We hear a lot about content marketing these days. It is the latest and greatest in a long line of internet marketing strategies that is used by marketing and SEO professionals alike to engage and attract customers. When done correctly, content marketing provides a number of important benefits such as better keyword targeting to increase the number of visitors to your website, more targeted content that will help you increase your range of target keywords, and a better search ranking for your website.

Every successful content marketing strategy has a number of common elements. In the same sense, every unsuccessful content marketing plan also shares similar characteristics. This is why it is important to understand both the successful tasks (the Do’s) and the strategies you want to avoid (The Don’ts) when developing your content marketing strategy.

The following outlines the Do’s and Don’ts of content marketing:

The Do’s

  1. Use a diverse mix of content such as blogging, guest blogging, infographics and other types of online media content. This offers a well-rounded experience for your users.
  2. Have a blog on your website, add content frequently, and focus on high quality posts.
  3. Share your content on your social media accounts.
  4. When using infographics make sure to make it visually appealing and informative. Include stats, numbers and other information that is directly connected to the topic.
  5. Make content sharing as easy as possible.
  6. When posting content on external websites, focus on finding quality sites that will give you a high quality link.
  7. Make sure that you enter the conversation people are having online about your brand. Respond to people that have commented on your blog posts, social media pages, and other content you have published online.

The Don’ts

  1. Don’t write articles or blog posts about topics that have been done a million times before.
  2. Be unique and avoid copying other content strategies directly. No one likes copycats!
  3. Avoid taking a “hard sell” approach. Focus on informing and being a resource for users.
  4. Don’t focus on quantity over quality.
  5. Avoid duplicate content. Period. This will just get you in trouble with Google.
  6. Don’t cheap out on the creation of graphics, coding, and multimedia for your content marketing plan. If you do, it could end up not looking professional and polished.
  7. Don’t live in a vacuum. Don’t forget to tie your content marketing strategy into pre-existing content. Make sure you include links and mention it on your social media accounts. This will encourage readers to continue to consume additional content from your brand.

Creating high quality content through a targeted content marketing strategy is an effective way to connect users with your company and your brand online. Focus on the Do’s and avoid the Don’ts and you will be well on your way to increased website traffic, a better search engine ranking, and a more engaging relationship with your customers.

Author Bio:

by Nolan Wilson

Nolan Wilson is a freelance writer and owner of nolanwilsonfreelance.com. He specializes in content development, SEO, social media and article marketing, and works with SMBs to help them create content for their websites that enhances internet marketing and SEO campaigns. He has a Bachelor's Degree in Media, Information & Technolculture, and a Master's Degree in Library and Information Science from the University of Western Ontario.