistently creating and publishing high-quality content.
Here’s what you should do:
- Create a content calendar.
- Plan out your content in advance.
- Make sure you’re consistently creating and publishing high-quality content.
- Monitor your results and adjust your content strategy as needed.
- Use a tool like CoSchedule to help you plan and publish your content.
16. Have a Point of View, Take a Stand
If you want your content to be successful, you need to have a point of view and take a stand.
People don’t want to read another piece of content that regurgitates the same old information.
They want something new, something fresh.
And the best way to do that is to have a point of view and take a stand.
Here’s what you should do:
- Have a point of view.
- Take a stand.
- Be controversial.
- Be different.
17. No Sales Speak!
Certain words and phrases should never appear anywhere in your articles or content.
They’re called “sales speak,” and they turn people off.
Some examples of sales speak include:
- Buy now!
- Act now!
- Hurry!
- Limited time offer!
- While supplies last!
Here’s what you should do:
- Avoid using sales speak in your content.
- Use persuasive language instead of pushy language.
- Be subtle with your call to action.
- Use positive reinforcement instead of negative reinforcement.
18. Use Mixed Content Types
If you want your content to be successful, you need to use a mix of content types.
Don’t just stick to one type of content.
Using a mix of content types, you’ll reach a wider audience and keep people engaged.
Some examples of different content types include:
- Blog posts
- Videos
- Podcasts
- Infographics
- Images
- Case studies
- How-to guides
- FAQs
- Newsletters
19. Repurpose Your Content
If you want to get the most out of your content, you need to repurpose it.
Repurposing content is the process of taking one piece of content and turning it into multiple pieces of content.
For example, you could take a blog post and turn it into an infographic, a video, or a podcast episode.
Here’s what you should do:
- Take one piece of content and turn it into multiple pieces of content.
- Use a tool like CoSchedule to help you repurpose your content.
- Monitor your results and adjust your content strategy as needed.
20. Free Writing for Emotions and Experience
When it comes to content marketing, a lot of emphasis is placed on quality.
And while quality is important, it’s not the only thing that matters.
Emotion and experience are also important factors in content marketing.
And the best way to tap into those emotions and experiences is to free write.
Free writing is a type of writing where you write whatever comes to mind.
You don’t worry about grammar, punctuation, or anything else.
You just write.
Here’s what you should do:
- Set a timer for 5-10 minutes and just write.
- Write about your emotions and experiences.
- Don’t worry about grammar or punctuation.
- Just let the words flow.
