Content marketing has moved from being the stage support to SEO to the leading act, performing and generating results in its own domain. But there is still a lot of emphases placed on one-off content for some reason. Let me make one thing very clear before we even begin this blog-

“Random Acts Of Content No Longer Work”

This is the one line that is going to drive the entire blog and is also the primary reason why you need to create a content ecosystem. As an SEO company surrey, we have a good idea of what works and what does not.

The reason they do not work is very simple. You just can’t keep shooting in the air, in the hope that one will eventually land on your intended target. This is sadly not how content marketing works, but is the leading way people explain their content marketing strategy.

This needs to stop. There is constant content being generated out there making the industry very tough to succeed in and on top of that, you keep feeding small titbits with no context into the stream. All that ends up becoming is white noise at the end of the day. Basically a colossal waste of everyone’s efforts.

Often when the conversation moves towards the creation of a content marketing strategy, there is a lot of emphasis placed on adopting channels that perform the best and then letting the others go.

What we need to incorporate at this time in our strategies is consistency over short-term nuggets of information.

Why Do You Need More Channels

The simple answer is to drive up ROI. For any part of your audience to actually derive any kind of value from your content it needs to be coherent and consistent across channels. This does not mean that you put the same content across channels, what you need to do is keep the tone, voice, and messaging consistent while you tailor the content as per the channel.

Increase Visibility

Creating content seems to be a buzzword. Everyone is creating and flooding the internet with content. Whether it is blogs, infographics, case studies, or whitepapers there is a lot that is in the digital sphere. I would like to tell you that you need to continue to tailor content across channels. From video to AR/VR to Instagram stories your written content can easily be adapted to fit different platforms that combine rich and interactive media.

For Convenience Sake

Most customers do not follow through on a purchase because it is just that inconvenient. We live in a buyer’s world, which means that if you want to be able to go from lead to conversion your content needs to be easily available to the customer. It is all about their convenience, no matter how inconvenient it may end up becoming for you.

Relevancy is Essential

We live in a world where purchases can be made with the help of a single click. There are more chances than ever for you to make a potential customer make an impulse decision. So, you need to be ready for customers to potentially jump between different platforms depending on what their decision-making process is. A good content strategy takes into account different channels then optimized messages as per channels.

So, What Are The Different Aspects Of A Content Ecosystem?

Content has become a catch-all phrase today. There is no one channel that can operate in complete isolation from the rest. The term ‘first to market” has lost all its novelty thanks to the fast saturation period faced by the channels and the high turnover rate they have to face.

If you are looking to create a content ecosystem, here are the things that you need to take care of.

Foundational Content

The first type of content that you need to begin with is foundational content. This is the content that focuses on presenting to the customer what it is that you offer, what sets you apart and how you operate. All of it is fundamental and kind of an introduction to the customer about how you operate.

This is the content that helps build awareness about you as a brand and establish you through engaging with the audience.

Search Content

This is a crucial inbound content channel that is responsible for driving traffic to the website and the other online entities by offering solutions to the most basic queries related to your business searched online.

People who will reach you through this content would have already interacted with your foundational content and based on that would be seeking more answers.

This content functions in a similar manner as that of foundational content and helps facilitate new lead generation.

Thought Leadership Content

There are plenty of ways one can go creating this content. It is available across platforms and can take the form of blog posts, long-form social media posts, or digital videos. The goal here is to feed in the other two types of content that you have already put out there. As a thought leader, you are expected to give out meaningful content that adds value to the customer’s life.

This is an essential part of the consideration phase and helps the audience to build trust in you as a brand.

Product Content

After you have established engagement and authority, you can finally begin talking about yourself. This means that you start publishing content about how your product/service is able to provide value to a customer. This content includes product-focused blogs and videos, white paper, one-sheets, and other content that explains in-depth what your product is able to achieve.

By ensuring that your content is strong in the earlier stages, your brand can easily end up with higher close rates and improved conversion.

Customer Content

Marketing does not just stop once you have converted a customer. An effective ecosystem hinges on the premise that you are constantly marketing to existing customers. This is what ensures customer retention and lifetime customer value.

Customer content takes the form of blog posts, social media, email, video and other owned media channels to ensure that you improve customer satisfaction and engagement.

Digital marketing is no longer just a ranking game but rather an end to end process ensuring that you nurture customers for life.