Small Blog, Big Strategy

It’s incredibly tough for even the biggest brands to master content marketing. So what about small blogs? How are they staying relevant today? Microtargeting and interest-based awareness have changed digital strategy and these tactics are now home to small bloggers. Let’s call “small” any blog with more than five active content contributors and at least a few published posts. Sound like you? Keep reading for more of my take on how to amplify your blog’s online presence. If you site has yet to be born, refer to this easy-to-digest explanation on the first steps of getting a website — securing a domain name. Develop Reasonable KPIs No matter how big or small the budget, there are plenty of ways to get your content out there. For example: Be at the top of results when users search for you on Google Maximize reach and awareness of new posts immediately after release Drive and sustain website traffic via Twitter and referrals Focus on what is most important to your business: such as user acquisition, overall awareness and user engagement. This allows you to divide and conquer with paid search, native advertising, social media and affiliate marketing. Consider this perspective when developing your own KPIs. Aggregate Your Audience Data What does your audience like on each channel? What do they care about? Ask your audience data a lot of questions to help you dive further into who your readers are, how they use the chosen platform and what type of content they respond to most. Now see if you can match your blog’s content to the trends found within your audience data. This can help you understand if you’re offering the right content for your audience. Think of your analysis as instant market research. Your audience data allows you to truly map out your customer’s journey. Some marketers are innovating this concept entirely by creating content paths to match their content marketing goals. Identify a Content Strategy Once you’ve solidified your goals and target audience, examine your strategy. Nix any initiatives that don’t contribute to your ultimate mission. What is it that you ultimately want your audience to do? The answer to this question should drive your content marketing strategy. Experiment With Social Tactics Experiment with targeted content that is engaging and personalized. Be transparent and interesting to your users. Here are a few simple ideas to make this happen: Host a live Q&A panel on Periscope featuring your editorial staff; Let the audience choose the topic of your next blog post via Twitter polling; Find, attend and capture industry events with Instagram Stories. Depending on your audience and the theme of your blog, there are many ways of standing out to both followers and non-followers, alike. Play with and test different tactics for best results! Learn, Try, Repeat The best piece of advice for any small blogger is to learn, try, repeat. Here are three principles for riding the trend waves of your industry: There are tons of sources that can provide you with the training you need to be successful in content marketing. Use them! You can never go wrong with experimentation, but you can definitely go wrong without it. Don’t be hesitant toward failure. Digital changes by the second — and so do the needs of your audience. Remember to periodically optimize content to fit the needs of your users. Learn, try, repeat: It’s the most effective way for small blogs to sustain authority and relevancy in 2017 (and beyond!)

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Small Blog, Big Strategy

Kia Street

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Kia Street