And not just to capture the attention of your prospects, but also to get higher in the Google rankings. As SEMrush notes, 55% of successful content marketing strategies zeroed in on improving the quality of a brand’s content.
But how do you create better content than your competitors? Below, we cover some of the best strategies for doing just that. Let’s jump in.
Develop a customer-driven content marketing strategy to create better content
The best content is always the content that your audience wants to read most. Luckily, there are several ways you can uncover which content is hitting the mark with your readers.
To start off with, review your metrics to find out which pieces of content are performing best. From length of time spent on page to how visitors downloaded your latest white paper, use your most successful pieces of content to guide your future content marketing strategy.
It’s also important to talk to your customers regularly to find out the kind of content they want to see and what they would find most helpful. To increase the number of interviews you’re able to schedule, you can also provide a small incentive like a gift card to a cafe or online retailer.
In addition, also take a look at trending pieces of content. Buzzsumo tracks trending stories and articles based on a range of factors, including the topic, domain, and author. You can use Buzzsumo to find articles that have the highest number of likes and shares across social media. Use these insights to find out which content is performing best with audiences like yours.
Create noteworthy content by following the best writing practices to create better content
There’s a number of ways you can make your writing better. Great content should follow several principles:
- First up, focus on perfecting readability — ditch winding sentences and drawn-out paragraphs. When your readers first arrive on your page, they’ll typically scan your content before they read it. Keep your sentences short and limit your paragraphs to four sentences per paragraph to encourage them to read in more detail.
- Even in the world of B2B, the best content is never dry. Keep an energetic, engaging voice throughout your content. You can appear professional and on-brand, while still making your content enjoyable to read.
- Avoid creating fluffy content by backing up your narrative with evidence. Whether you include up-to-date statistics or quotes from respected people in your industry — evidence moves your content from the realm of opinions to respected thought leadership.
Enrich your content with research to create better content
Whether you compile quotes from thought-leaders in your industry or you undertake your own unique research projects. Providing research-based insights in your content goes a long way in providing additional value to your audience. Here are some of the best ways to do it:
- Provide original research with your own white papers and case studies. If you want to show you’re a leader in your industry, there’s no better way than to provide your own original research on an important topic to your audience.
Expert roundups — as we explore in our post on collaborative content marketing, an expert round-up of quotes from industry leaders is a great way to deepen your content, reach new audiences, and build your SEO ranking.
Outdo your competitors with superior content
If you want to create better content than your competitors, there are a few simple strategies you can put into play to help you get there.
Great content always begins with acing the principles of strong writing. To make sure you’re giving your audience what they want to see, make sure you chart your metrics and regularly speak to your customers. Finally, the best content is authoritative — provide additional value with unique research on your chosen topic.
Want more insights into creating great content? Download our new content trends report here.
