Some businesses seem like they’ve got all the luck when it comes to content marketing.
Their blog posts get shared by influencers on social media. And you just know they’re getting a crazy amount of leads – their content is that good.
All the while, you’re spending hours creating content for your target audience, but you barely get enough traffic to make it worth the effort.
Does that situation sound familiar?
If so, don’t give up on content marketing just yet. Keep reading, and you’ll learn sixteen powerful content marketing tactics engage with your audience and boost your website traffic.
1. Survey your audience to determine what kind of content they want
You can do this by emailing your subscribers and asking them what the #1 challenge they’re facing is.
For example, if you have a marketing blog, you might ask your email subscribers to tell you the #1 challenge they face in relation to marketing their business. Then, you can use that information to guide the direction of your content so you’re always giving your audience the information they need.
2. Use SEO best practices when you write blog posts
I’m not talking about keyword stuffing here – I’m talking about performing SEO keyword research with Google Keyword Planner and using keywords naturally when you blog.
If you use WordPress, try the Yoast SEO plugin. It’ll tell you exactly how to improve your SEO so you can start ranking higher in search engines.
3. Create evergreen content
If you want your website to have content that people come back to, it needs to be evergreen. In other words, you need to write content that is continually relevant and doesn’t need to change over time.
When you do this on your blog, you’ll want to remove the dates from your posts – otherwise, people might think that the information in your older posts is no longer relevant.
4.Write seductive headlines
Think about it – even the best blog post in the world probably wouldn’t get much traffic if it had an ineffective headline. That’s why it’s so important for you to spend a significant amount of time crafting headlines that entice your audience to click.
5. Make sure your content is easy to read
Most people who read online content don’t actually read all of it. In fact, 81 percent of people only skim the content they view online.
To make sure people don’t leave your website due to clunky text that they can’t easily skim, optimize all of your content for easy readability by:
- Adding images
- Using bulleted lists
- Using short paragraphs and sentences
Just doing these 3 things will make your content much more easy to digest, which can decrease your bounce rate and make visitors more likely to come back to your website for more.
6. Add share buttons to your blog posts
To drive traffic to your website using social media, add some social sharing buttons to your blog posts. If you’re using WordPress, try the SumoMe plugin.
Just make sure you don’t overwhelm your readers with tons of buttons – instead, just include sharing buttons for the social media sites that are popular among your ideal customers.
7. Use Click to Tweet
This application allows you to create an eye-catching box that includes a message you want to share. When people see the box within your blog post, they’ll be able to click it to share your message on Twitter.
Click to Tweet even includes some analytics so you can easily track your click stats and make changes to your strategy based on what works best with your audience.
8. Use a social media scheduling tool
If you’re not using social media to its full potential because you’re short on time, try a scheduling tool like Hootsuite.
With Hootsuite, you can schedule posts ahead of time for multiple social media sites, which allows you to handle your social media marketing all at once. Not only does this reduce your workload – it makes it easier for you to create a social media marketing plan and stick to it.
9. Share your best content on Reddit
You’re probably using Facebook, Twitter, on Instagram for social media marketing… but what about Reddit?
Reddit is often overlooked by marketers, but it can be a good source of traffic if you use it this way:
- Find and join the subreddit that includes your target audience members. For example, if you are a veterinarian, you’d want to join the AskVet subreddit.
- Give your audience well-thought-out, thorough answers to their questions.
- Include links to your relevant blog posts when appropriate. Going back to the veterinarian example, if someone asked about which foods are dangerous for dogs on Reddit and you had a blog post with a list of dangerous foods for dogs, it’d be helpful for you to share a link to it there.
Regardless of your audience, make sure you aren’t too promotional when you do this or you’ll likely receive a negative response. People on Reddit will engage with your brand if you help them – not if you make them feel like they’re being sold to.
10. Mention well-known industry experts in a blog post
The experts that you mention will send extra traffic to your post because they’ll share it with their social media followers. On top of that, a good expert round-up blog post helps you build authority and connect with influencers in your industry. There’s no reason not to write one!
11. Create an infographic
Did you know that infographics are liked and shared on social media 3X more than other any other type of content?
It’s true. So, if you’re not creating any, now is a good time to start.
And don’t let a lack of graphic design skills stop you – there are plenty of free online design programs (my favorite is Canva) you can use to easily make your own infographics.
12. Use opt-in freebies to collect email addresses
Create a free eBook, whitepaper, or workbook to give away to your readers in exchange for their email address. Once you’ve used this strategy to build an email list, you can send your new blog posts to your subscribers, which will bring them back to your company website.
13. Start accepting guest blog posts
When you allow other people to contribute posts to your blog, you can require them to share those posts on social media, which can help you grow your following if you choose the right guest bloggers.
However, this can backfire and hurt your brand if the blogger submits a low-quality post. So, make sure you have a set of guidelines for your guest bloggers to follow.
14. Reply to people who comment on your blog posts
If a reader comments positively on one of your blog posts, you can feel confident that they like you and are engaged with your brand. You want to keep those engaged target audience members coming back to read your future posts, so show that you value their feedback by writing a well-thought-out response.
15. Write in a conversational tone
Kicking stuffy, formal language to the curb and writing conversationally is a great way to humanize your brand and connect with your audience. Here are a few tips to make your writing more conversational:
- Ignore lots of the grammar rules you learned in high school.
- Write how you talk.
- Include questions in your copy.
- Leave out the sleazy sales pitches.
16. Interview thought leaders in your industry
You’ll not only be able to share incredibly valuable content with your audience, but the thought leader you interview will also want to share the content with their audience, giving your piece a huge visibility boost. The best part? Building relationships with some of the best and brightest in your space!
If you use just a few of these content marketing tips, you should be able to improve your website traffic.
Just don’t get discouraged if you don’t see massive results right away. A good content marketing strategy takes time to execute, but eventually, your hard work will pay off.
Which of these strategies have you used to drive traffic to your website? Share in the comments section below!
