Content Marketing: What is Needed in 2021

There are still six months to go before the end of this year. Content marketing is no longer the same as it used to be six months back. In this video, I will share a few content marketing strategies that I use for my business. If you are still using the old ways of doing things, I suggest you make the change right now and give yourself a chance to grow over the next six months.

Here are the content marketing strategies that I want you to start using right away.

Amplify

Have you heard we are in this together over the last two years due to COVID-19? It applies to content equally when it comes to being resourceful. Collaborate, collaborate and collaborate. Find out people within your network or online. Look for people who are at the same level as you are. It does not matter what channel or platform you are using. For example, say you have 100 followers on YouTube, find out people who have a similar following and line of work. Collaborate with them. 

Twitter on Fire

Here is an example of how Adidas football amplified its Reach on Twitter. They tweeted this message in February 2021. It spoke about how the legendary footballer Lionel Messi scored 644 goals with one club and that now he wishes to auction off the shoes he wore during his matches. The proceeds would go to kids struggling with their health.

Immediately after this tweet went out, Messi’s team retweeted the same message for their fans.

Now, Adidas had 3.6 million followers on Twitter at the time.

And team Messi had 3 million.

With this seemingly simple strategy that can come across as unworthy of mention, Adidas was able to amplify the Reach to a cumulative 6.6 million people in a matter of seconds! I understand that you do not have that volume of following on Twitter. It is ok. However, the fundamentals remain the same, even if you have 50 or 100 followers.

And why only talk about Twitter? The strategy works on other platforms too. Take LinkedIn, for example. There are so many posts on LinkedIn today that discuss jobs and social assistance. People post a tragic and true story about their financial situation during these trying times. 

LinkedIn and Instagram

Others on the network comment something like this below. Amplification at its best. You could do that too if you are looking for talent for your small business. Or, you could amplify your content on LinkedIn by commenting on posts, tagging people on your posts.

Alternatively, if you have an Instagram account, reach out to people within your niche and with a similar following. It is the easiest way to cross-amplify content and, it makes sure that you put out your content in front of your audience. Also, it is one of the best ways to go faster because you are not spending any amount of money on ads.

Video Marketing

Say hello to video marketing – gone are the days when you could write blog posts and heavy body content on a different platform. We are in the age of video marketing, where seeing is believing. There are a lot of platforms that prioritise video more than anything else. A great example is Instagram. They are competing with Tik-Tok, and hence they are pushing stories and reels more than anything else. It gives you a better opportunity to put your content out to as many people as possible.

Reels and Stories

In short, I am talking about Reach and Impressions. The mantra here is clear. Educate, engage and entertain. Think of live videos, webinars and interaction with your audience across different platforms. The more engaged they are with you, the more chances of converting that audience into leads. Later you can turn them into paying customers.

Let me give you an example from my own Instagram account to demonstrate the power of Reach with reels.

I had made these reels recently when I decided to give them a go and see if this is something I want to do for my Instagram. If you see these short reels, the reach of my content has been exemplary. My videos were played over 15,000 times in a matter of 3 days! And, this is organic results, no ads whatsoever!

If you are a start-up or a small business, you should focus on brand awareness as much as possible. Make sure you are out there where your target audience hangs. Be seen more and reap benefits later.

I am not the only one thumping for video marketing. Strategists worldwide feel that video marketing gives a better ROI and has done exceedingly well over the last few years.

Video Marketing ROI

Video marketing had an average start with some faith in giving a healthy ROI. From 33% ROI to 87% ROI over the last few years, video marketing has gained momentum rapidly. The way things are going, I will not be surprised if that number touches 95% plus.

Video marketing works like wildfire across platforms. Take Facebook pages, for example. After all, both Instagram and Facebook belong to the same group.

Across all the formats, video reaches more and more people. Notice that engagement also increases with Reach. While this may not be mandatory or a rule of thumb, more Reach gives you the potential for a better engagement rate. Brands are more conscious about engagement than anything else these days.

Keep the Target Audience in Mind

When you create videos, make sure that you think of the mobile user and their preference to watch videos. If you think about it, most people consume video content while commuting, waiting at the airports, doctor’s clinics or in a queue. Also, some young corporate employees prefer to work from their desks while watching videos in silence or mute. Say hello to passive content consumption!

Have a look at a study made by the popular platform – InVideo.

Make sure you keep this 92% of the consumers in mind if your target audience overlaps with the audience we are discussing here. Also, 50% use and depend on captions. I do that myself, especially when I am in a crowded place. It adds context to what I am watching and helps me remain engaged.

Content recycling, Repurposing

You do not have to beat yourself up to create content every day, especially if you are a start-up or a budding business. You only have limited resources, and you want to focus on those areas where you get the maximum returns for your business. It does not surprise me that many people have made loads of money by repurposing their existing content and distributing it over their entire network.

Its all about distribution

Say you created a blog post in a week. You can take small pieces of the article and create small clips that could go on Instagram as reels. Or you could use them in email marketing or, you could use them as tweets.

Here is an example:

Work on a content marketing strategy that helps you to manage your assets and redistribute them in a way that reaches many from your target audience. So, say, for example, you have a draft of words that you deem fit to pass to your customers or audience. You can do so many things with the same piece of content. For example, curate it, create a podcast, make a YouTube video, post content on social media.

By doing this, your content faucet will never run dry and, you will also find out what your audience likes on different platforms. Please do not assume that they will like or dislike your content across the content platforms. Same buyer personas can have a different taste across platforms.

Making Content work for you

Another example, say, you created an ebook on What is Digital Marketing. Since you put in all the time and effort on making the ebook, use that content on other platforms. You could easily create an outline of the book and present it as a blog post. Or, if LinkedIn is a relevant platform for your lead generation activity, use that article and post it on your profile.

Take an engaging study from your ebook and post it as an infographic on Twitter with the right hashtags. Or, why not make a YouTube video out of it? Host a masterclass for your target audience. I could go on but, you got the gist.

I do this all the time. Here is an example.

I wrote this valuable article on how to choose an email marketing service provider. Then I turned the same into a YouTube video. Have a watch.

It works all the time! Work smart and get there faster! Of course, do not discount on providing value to your target audience or customers, ever!

Up-dation and Evergreen

Another trick is to update your existing content regularly. Say you have a blog post on The 20 Best Places to Travel in 2021:  Now, you cannot use this blog post in 2022 because the date makes it obvious. Also, the tips could be obsolete too. So, you want to make sure that you are on top of your content up-gradation. It brings in a lot of additional website traffic.

Metrics

Marketers have focused on engagement (likes, comments and shares) on different platforms. However, today it is more important to reach as many people as possible, especially for newer brands. No wonder why Instagram has given an option to hide likes from their platform altogether. Even on a platform like YouTube, it is not the number of video likes or subscribers but the number of views that get you the monetisation you need. Your content marketing strategy should focus on the exponential Reach across selective platforms with a dedicated focus on a few pieces of content every month.

Brand Awareness vs Reach

As you can see from this insight pulled out from Instagram (not my account), discovery metrics like Reach and Impressions with the help of the right hashtags can do the trick.

Do note that I have rampantly used the words brand awareness and reach throughout this article. However, both of these words mean different things in organic and paid disciplines. For example, focus on brand awareness and Reaching more people organically, as shown in the Instagram metric. 

But, when you create an ad on Facebook or Instagram, both brand awareness and Reach are different goals! Brand awareness in ads means Reaching out to those audiences that will find your content meaningful and relevant. They are more likely to take action when they see the ad. Reach in ads means reaching out to as many people as possible.

Let me know what you think of this list. If you think I’ve missed something out, don’t forget to share that with me in the comment section and, I will try to include it in my next post on content marketing.

Download the Content Marketing Strategy 2021 (PDF Copy)