But is it right for you?

Although most brands could benefit from social media marketing, sometimes the resources could be better spent elsewhere. This means it’s crucial to determine if social media is right for your business before jumping in.

Before jumping on the social media train, let’s consider the pros and cons and other key factors.

Making the Case for Social Media

When making your decision, consider some of the top pros of implementing a social media marketing strategy:

It’s cost-effective

Social media is one of the most cost-effective marketing strategies available to businesses today.

Social media platforms are free to use. This makes them an affordable option for those with limited marketing budgets. Paid advertising options are available on many social media platforms. However, you can still achieve significant reach and engagement through organic content and community management.

Increase your brand recognition

Social media platforms offer an opportunity to increase your brand’s visibility and awareness. Research shows that 93 percent of marketers credit social media with increased exposure.

Post high-quality content and engage with your audience. This will help establish your brand as a thought leader. Social media also allows you to showcase your brand’s personality and values. This will help differentiate you from competitors.

Wider audience reach

Social media platforms have a vast user base, making it easy for you to reach a wider audience.

Use social media to target specific demographics and interests. Then you can tailor your content and messaging for your desired audience. Additionally, social media platforms have built-in sharing capabilities. This can extend your reach because users may share your content with their followers.

Connect with customers

Social media lets you connect with your customers directly and engage with them in real time.

Respond to all customer inquiries, comments, and feedback. This will create a personal touch and help build stronger relationships with customers. In doing so, you’ll develop a sense of community. This can result in greater customer loyalty and positive word-of-mouth recommendations.

You can also use social media to ask questions, get feedback, and run contests. Again, this helps encourage your followers to engage with your content. Over time, this can help you foster a loyal customer base and drive repeat business.

Cons of Using Social Media for Your Brand

With nearly 5 billion social media users across the globe, it seems that everyone is using social media these days. However, you’ll need to weigh the cons of taking on a social media strategy.

Here are some top concerns:

It’s time-consuming

Managing social media platforms can be time-consuming.

You’ll need to dedicate time to creating high-quality content. You’ll also need to respond to comments and messages and monitor social media profiles. Additionally, social media platforms are constantly evolving. You’ll need to stay up-to-date with changes and new features to leverage the platforms effectively.

Risk of negative feedback and reputation damage

Social media platforms provide customers with a platform to air their grievances.

This can potentially harm a brand’s reputation. Negative feedback, comments, and reviews can spread quickly on social media. So, you’ll need to monitor your profiles and respond to negative feedback quickly and professionally.

It’s hard to measure ROI

Measuring social media’s return on investment (ROI) can be challenging.

You can track metrics such as likes, shares, and comments. However, connecting those metrics to specific business goals such as increased sales or website traffic can be difficult. Additionally, social media platforms are constantly changing their algorithms. This can impact the effectiveness of your brand’s social media efforts.

Limited control over the content

Once you post your content on social media platforms, you have limited control over how users receive and share that content.

Each social media platform has its algorithms and rules for displaying content to users. This can impact the reach and engagement of your content.

Factors to Consider to Make Your Social Media Strategy a Success

Still not sure whether social media is a fit for your brand? To help decide the best path forward, consider the following:

Brand objectives

What are your social media marketing goals? Figure those out and align them with your business objectives. Common goals could be increasing brand awareness, driving website traffic, or generating leads.  Align your goals with your objectives, so you can measure your social media success.

Target audience

Understanding your target audience is critical for creating content that resonates with them.

You’ll need to identify your target audience’s interests, demographics, and behaviors. Then, create content that appeals to them. Start with market research, buyer persona data, and customer surveys. This will tell you what your audience wants.

Social media platform

Different social media platforms attract different demographics and require different types of content.

Your brand should choose a platform that aligns with your target audience and brand objectives. For example, 60% of TikTok users are Gen Zers. So, if your business targets a younger demographic, you may want to use TikTok. If you’re targeting professionals, LinkedIn would make more sense.

Content strategy

Consistent posting and engaging content are crucial for social media success.

You need to create a content strategy that aligns with your brand objectives and resonates with your target audience. The content should be informative, entertaining, and valuable. It can also be a mix of resources such as blog posts, videos, and infographics.

Make the Best Choice For Your Business Needs

While social media can benefit many businesses, it is crucial to determine if it is right for you before jumping in.

By leveraging social media effectively, you can enjoy the benefits – increased brand recognition, wider audience reach, and the ability to connect with customers. However, social media marketing has its risks, like negative feedback and difficulty in measuring ROI may make you reconsider.

If you’re ready to jump on the social media train, you may need help with your content strategy. Reach out to ClearVoice to see how we can help.

The post Is Social Media Right for Your Brand? appeared first on ClearVoice.

SEO comprises a variety of techniques that are constantly evolving. Although all factors are vital, there is one area that you can’t overlook.

Backlinks. Earning backlinks plays a huge part in getting your content ranked on Google and other search engines.

Let’s look into the different types of backlinks, how to create content that earns them, and seven tips for getting it right.

What exactly are backlinks?

Backlinks are links that lead from one website to another.

For example, whenever you create a piece of content and include a link to an external source, that source has earned a backlink from you.

Backlinks are an essential component of SEO.

They show search engines that other websites consider your content valuable and relevant. Also, the more backlinks a website has, the more likely it is to rank higher on search engine results pages (SERPs).

In fact, research shows that Google’s first-ranking website has an average of 3.8x more backlinks than websites in positions 2 through 10.

Backlinks also help you build domain authority (DA). DA is a ranking factor that predicts how high a website will rank in the SERPs. Getting high-quality backlinks will increase your site’s DA.

However, as usual, quality trumps quantity.

Google uses complex algorithms to determine the quality of backlinks. It considers factors like the authority of the linking website, the relevance of the content surrounding the link, and the anchor text used in the link.

There are different kinds of backlinks that will improve your website’s SEO.

These include:

• Editorial: Editorial backlinks are naturally earned when other websites link to your content because they find it valuable.
• Directory: Directory backlinks are links that are on online directories.
• Social media: Social media backlinks are links shared on social media platforms.

How to earn natural backlinks

Natural backlinks are links you receive without asking for them. This tends to occur naturally with well-written, high-quality content that solves problems.

Before creating content that earns natural backlinks, you’ll first need to develop a deep understanding of your target audience. This process begins with keyword research that is relevant to your niche. Using that data to inform your content strategy will enable you to create unique, valuable, and shareable content.

In doing so, you’ll improve your chances of earning natural backlinks.

Below, we review some other methods for building backlinks:

7 ways to build backlinks

Now that you understand the importance of backlinks, it’s time to take action. Here’s how you can start getting backlinks and bring more visibility to your content.

1. Develop valuable, relevant, and high-quality content

The first step to earning backlinks is to create content that other websites will want to link to. This means creating content that provides value to your target audience. Whether it’s educational, entertaining, or useful in some other way.

Make sure your content is also relevant to your niche or industry. This will increase the odds that other websites in your industry will want to link to it.

2. Promote your content

Once you’ve created your content, the next step is actively promoting it.

This is critical because no matter how good your content is, no one will link to it if they can’t find it. Simplify it for your audience by getting it in front of them through various channels, like social media and email marketing.

Promoting your content gets it in front of more people. Increasing the chances that other websites will discover it and link to it.

3. Reach out to relevant websites

Another effective way to build backlinks is to contact relevant websites and ask them to link to your content.

When doing this, it’s essential to personalize your outreach and explain why your content is a good fit for their audience. Make sure also to provide the link you’d like them to use.

Tools like Ahrefs, Moz, and Semrush help identify potential link-building opportunities. You can also use them to analyze your competitors’ backlink profiles.

4. Guest blogging

Guest blogging involves writing a blog post for another website or publication and including a link to your website in the post.

You get started with guest blogging by identifying websites that accept guest posts. Make sure their audience and content align with yours. Then write compelling, valuable content and follow any guidelines provided. Aim to build a relationship with them to increase the likelihood of future guest blogging opportunities.

5. Broken link building

Broken link building involves identifying broken links on other websites and then offering to replace them with your links. Get started with tools like Check My Links or Ahrefs’ broken link checker. Then, reach out to the website owner and offer to replace the broken link with a link to your own content.

6. Contribute to industry discussions

Participating in industry discussions can help you build relationships within your industry.

Look for forums, social media groups, or other online communities related to your industry. Then, participate in discussions. Share your knowledge and expertise and provide your insights.

Eventually, this can help establish you as a thought leader in your industry. It will also increase the likelihood that other websites will link to your content.

7. Create eye-catching visuals

Creating high-quality visuals is an easy way to help build more backlinks for your site. This could be infographics, checklists, tables, graphs, custom graphics, and more. Other sites may use your visuals and link to your site as the source, giving you a backlink each time.

Start amplifying your content by getting backlinks

Writing is a labor of love, and when you publish a piece of content, you want to share it as far and wide as possible. Earning backlinks will help broaden your reach and get your content in front of a larger audience.

Follow these strategies to earn natural backlinks and drive more traffic to your content. This strategy will improve your website’s ranking and get your content in front of the right people.

ClearVoice can guide you during this process. Get in touch with us to see how we can help.

The post Backlink Content: How to Build Links in 2025 appeared first on ClearVoice.

Now’s the time to take a retrospective look at your content marketing activities, determine what worked and what didn’t, and optimize your strategy for the new year.

8 content marketing housekeeping items for 2025

Want to set up your content team for success? Below are eight critical content marketing housekeeping items to take care of as your marketing team plans for 2025.

1. Define measurable goals for the new year

Your content marketing strategy should start with clearly defined goals. Consider the desired result you want to see from each content type. Is brand awareness top of mind, or should you focus on lead generation? Or perhaps you want to get more website visitors.

Document the goals that are most important to your organization’s strategic direction and understand how you’re going to measure success.

For example, if lead generation is top of mind, consider how many leads you want your content to bring in. Or, if it’s brand awareness, decide on how many views you want on your website and social media channels. Once those goals are defined, you’ll know what content types to focus on in 2025.

2. Conduct a content audit

Next up on your content marketing housekeeping checklist is a crucial one: a content audit.

Now’s the time to look back at your content library and consider what content pieces are due for an update or need to be archived. This applies to your content design templates as well as the text. Has your brand look changed over the past year? If so, you may want to plan to overhaul your crucial piece of content to reflect your brand’s new look and feel.

You’ll also want to look at the dates for each piece of content. Is it older than two years? If so, it may be time for a refresh. This could be as simple as adding new research metrics, or it could be a complete overhaul. Conducting a content audit will give you visibility into which resources need to be updated.

3. Create a content marketing report

A key aspect of your content audit will rely on running reports. Reporting will also help as you set your goals for next year as part of your content marketing housekeeping checklist.

This is because it enables you to understand what content was most successful and which pieces you should likely retire. It can also provide insight into where you can make minor tweaks, for example, updating a title. If you have a resource that isn’t getting a lot of views, it may make sense to update the title before archiving that piece.

Reporting will show you which of your current content pieces has been successful and that you’ll want to continue using. This knowledge will also shed insight into which pieces of content can be repurposed.

For example, if you have an ebook or a white paper performing well, turn that into a blog post or pull pieces for an infographic. Basing new content on your most popular resources is a fast way to create unique, quality content.

4. Look at what your competitors are doing

Evaluating your competitor’s content is a cheat sheet for improving your content. Check out your competitors’ content strategy and see what they do differently. You can see which keywords they’re targeting with various keyword tools, which industries they’re targeting, and what publications they’re showing up in.

5. Determine your content marketing channels

When determining which content marketing channels to use as part of your content marketing housekeeping checklist, you’ll need to understand which channels your customers and target audience use.

Conduct buyer persona research to either validate your current personas or make updates based on industry changes to provide insight into the channels your target audience is frequenting.

Common channels include email, social media channels, your website, and your blog. Evaluate each of these areas and see which needs to be optimized depending on this year’s success.

6. Do your keyword research

The goal of crafting quality content is to get it in front of the right people. You’ll need to do keyword research to drive success in this area. This sets the stage for your content plan and will help improve your website’s search engine optimization (SEO). An effective keyword strategy will help you rank higher and increase your content’s visibility.

This effort should be continually updated to stay up to date with the core keywords and topics in your industry. What worked last year may not be as effective in the future. Continuous changes to your strategy will help keep your content fresh and help you reach your intended audience.

7. Plan your editorial calendar

Once you’ve checked keyword research off your content marketing housekeeping checklist, picked the best channels to invest in for next year, and done your competitor research, it’s time to plan out your content calendar.

This step involves planning content that speaks to your target audience, pulls them in, and keeps them coming back.

Once you’ve done your due diligence, it’s time to put those ideas in motion. Your editorial calendar will keep those great ideas organized, help you establish a distribution cadence, outline the asset types, and show who is responsible for writing each asset. It will help you keep track of deadlines and ensure that all necessary parties approve your content before it goes live and is posted on time.

8. Create a content promotion & distribution plan

Once you’ve created your editorial calendar and your content pieces are underway, you’ll need a promotional strategy to optimize that content. This may consist of email nurturing campaigns that strive to generate leads or a social media plan to promote your resources regularly.

Much like your editorial calendar, you should keep a plan for your promotional activities. This provides visibility into each task across the marketing team, enabling multiple roles to work together to achieve success.

Elevate your content marketing success in 2025

Taking the time to complete these content marketing housekeeping items is certainly worth the effort. There is no shortcut to success and no greater teacher than in the past. Look back on your content to see what can be applied or amplified for 2025 and what needs to be put to rest.

Good content marketing relies on continuous improvement. Follow the housekeeping steps above to be in a position to craft a strong content plan and ensure that it reaches the right audience.

Need help? Learn how ClearVoice can help you elevate your content strategy. Talk to a content specialist today to learn more.

The post 8 Content Marketing Housekeeping Items to Do in the New Year appeared first on ClearVoice.

Content marketing provides a significant impact with minimal investment. So, marketers can design a powerful and effective recession marketing strategy even with a tight budget.

How to create a recession content marketing strategy

The key is to become more intentional than ever with your content marketing efforts. Let’s consider how to set up your strategy for success with a recession content marketing strategy that prepares you for anything.

Set marketing goals

Before starting your recession content marketing strategy, you need to define realistic goals for your team. Resilient businesses are focusing on these discussions now. Preparation will allow you to create a solid plan to help you weather uncertainties.

A key area to focus on is how to save on costs. You’ll want to consider what you spent money on this year that worked and what didn’t. Come up with measurable goals that you can present to your stakeholders. This shows where the money is going and why making it easier for you to get buy-in to meet these goals.

Understand your audience

A critical component of having leads that convert is having an in-depth understanding of your target audience. Regardless of how good your content is, if you’re not speaking to the right audience, it won’t convert.

Content marketing successfully during a recession relies on making every piece of content count. To do this, you need to conduct effective market research. Know who your audience is and then create content specific to them.

When creating this content as part of your recession content marketing strategy, focus on solving the challenges of your audience. People want content that helps them solve a need or challenge; they don’t want you to sell to them.

Collaborate with sales and customer success teams

This goes hand in hand with understanding your audience. You don’t have to do all the heavy lifting on your own. Your sales and customer success teams know what your current customers want (and what they don’t). This is a gold mine of information you can use to craft an effective content marketing strategy.

Gather information from these teams. Then apply it to create content for prospects. Addressing feedback from your customer base through your content is a winning approach. This will increase the chances of your content making an impact.

Gain visibility into your best resources with a content audit

A content audit is an essential aspect of any content marketing strategy. In today’s economic climate this is especially true. One of the most efficient ways to create great content is to take a retrospective look at your content marketing activities. In doing so, your team will be in a better position to create content that converts.

During a content audit, you’ll look through your entire inventory of assets. Then determine how each piece is performing. Which resources are being viewed the most and are generating traffic to your website? This is also an excellent opportunity to identify content pieces due for an update.

Find what works and repurpose it

Your recession content marketing strategy doesn’t just hinge on creating new content. You’ll also want to use those best-performing pieces of content and use them in different ways. Your content audit will provide insight into which pieces are the highest performing.

With this knowledge, you can add those assets to your arsenal. Plus, find ways to repurpose that content. 46% of marketers consider repurposing content to produce the best results in terms of leads and conversions.

An effective way to do this is to create smaller pieces of content based on a pillar piece. This pillar content could be an in-depth eBook or a white paper. Your meatiest pieces of content will give you a base to create other assets—for instance, a blog series, an infographic, or snippets of content for social media. You can also turn some of this content into videos.

The bottom line is to find what works and performs best for your business and create more content in different formats.

Consider what your current customers need and deliver

Your content marketing efforts shouldn’t only focus on prospects. You’ll also need to include your existing customer base in the equation. Retention content will help you strengthen your customer relationships. We discussed the importance of collaborating with sales and customer success teams about the needs of the market.

Use this opportunity to ask about the satisfaction of your customer base. What types of information are they looking for? If you’re not already providing it, this should become a part of your content strategy.

You can also take this opportunity to find out what’s not working. What content isn’t resonating with them? Getting feedback from your current customers will help you create the content they need. Your customers are your brand’s most prominent advocates. Keep them happy, and they’ll let their peers know.

Create your editorial calendar

Now that you’ve done your due diligence, it’s time to put your research to work. An editorial calendar will help you create a strategic plan for your content pieces. It will also help you plan a cadence and stay consistent.

Consistency is critical in effective content marketing. If you intend to blog once a week, you’ll need to ensure that you can maintain this frequency. Your editorial calendar will be an effective tool for ensuring consistency. It allows you to lay out a plan for the quarter, the first six months, or even the year.

This calendar should be fluid. It may also change as you see opportunities for adapting your content strategy. However, it’s essential to lay the foundation for your recession content marketing strategy.

Promote and expand your reach

After you’ve created your content, the next step is to get it in front of your target audience. This is where you’ll start to see your hard work pay off. Make your pillar pieces of content gated on your website by putting them behind an opt-in form.

Ensure all leads are automatically entered into an email nurturing campaign. They may not be ready to purchase immediately, but nurturing those leads will help bring them closer to becoming a customer. Additionally, 77% of return on investment (ROI) comes from targeted and triggered email campaigns.

Social media is also going to be a significant part of this strategy. An average of 43% of consumers use social channels to make purchasing decisions.

Post your content on social media to get it in front of a larger audience. This works because social media is highly shareable. Your followers may share your posts with their peers, many of whom are likely part of your target audience. Don’t underestimate the power of your customer relationships.

Track and measure the results of all content pieces

After you’ve created your content and promoted it via your website, email, and social media, you’ll want to know how it performed. Data is a vital tool for every marketer. It helps you fix what’s not working and stick with what is. During a recession, you can’t afford to continue with a strategy that produces a minimal return on investment.

You’ll need to track views, clicks, and conversions to optimize your recession content marketing strategy. Minor tweaks (like changing the title) may help make it more enticing to readers if it’s not getting a lot of views. Content that’s not converting may need to be reassessed. Adapt and adjust as needed based on the data. This will ensure that you make the most of your content marketing budget during the recession.

When budgets get lean, content marketers get strategic

Reports show that content marketing is 62% cheaper than traditional marketing efforts and generates three times the leads. So while budgets can take a hit during a recession or economic turndown, your content marketing doesn’t have to.

Quality over quantity has always stood steadfast; set measurable goals, know your best-performing assets, and repurpose those for next year. This will help ensure success in your content marketing initiatives.

Still not sure where to start? ClearVoice can create high-quality, ready-to-publish content targeted to your audience. Contact us today to learn more.

The post Recession Content Marketing Strategy: A Guide to Doing More With Less appeared first on ClearVoice.

Business-to-business (B2B) demand generation is a critical part of any successful content marketing strategy. It will help you reach new audiences and turn strangers into prospects. Here’s how you can apply this winning strategy within your marketing efforts.

Best practices for effective demand generation content

Demand generation marketing is a long game, and it’s only successful if you follow a best-practice approach. It’s not only the process of demand generation that drives lead generation; it’s also the type of content you use in each stage of the buyer’s journey.

Let’s look at each stage and break down the type of demand generation content you need for each one.

The awareness stage

Consumers are often searching for solutions to their challenges. To get their attention, you’ll need to address those challenges to draw them in. Building awareness is a critical part of demand generation. The awareness stage is where you’ll provide content that is geared toward meeting the challenges of your target audience.

This starts with researching your target market. You’ll need to know their pain points—what key challenges are they struggling with? Then you’ll need to create demand generation content that addresses these challenges.

You can do this with:

Blog posts

Your blog is a gold mine for valuable information. When using a blog for demand generation, however, it’s important to stay consistent once you begin posting. Determine the publishing cadence that makes sense for you and stick to it. You’ll take your research and create a publishing plan. What topics is your target audience most interested in? What challenges are they looking to solve? These are the critical things to keep in mind when developing your blog topics.

Social media

Social media will be your mouthpiece for promoting your blog and other demand generation content. It will help you elevate the reach of your content pieces. Like blogging, you’ll need to create a schedule and stick with it. During the awareness stage, you’re establishing yourself as a thought leader in your niche.

You can also take a personalized approach with social media by asking questions to your audience and responding to comments on your posts. This dialogue will humanize your brand and helps you establish trust and further enhance your demand generation efforts.

Ebooks

An ebook is an easily digestible longer piece of content that allows you to provide more information to your readers than you would put in a blog post. It dives in deeper into your audience’s challenges and lets you set the stage for the solution—a solution that your business would provide.

During the awareness stage, keep the content ungated. This is the time to provide “free” content that will serve as helpful resources for your target audience. Even if they’re not ready to buy, in the future the goal is for them to come to you when they’re ready.

The resources you’ve provided them up to this point will establish you as a trusted resource, one that they are more willing to do business with once they’re ready. However, to guide your readers down the buyer’s journey, include a gated call to action in the consideration stage.

The consideration stage

During the consideration stage, you’re nurturing the relationship with your prospects. Your prospects are looking for solutions that provide the most value and are most aligned with their business needs. You can start providing heavier content that isn’t explicitly selling but still guiding them toward your solution.

One thing to keep in mind during your content creation efforts, particularly in the awareness and consideration stages, is that your demand generation content should be about the customer, not your product or service. They don’t want to hear why your solution is the best. Not yet anyway. They want to know that you understand their pain points and that you can provide actionable insights into how they can alleviate them.

You can do this in the consideration stage with deeper content like:

White papers

A white paper is one of the most in-depth pieces of content you can offer your audience. Prospects that have gotten to the consideration stage are looking for more information than a blog post or social media post can provide.

It’s a great opportunity for you to use your research and create white papers that are specific to your audience segments. This will ensure you’re speaking to the right persona and providing them with the best content for their needs.

Email marketing

Like white papers, email marketing enables you to get more personal with your audience. Address them by name in your emails and ensure you’re sending the right email to the right audience segments.

Emails are a handy tool to make sure you stay top of mind for your prospects. For example, if they download a white paper, you can enter them into an email nurturing campaign so they will receive scheduled emails that will help guide them along further in the buyer’s journey.

Webinars

Webinars enable you to provide in-depth demand generation content to your audience and appeal to those who would rather watch a video than read a white paper or other long-form content.

The decision stage

If your prospects have arrived at the decision stage, bravo, they’ve almost made it through the buyer’s journey and are on their way toward becoming loyal customers. Through your demand generation efforts, you’ve shown that you know their key challenges and you’ve told them how to solve those challenges. Now is the time to show off your social proof and how your specific solution is what they’re looking for.

You can do this with the following demand generation content:

Case studies

Case studies allow you to show prospects how your other customers have used your solutions and what problems they’ve solved by doing so. Like other content, you don’t want to throw them in the kitchen sink. You want to be deliberate in the case studies you share with specific customers. Make sure they’re in the same industry, have the same challenges, and are looking for the same specific solution.

Demo requests

After you’ve given them the information they need to make a decision, it’s time to ask them to take a demo. While you could ask at any time, most would-be buyers are not going to want to see a demo until you’ve established trust with them and have shown them that you can help.

Chatbots

Chatbots enable you to provide immediate assistance to prospects, 24/7. A chatbot used during the decision stage would aim to move prospects who’ve already downloaded a white paper, or other consideration stage content, further down the marketing funnel by offering them a case study or demo request, for example.

Take your demand generation content to the next level

For your demand generation strategy to be successful, you need to frame your content around the buyer’s journey. By following the best practices above you’ll provide your prospects with the content they need when they need it.

Blog posts will educate your audience on your product or service, content like white papers will provide them with more in-depth information and case studies will provide proof points from current customers.

By aligning your content with your demand generation strategy, you’ll be in a better position to turn strangers into loyal customers. Need help with your B2B demand gen strategy? Learn how ClearVoice can help.

The post Boost Your Demand Generation Strategy With Powerful Content appeared first on ClearVoice.

To do this, you must create content that aligns with every stage of the buyer’s journey — from awareness to purchase. All companies should use the buyer’s journey to create their content marketing strategy. Otherwise, your content may not reach your target audience at the ideal time in the customer journey.

There is a framework that companies can follow to ensure that content is getting in front of potential buyers at the right time. This helps to increase the chances of prospects turning into qualified leads and, ultimately, customers. First, consider why and how your content strategy needs to align with the buyer’s journey.

Why you need to map your content to the buyer’s journey

A recent survey by Semrush shows that 97 percent of respondents state that content is an essential aspect of their marketing strategy. However, creating content isn’t enough.

Customers have different needs depending on where they are in the buyer journey. If your content does not provide the information they are looking for in their stage of the buying process, you may get overlooked for another company that has provided the content that aligns with their current needs.

If you’ve spent time creating an effective content marketing strategy, but you’re not getting conversions, chances are you need to align your content with the buyer’s journey. The buyer’s journey isn’t often easy for consumers either. In fact, 77 percent of buyers considered their latest purchase to be very difficult. You can simplify it for potential customers by aligning your content with the buyer’s journey. Companies that do this will benefit from the following:

• Higher quality leads: When you take a strategic approach to acquire prospects, this will ultimately result in higher quality leads. Yes, you may take in fewer leads because you have a highly targeted approach, but these leads are more likely to convert.
• Shorter sales cycle: A more targeted approach will result in less time needed for conversion by guiding your prospects through the buyer journey.
• Reduced costs: A targeted approach means less money spent on customer acquisition. Rather than deploying several strategies that may or may not work an effective content strategy relies on a targeted approach that gets your content in front of the right buyers at the right time.

What is the buyer’s journey?

With the amount of information available online, companies no longer make impulse purchases. Instead, they made choices backed by research. You can increase your chances of gaining qualified leads by ensuring that your content aligns with the buyer’s journey.

Content focused on the buying process aims to inform and become a trusted resource that customers will return to get the information they need. Trying to make a sale too early in the process can often turn potential customers away. Instead, you should aim to educate your audience with your content so they will return to you in the future.

The buyer’s journey consists of three key stages:

Awareness

During the awareness or discovery stage, your potential customer has a challenge they are trying to solve. This is the very beginning of the buyer’s journey. Would-be customers are searching for content that will help them solve these needs. This is where your content comes in.

Content like blog posts and articles is critical during the awareness stage. This content should be informational rather than promotional. This is not the stage to explicitly sell but rather to inform. Effective awareness content will rely on the research you’ve done about your target market. You’ll need to consider their pain points and create content that solves these challenges.

Keep in mind that different people consume content in different ways. Some may prefer to read a blog post — this is why 76 percent of content marketers use blogging to distribute their content. Others would rather watch a quick video. Short-form video continues to grow, and 30 percent of marketers plan to invest more in video marketing. A mix of different content types will ensure you appeal to different needs.

Consideration

The consideration stage is where buyers begin to consider their options for solving their challenges. They’re looking for more in-depth content that will provide answers to their questions.

During this stage, potential customers look at various companies that can solve their needs, gathering research to make an informed decision. To make sure you make the shortlist, you’ll want to provide content that provides the answers to their questions and the solution to their challenges.

This includes long-form content like white papers, which will enable you to discuss pain points in depth, and webinars and content encouraging readers to try a free trial. Content in this phase should highlight the benefits of your solution while enabling you to get a prospect’s contact information. Product brochures and how-to videos are also valuable assets in the consideration phase.

Email is another critical component of the consideration stage. Email marketing will automate the process of getting valuable information to your audience. In fact, 64 percent of B2B marketers consider email marketing to be effective in helping them meet business goals. 69 percent of content marketers used email to distribute content, making it a popular channel for B2B content.

Decision

By the time a potential buyer gets to the decision stage, they are well aware of what they need in a solution and are narrowing it down to the one that is the best fit for their business. At this stage, they are more likely to make a purchase.

So, introduce content that shows the benefits of your product or service. Whereas in the other stages, you were focused only on identifying challenges and how to solve those challenges, now is the time to show where you come in and why you’re the best choice.

This is why case studies are a vital part of the decision stage. They allow you to show how others who have purchased your product or service have benefited from choosing your business. The Content Marketing Institute’s (CMI) B2B content marketing report shows that successful content marketers were more likely to use case studies (73 percent vs. 61 percent).

The decision stage is also the time to ask potential buyers to take a live demo. This gives them a view of your solution firsthand and allows them to ask questions to truly understand how your solution is the best one to meet their needs.

Elevate your content by aligning it with the buyer’s journey

Research from Gartner shows that only 17 percent of a prospect’s time is spent speaking with prospective suppliers. This means you’ll need to look for other ways to help them convert, which is where your content strategy comes in. To ensure this strategy benefits your business, it must align with the buyer’s journey. Otherwise, the information you provide could be like drinking out of a firehose — too much information at the wrong time. By taking a targeted approach, you’ll be able to reach prospects at the right time.

Remember that any effective content strategy will begin with research. You must know your audience before you try to appeal to them. Once you know their challenges, you’ll be able to create content that addresses these challenges and help establish yourself as a helpful resource for your key audience.

Do you need help with your content strategy? Learn how ClearVoice can help.

The post A Guide to Aligning Your Content Strategy With the Buying Process appeared first on ClearVoice.

Knowing why your content works will help you continue to create the best quality content for your business by replicating success and giving you visibility into what’s not working. From blog posts to videos and podcasts and everything in between, content marketers evolve year over year, creating the types of content consumers are looking for. Data is key to adapting and adjusting your content marketing strategy for success.

To get you started, we’ve compiled the top content marketing statistics of 2023.

How do you compare? Read on for a good benchmark of your content marketing efforts.

The State of Content Marketing

Content marketing effectiveness relies on adapting content strategies to meet the industry’s and consumers’ changing needs.

Here’s what the current landscape looks like:

• 82% of marketers have a content marketing strategy (Hubspot)
• 22% of businesses want to create original content  (The Manifest)
• When it comes to content marketing usage, the majority of your audience is online with 85% of adults going online on a daily basis (Pew Research)
• Content with more than 3000 words gets more reads than shorter content (SEMrush)
• Well-written how-to guides can generate a click-through rate of 20 -30%  (Good Firms)
• 60% of marketers say that content marketing helps generate leads (Content Marketing Institute)
• 51% of companies that have invested in content marketing publish content daily (The Manifest)
• The top goals in content marketing are to boost sales, increase brand awareness and build customer relationships (eMarketer)
• 85% of consumers watch videos without sound and marketers should focus on creating interactive, live, and immersive videos, and providing captions to reach those viewers (DigiDay)
• 69% of marketers invest in SEO (Hubspot)
• Large businesses publish more frequently than small businesses (The Manifest)
• 60% of companies use data in their content marketing strategy  (The Manifest)
• 31.01% favor lists for high click-through rates (Good Firms)
• 60% of searches came from mobile devices (Rellify)
• 95% of marketers stated that key performance indicators (KPIs) should be tied to business goals to matter (Rock Content)
• 92% of marketers have embraced account-based marketing (ABM) (Kentico)
• 88% of marketers have generated brand awareness through content marketing  (Content Marketing Institute)
• Augmented reality  (AR) is on the radar of marketers (Outgrow)

Top Content Marketing Challenges

The height of the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated digital transformation across all industries. Companies are still reeling from the effects, resulting in some of the top challenges we’ve seen this year:

• Breaking through the clutter of digital marketing (Forbes)
• Consistent, high-quality content is a key challenge  (Wordstream)
• For 60% of marketers, generating content consistently is a top challenge (FT Longitude)
• The shift toward paid promotion is changing the content landscape  (Digital Agency Network)
• 58% of marketers don’t ask directly about their customer’s needs  (FT Longitude)
• Content that does not drive conversions (Parse.ly)
• 44% of marketers are struggling to measure return on investment (ROI) (Kentico)
• Just 8% of marketers are able to attribute ROI to their content plan (Kentico)
• A lack of time is a major barrier to content marketing (Wordstream)
• Maintaining brand voice  (Marketing Insider Group)
• Aligning content with customer personas and journeys (Digital Agency Network)
• 49% of marketers don’t know how their content is actually performing (Parse.ly)
• Alignment in digital strategy across various platforms  (Marketing Insider Group)
• Promoting content effectively is a challenge for marketers (Forbes)
• Measure the ROI of content marketing initiatives  (Digital Agency Network)
• Not knowing the best channel to promote content  (Parse.ly)
• Scaling content is a challenge because it involves hiring more people (Evolving Digital)
• Proving authority and credibility (Marketing Insider Group)

Blog Content Statistics

Blogging continues to be a key strategy in both business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) content marketing. The top content marketing data pertaining to blogging that we’re seeing in 2023 include:

• 48% of businesses with a content marketing strategy incorporate blogging as part of this strategy (Hubspot)
• 80% of bloggers report that blogging delivers results(Orbit Media Studios)
• Out of the 1.9 billion websites in the world, there are 600 million blog posts (Web Tribunal)
• Bloggers are writing longer articles but are publishing less often  (Orbit Media Studios)
• Long-form content averages 77.2% more links than short content (Backlinko)
• Every day, more than 6 million blog posts go live  (Web Tribunal)
• Those who use 10 or more images in each blog post reported strong results (Orbit Media Studios)
• 56% of marketers consider blogging to be effective (Hubspot)
• 97% of bloggers promote their content using social media (Statistica)
• The global content marketing industry is expected to grow by $417.85 billion through 2025 (Report Linker)
• 71% of bloggers update old content (Orbit Media Studios)
• Titles with a word count between 6 and 13 words get the most traffic (Hubspot)
• It takes bloggers an average of 4 hours and 10 minutes to write a post(Orbit Media)
• The more backlinks a page has, the more organic traffic it gets from Google (Ahrefs)
• 73% of readers skim through blog posts (Hubspot)
• 34.48% report an average click rate of 1 – 1.9% (Good Firms)
• 68% of the online journey begins with a search engine (BrightEdge)
• 69% of businesses publish blog posts (The Manifest)
• The average blog post length is 1142 words (Orbit Media Studios)
• 10% of marketers consider blogging to generate their largest return on investment  (Hubspot)

Podcast Content Statistics

Podcasts provide a new way of connecting with audiences and continue to be an important aspect of a leading content marketing strategy.

The popularity of podcasting continues to grow year over year:

• Podcasts remain strong in content marketing with those in the United States tuning in to 15 billion hours of podcasts (Outgrow)
• There are 383.7 million listeners worldwide (Demand Sage)
• By the end of 2022, there will be 424 million podcast listeners  (Demand Sage)
• Podcasting will be a $4 billion industry by 2024 (The Verge)
• 162 million citizens in the United States have listened to podcasts and 41% listen every month (Demand Sage)
• 8 podcasts are listened to on average each week (Influencer Marketing Hub)
• The largest increase in podcast listeners is in the 12-34 age group (Edison Research)
• 82% of marketers plan to invest the same or more in podcasts or other audio content types (Hubspot)
• There are more podcast listeners in the United States than Netflix account holders (Edison Research)
• The peak listening hours for podcasts are between 8:15 and 8:30 am, followed by 11:00 to 11:15 am and 5:30 pm (Influencer Marketing Hub)
• 18% of US-based companies intend to incorporate podcasts into their marketing strategies (Hubspot)
• Monthly podcast listeners grew to 125 million listeners, an increase of 6.1% (eMarketer)
• 80% of consumers listen to all or most of each podcast episode (Podcast Insights)
• 79% of podcast listeners tune in on their mobile phones(Influencer Marketing Hub)
• Podcast ad spend is estimated to reach $1.74 billion this year (Statistica)

Video Content Statistics

People consume content in different ways. Some prefer to read a blog post while others may favor videos. To reach a larger audience, companies must provide content that appeals to these preferences.

Videos continue to be an effective content marketing asset:

• 93% of marketers agree that video content converts better or the same as other types of content (Vidyard)
• 70% of viewers purchased from a brand after viewing it on YouTube (Google)
• 62% of video marketers say success is measured by the engagement (likes, comments and shares) of their videos(Wyzowl)
• Business websites and social media channels are the most popular places to publish video content  (Vidyard)
• 51% of B2B marketers state that webinars have delivered the most optimal results for them (Content Marketing Institute)
• 92% of marketers consider video to be an important component of their content marketing plan (Wyzowl)
• 72% of businesses publish video content (The Manifest)
• 86% of marketers consider video to help generate leads  (Wyzowl)
• 72% of consumers would prefer to watch a video than read a post (Rock Content)
• 94% consider video to have increased understanding in service or product  (Wyzowl)
• Articles that include video get 83% more traffic (SEMrush)
• 55% of marketers create their own videos in-house (Wyzowl)
• When it comes to organic traffic, YouTube is the second most visited website in the United States (Ahrefs)
• 32% of video marketers use a combination of outsourced and in-house videos (Wyzowl)

Social Media Content Statistics

Social media continues to be one of the leading marketing channels, making it the ideal platform for promoting content. However, there are some tactics to keep in mind when creating social posts:

• Headlines that ask a question receive 23.2% more shares on social media (Backlinko)
•  When’s the best day to post on social? It doesn’t matter. Research shows that social shares are evenly distributed evenly regardless of which day it was posted (Backlinko)
• By 2023 users aged 65 and over will outnumber the 18-24 age group (Insider Intelligence)
• The best length for maximizing your social shares is 1,000 to 2,000 words (Backlinko)
• 62% of companies use social listening as a social media marketing tactic (Hubspot)
• The average consumer bounces between 7 different social media platforms each month (Sprout Social)
• Facebook is the platform used most by marketers worldwide (Statistica)
• TikTok and Reddit are the two social platforms that are growing the most. TikTok users will reach 78.7 million and Reddit will reach 43.3 million (Insider Intelligence)
• Facebook Messenger is expected to reach 3 billion users (Statistica)
• Instagram dominates engagement in social streaming services with 81% engagement versus Facebook’s at 8% (Sprout Social)

Key Content Marketing Takeaways

The format in which content marketers promote content continues to play an important role and has evolved. Video use is growing and where we use to see large quantities of content, it’s now more about the quality.

Content marketers can incorporate these ideas into their strategy as we head into 2023 and continue to nurture their content marketing efforts. Success in content marketing will demand marketers to evolve and create a multifaceted strategy, consisting of long-form content, video, and the use of the most effective social media channels to promote these efforts.

Need help with your content marketing strategy? Learn how ClearVoice can help you create a powerful content plan.

The post The 2023 Essential List of Content Marketing Statistics and Data appeared first on ClearVoice.

Taking a thought leadership approach to your content development strategy will set you apart from competitors, establish your brand as the authoritative figure in your niche and create trust between you and your audience.

Let’s talk about how your brand can benefit from implementing a thought leadership strategy.

What is brand thought leadership?

A thought leadership approach to content creation is rooted in educating your target audience. Rather than trying to sell your product or service, you’re providing valuable insights to your readers. Not only does this content educate them but it positions you or your brand as the expert on this topic.

Here are just a few of the benefits of establishing thought leadership content for your brand:

• Brand Awareness: A good thought leadership strategy will help your brand become the “go-to” for information within your industry and help build brand awareness. This is accomplished through publishing high-quality content and doing that consistently. As more people read and share your content, even more people will discover it. This cycle brings visibility to your brand and draws in a bigger audience.
• Greater Engagement: Content that resonates with your audience will encourage them to engage with your brand. This could be in the form of blog comments or social media interactions, whether liking, sharing, or commenting on your posts.
• Builds Trust with Your Audience: When you provide your audience with content that resonates with them, you will build credibility and trust with them over time. Your brand will become their source of trustworthy information, and ultimately they will share that will their audience, extending the reach of your content.

Brands that use thought leadership effectively

We’ve discussed the benefits but now let’s look at some examples of thought leadership. Draw inspiration from the brands below and see how you can incorporate these ideas into your brand’s content.

American Express

American Express has geared its Business Class blog specifically to professionals and business owners. The information provided is to help its audience run and grow its businesses successfully. The blog includes a mix of content types besides blog posts, such as podcasts and videos, appealing to various readers. American Express sends a weekly newsletter targeted toward small businesses that they label as “handpicked inspiration and insights.”

Deloitte

Deloitte’s Insights Blog provides content around innovation, technology, and leadership. Like American Express, Deloitte doesn’t only provide articles, there are videos and podcasts and a call to action to subscribe to the blog and receive this content directly to your inbox. Deloitte’s blog is sectioned into different areas, making it easy to scan and find exactly what you need.

Microsoft

Microsoft’s “Story Labs” serves its audience with insightful stories about its culture, including a look at upcoming projects, the Microsoft hiring process, and accessibility. Microsoft Stories is an example of how brands can let their readers into their company’s culture, providing an authentic look into the business.

REI

REI’s Expert Advice is another great example of a brand that is sharing its knowledge with its readers. REI’s blog posts content relates to outdoor knowledge like how to choose the right gear, tips for picking up new skills, and how to fully prepare for your adventures. The blog makes it easy to find the topic you need by categorizing all content on different activities, such as watersports, snowsports, camping, and more.

Patagonia

Patagonia’s “The Cleanest Line” uses the tagline, “Some stories to get you out there.” This powerful line is a great example of the type of content Patagonia provides for its audience. The blog provides stories about activism, adventure, nature, and more. With a visually stunning blog that highlights the brand’s articles and content like short films, Patagonia succeeds in showcasing its authentic voice and core values.

How to Apply a Thought Leadership Strategy in Your Content Marketing Efforts

To establish your brand as a thought leader, you’ll need to understand the core challenges of your audience and understand how to solve those challenges. This is why a good thought leadership strategy begins with market research. Once you understand your audience’s needs, you can move forward with creating your content marketing plan.

In doing so, remember that people consume content in different ways. Some prefer to read in-depth articles, others would rather watch a quick video or listen to a podcast. To meet the various needs of your target audience it’s important to provide a mix of content. An effective content strategy will include a mix of blog posts, videos (like webinars or how-to videos), and white papers and eBooks. Take advantage of the power of social media and share this content with your followers while encouraging dialogue.

Take it a step further by pitching content to industry publications. This will further establish you as a thought leader by showing that other experts see you as an authoritative voice in the industry. It will also get your brand in front of a larger following, resulting in greater reach and more visibility.

Establish a Following of Loyal Readers with Your Content

Establishing your brand as an expert in the industry with thought leadership content is not an overnight solution. It takes time and consistency. It also demands that you continually listen to the market and understand the needs of your audience and how those evolve.

Once you’ve done your research and know the types of content your target audience is looking for, you’ll be able to create a thought leadership content strategy that will keep readers coming back. Connect with a content strategist to get started today.

The post How to Position Your Brand as a Thought Leader With Content appeared first on ClearVoice.

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If yours isn’t giving off the vibe you want it to, it’s time for a change. That means you’ll either want to consider a refresh or rebrand. In some cases, a refresh could be the stepping stone for a larger transformation down the line.

Let’s talk about the differences and the reasons for each one and which might be the best choice for your brand.

Brand refresh vs. rebrand: Which is right for you?

A refresh does not change the core personality of your brand. Rather it spruces it up a little bit, like a fresh coat of paint. It enhances what you have already built.

Rather than starting over, you’re just enhancing your brand.

Refreshes could include:

• A slightly updated logo
• New color palette
• An updated website
• Updated fonts

A rebrand is essentially starting over from scratch. You’re knocking this house down, and you’re going to build a new one in its place. One that’s more suited to your taste and will showcase your (new) personality.

A rebrand could include:

• A completely new logo
• Showcasing a different personality
• Pivoting to serve a different market
• Expanding to appeal to a larger market

Why it’s important to refresh your brand

We don’t often get it right on the first try. While your brand may have served you well for many years, you may come to a point where it’s time for a change. This could stem from reasons like a change in leadership.

Who’s driving the ship? A new captain will likely have a vision for a new direction, leading the way for a refresh.

This could be something simple like freshening up resources with a new color palette or be a bit more in-depth with a new website content strategy and full makeover . A refresh is your chance to show the growth of your brand without overhauling it completely.

3 real examples of successful brand refreshing

When it comes to brand refreshes, there are many companies out there that have done it well. Some that stand out include:

1. Starbucks

Starbucks’ approach to a refresh is proof that small changes over time can result in a major impact. Starbucks’ logo has evolved over time, eventually dropping the “Starbucks coffee” text in its logo, yet maintaining its signature siren. With or without the text, it’s clear which brand the logo belongs to.

2. Instagram

Instagram took a similar approach to its refresh by updating its logo,  giving it a more modern twist that was more fitting of a brand evolving beyond simply photo sharing.

3. Mastercard

Mastercard is another on the list that modernized its logo, without changing much aside from removing its name. The color palette remained the same as does the impact. It’s a small change that proves less is more.

Why it’s important to rebrand

Often a rebrand is born out of the need to, essentially, keep up with the times. As the world evolves, business must too, otherwise you risk being left behind.  Many companies that opt to go for a complete rebrand are looking to modernize their image or attract a new audience.

Or perhaps you’ve taken on a persona that does not fit the current perception of your brand.

A rebrand allows your business to take on a new voice, showcase a fresh look, and reach new audiences.

3 real examples of successful rebranding

Rebranding is a bolder move, but for some brands, it’s essential to staying relevant and relatable to audiences.

1. Old Spice

It’s no longer your grandfather’s deodorant. Old Spice debuted a new look, complete with new tone and voice, pivoting completely into a newer, fresher personality. This change helped the brand appeal to a broader audience of all ages.

2. Dunkin’

Dunkin’ Donuts is no more. The brand dropped the “Donuts,” allowing its logo to showcase its expanded offerings. It’s not just for donuts anymore. This is a great example of rebranding to accommodate new offerings and business strategy, and the Dunkin’ rebrand got it right.

3. Tupperware

The beloved kitchen staple has adapted to be more modern and appeal to today’s consumer. The brand became popular in the 50s when it grew a following of loyal consumers and those who threw Tupperware parties.

Tupperware stayed true to its roots even through a rebrand that saw a new tagline, one that pays homage to those who sell it: “Confidence Becomes You.” The rebrand included a new voice, modern look and content targeted toward storytelling.

Grab some polish and let your brand shine

If you’ve determined it’s time for a change, you can undergo a minor refresh or go all out with a rebrand. The examples above show that it only takes minor tweaks to make a big difference.  In some cases that’s all that’s needed to reinvent your image.

However, if the changes your brand needs to make go beyond surface level, a rebrand will allow you to showcase a new look that is truer to your business.

Whichever option you select — brand refresh vs. rebrand — it’s important to ensure your existing or new brand aligns with your values, highlights your personality, reaches your target audience, and projects the image you’ve worked so hard to build.

No rebrand or refresh is complete without updated content to match. From web copy to press releases, talk to a content specialist today about getting high-quality content developed for your brand.

The post What Is the Difference Between a Brand Refresh and Rebrand? appeared first on ClearVoice.