While having a solid content strategy is vital in today’s digital ecosystem, a content calendar can single-handedly make or break the success of even the most well-planned strategy.
So in some ways, a content calendar is one of the most important aspects of your content marketing strategy.
Why, you may ask?
Because a content calendar helps to keep your content distribution on track.
It lets you see what’s coming up next and can help you avoid falling behind and needing to write up last-minute content.
In today’s blog post, we’re going to take a look at the importance of creating and sticking to a content calendar, as well as how you can plan your own.
Why use a content calendar?
Using a content calendar ensures that you and your team stay organized and on top of your content creation.
Content calendars make it easier to keep track of your deadlines and can also give your entire team more transparency when it comes to content that you’re planning on publishing in the future.
To put it simply, content calendars make the entire process of creating, curating, and publishing content much easier to accomplish for everyone involved.
Building a content calendar for your brand
Now that you understand the importance of using a content calendar, let’s take a look at how you can create your own just like all the leading brands out there.
So where do you start?
Choose your content types
The first thing you’ll need to do is to decide on the types of content you want to use and your publishing schedule.
Here are a few of the most common types of content:
Videos
Blog posts
Social media posts
Podcasts
Landing pages
Newsletters
There really aren’t any limits when it comes to the type of content that your brand can publish.
Also, keep in mind that not all types of content are going to work for your business.
For example, if you run a cosmetic company, your going to want content that’s highly visual. Therefore, video tutorials or how-to blog posts are probably your best bet.
On the other hand, if you sell cosmetics, newsletters and infographics might not click as well with your audience.
So just be sure to take some time to think about what types of content are going to work best for your brand. Then, start small, and diversify your content offering as your brand continues to grow.
Decide on your schedule
Then, once you’ve decided on the type of content you’ll publish, you need to decide on your publishing frequency. For example, you could choose something like:
two blog posts per week
one video post per month
one e-book per quarter
Just keep in mind that your publishing schedule can either grow or shrink depending on your audience’s reaction to your content.
So let’s say you start out by publishing only one blog post per month. But you quickly notice that your content is being well-received by your audience.
In this care, you might want to consider publishing blog posts more often.
Create your calendar
The next thing you’re going to want to do is to create a spreadsheet and fill it in with the information you’ve decided on.
At this point, you can add as much or as little information as you want in your columns. Just make sure to include the following information in your calendar to help you keep track of your content:
Now I’m sure you’re well-aware of it since we’ve already talked about this, but the entire reason for creating a content calendar is to help you plan and organize your content.
By having your content and its publishing schedule laid out in front of you or your team, there should be no reason to fall behind on creating your content.
When it comes to content marketing, consistency is key.
By delivering certain types of content on a given schedule, your audience will come to expect this type of content from you.
And some might even learn your schedule enough to expect your blogs, videos, or infographics on certain days. So don’t leave your audience in the dark.
I know you already have a busy week, but by taking an hour or two to plan a content calendar, you’ll be simplifying the content creation process. And in turn, it makes your busy workday just that much easier.
Still not sure where to start when planning content for your brand?
Working with an experienced content marketing agency will provide you with the necessary knowledge and guidance to navigate the process of creating content.
What are some of the most important things you keep in mind when creating a content calendar? Don’t be scared to share your tips and tricks with our community.
We’ve all heard it before; if you don’t have an online presence, you won’t be able to reach new customers…
With that in mind, most entrepreneurs or small businesses rush into throwing together a website and creating a few social media pages.
But the world of social media and digital marketing can be a scary place.
And if you don’t know what you’re doing when it comes to your company’s online presence, you could be missing out on valuable opportunities to reach new targeted customers.
Or worse…
You could even end up damaging your business’ reputation, in the search engine rankings, as well as with your customers.
That’s why it’s important to talk to a digital marketing consultant about your company’s online presence.
Speaking to an expert allows you to gain valuable insight into the world of digital marketing.
For example, not all social media channels work the same for all types of businesses.
Our team can advise you on which platforms will work best to help you achieve your business goals.
Keep in mind that the internet is in constant flux, it’s constantly evolving.
This means that businesses that are able to keep up with current trends are far more likely to succeed in the online world.
On the other hand, brands that fail to keep up with the Joneses tend to suffer. They struggle to do any business online.
And if those brands don’t do anything about their struggle, they end up being swept away by the swell of businesses that are scammering to make it online.
So if you’re wondering how content marketing can help your business, or if you simply want to learn more about online marketing in general, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.
You can drop us a message on our Contact page or directly hobomarketingco@gmail.com
For business owners, it’s vital to know how to promote your brand the right way.
You know that learning about marketing, especially online content marketing, because you know and understand that promoting your business online is a necessary aspect of business survival in 2019.
What’s the issue?
There are literally thousands of different ways you can promote your business, and on top of that, there are millions of so-called “experts” giving you different advice on how to go about doing it.
So how do you know which methods and strategies are right for you?
We’ll get to that a bit later in this post, but first, let’s discuss a few important points to help you promote your brand the right way.
The wrong way – promoting your business 2019
Hobo Marketing is a digital content marketing company. We help our clients rank on search engines and improve their online communications.
Techniques such as PPC, SEO, Paid Advertisement and other types of social media marketing can work tremendously well for brands, but only if they meet the following criteria:
Your brand is focused on communicating value to your customers above anything else.
You understand that loud advertisements that say “buy our products/services” are not an effective way to communicate value.
Creating content for search engines, before internet users, is not an effective way to communicate value.
Content marketing is a means to an end, not the end in itself.
By understanding that communicating value to your customers should come before all else, most brands will do well in digital content marketing as a by-product of their online communications.
In fact, putting your customers and clients first relates directly to SEO in several ways.
For example, when you create a properly designed and user-friendly website, your visitors will have a much better experience when interacting with your brand.
In turn, you’ll get an “SEO-boost” in the form of a lower bounce rate and longer session times.
When your content makes people want to like it, share it, and link to it, it will naturally build your site’s authority, as opposed to using black-hat SEO tactics, which can actually harm your site’s reputation.
In the end, the better your website and content are, the easier it will be to get positive user engagement, boosting the “engagement signals” that Google and other search engines use to rank websites.
Now without further ado, let’s dive into the specifics on promoting your brand online in 2019.
Just keep in mind that the following tips all revolve around putting your customer first!
Promoting your brand online in 2019
When it comes to marketing and promoting a product or service, most people think of the most obvious techniques such as simply marketing and promoting those products or services.
But I’d like to take a quick moment to mention a crucial marketing aspect that often gets overlooked – improving your product or service for your customers.
Think about it;
Have you been going the extra mile to meet your customer service demands?
Have you actively been searching for new ways to improve your products/services?
Have you recently completed a deep analysis of your product development process?
Digital content marketing is an excellent and extremely powerful tool, but it’s pale in comparison to the all-mighty power of a sterling business reputation.
Afterall all, a good reputation can help your digital content marketing efforts in several direct ways, which we’ll discuss below.
Reviews and recommendations
One important thing to keep in mind is that search engines use online reviews and recommendations as a powerful ranking signal.
Therefore, your brand needs to seek reviews on platforms, such as Google, Yahoo, and Yelp, from your customers.
However, to get those positive reviews, you first need to have a stellar product or service that provides a solution for your customers.
Below, we’ll take a quick look at a few tips for improving your product or service in order to get better reviews:
Make an active effort to seek feedback from your customers, then use it to improve product/service.
Always ask for a review after your product or service has been delivered.
Follow-up with long-term customers.
Always aim to have the best possible customer service in your industry.
Building your brand
In a recent blog post, marketing guru, Neil Patel, wrote about the future of SEO in 2019. In the post, he discusses building your brand as one of the most important marketing techniques for business owners.
But why is building your brand so important?
Well, Google and other search engines trust and rank established brands better than new websites and companies on the web.
Therefore, if you already have a well-established brand, your website will have a much better chance of ranking higher in the search engine results.
Of course, it’s obvious to say, that a solid digital content marketing campaign can also help you build your brand, but more importantly, so does the quality of your product or service.
So if you’re able to create a product or service that consumers are going to rave about, you’ll subsequently have more people searching for your business online.
And the more searches your brand gets, the more credibility search engines will assign to your website.
So before anything else, you should focus on putting your brand on the map with a killer product or service that gets people talking.
Citations and mentions
When an internet user mentions your brand anywhere online, your website will get a “cool point” from Google’s algorithm.
These ranking signals are known as “citations”.
And the best part is that even if you don’t get a backlink from the mention, the citation will still be taken into account by Google.
So once again, making your brand known as an expert with a killer product within your industry will obviously increase your chances of getting citations.
And even more obviously, the more citations you get, the more authority your site will be attributed to search engine algorithms.
Digital content marketing
The best definition of content marketing is the process of creating and sharing relevant content with your target audience.
But how can a better product/service help with content marketing?
Well, the better your product/service, the more you’ll have to work with when creating content for your audience.
Think about it, the better your product/service, the easier it will be to create and share content that establishes you as a leader in your industry.
And as anyone in the industry will tell you… content is king…that is, authoritative content.
Focus on the long-term
if you’re unable to focus on a long-term perspective, content marketing isn’t going to work for you. Or neither will any other form of marketing, for that matter.
Remember that digital content marketing isn’t a “cookie-cutter” solution that’s going to solve all your problems.
You have to learn what works for you, and what doesn’t, and this takes time.
How long, you may be asking?
Well, typically, we tell businesses that content marketing and SEO takes anymore between 6 to 12 months before the full effects will be noticeable.
But it can take even longer to build brands that stand out from all of their competition.
In other words, it takes much more than tactics and strategies to succeed on the internet. It takes a certain level of patience and dedication that won’t come easily to every business owner out there.
Fortunately, this also makes content marketing that much easier since most brands aren’t willing to invest the necessary time and resources into their online marketing efforts.
So if you’re able to differentiate yourself, your brand can easily win in 2019.
Choosing the right marketing channels and strategies
Obviously, there are many different channels that you can use to market your business online in 2019.
Still, it’s important to remember that you don’t need to use all of them. Instead, only focus on the channels that actually work for your business.
For example, if you’re a cosmetics company, video marketing would be the best channel for your brand.
After all, make-up is a visual product, therefore, using video tutorials should work wonders for your online marketing.
Or, if you’re a company that sells industrial machine parts, you might be better off writing in-depth blog content about the specifics on your parts.
Also, fo B2B companies, LinkedIn usually works better than other social media platforms.
So before you launch a content marketing campaign on all social channels, it’s important to understand which ones will work best for you.
SEO
SEO – Search Engine Optimization
Do all businesses and brands need SEO?
In some form or another, practically all businesses can benefit from improving their SEO rankings. However, the amount of effort needed will vary from one business to the next, and so do the results that you can expect.
So what should you keep in mind?
Potential market size – many markets have more online searchers than others. For example, real estate is a much larger market than hand-knit scarves.
Competition – competition is typically in direct relation to your potential market size.
Return on Investment (ROI) – some industries will obtain searches with more “purchasing intent” than others. Meaning there are more searches relating to purchasing decisions in certain industries than others.
If you’re unclear about any of this, we advise that you talk with an experienced content marketing company to see if SEO is right for your brand.
Images, Infographics, and Video
Above all else, video is the front-runner when it comes to digital content marketing.
Just take a look at these video content marketing stats:
According to WordSteam, Millenials watch the most online videos, with men spending about 40% more time watching videos than women.
Cisco has predicted that over 80% of all internet traffic will be generated by video by the year 2021.
According to Hubspot, 45% of people watch one hour or more of online videos per day.
So with stats like this, it’s easy to see why video marketing is easily one of the most popular and most effective forms of digital content marketing in 2019.
And on top of creating great video content, you can also use other engaging forms of media such as infographics to communicate with your audience and provide them with value.
In the end, the more engaging and relevant media you publish, the better.
Not only does this provide value fo your customers, but it also helps you improve several important SEO metrics such as:
Above all else, you need to commit to promoting your business online to succeed in 2019.
Without making that effort and dedication, your business is sure to run into numerous roadblocks when it comes to marketing in 2019.
So either on your own or with the help of an experienced content marketing agency like The Hobo Marketing Company, make 2019 the year that your business succeeds online!
Got any ideas or inspirations for content marketing in 2019? We’d love to hear from you. Drop us a message in the comments below!
Whether you’re looking for on-page content, blogs, editorials, social posts, or simply need advice on how to make your website more profitanle The Hobo Marketing Co is here to help.
We are an elite team of freelancers who will do everything we can to help you achieve your business goals.
If you’re a small business, we’d love to hear from you.
Drop us a line in the comments below or send us a message on our Contact Page.
In 2014, I’d had enough of working jobs I had no passion for. So I decided to look into other types of work I might be interested in.
I searched online and read countless articles on “how to make money from home” or “how to earn your first million online”.
But in my eyes, all of them translated into “you must buy our product or course, and we won’t guarantee you’ll make any money”.
At the time, I was fascinated with traveling the world and punk rock music was something that I’d grown up listening to.
So I came up with the idea to start my own travel blog, call it The Punk Rock Hobo, and pursue work as a freelance copywriter, which would hopefully allow me to travel the world.
Below you’ll find a more detailed case study of The Punk Rock Hobo and what I’ve been able to learn from it.
Campaign Objectives
As I’ve said, I started out with virtually no experience working with WordPress or any other type of Content Management System. Therefore, my goals and objectives for The Punk Rock Hobo were rather simple:
Build a functioning website
Generate traffic
Earn money
So with these four goals as my main campaign objectives, I developed a very (extra very) simple strategy to achieve them.
Strategy
The first phase of my strategy, as should be the first step in any online marketing strategy, was to do research and to learn as much as possible about developing websites and generating an income from them.
I also did research into how I would drive traffic to my website and learnt that the easiest ways to earn money from a blog or website were either by selling ad space and through affiliate marketing.
So with that in mind, I learned how to implement Google Adsense onto my site and signed up for a few affiliate programs, mainly Amazon’s.
To drive traffic, my plan was to gain as many followers as I could on my social media accounts and then use these platforms to spread my content across the web, in turn, driving traffic to my website.
Results
With this very basic strategy, I’m proud to say that I was able to achieve my very basic goals, all within one year from when I started looking into things.
I built my first website using WordPress.
I managed to gain more than 5,000 Twitter followers and had over 300 active followers on WordPress.
I was able to drive small, yet very real amounts of traffic to my site.
I earned a massive $14.70 with Google Adsense.
I made my first sale via Amazon’s affiliate program and earned something like $1.41 when somebody bought a pair of hiking pants that I’d promoted on my blog.
Takeaway
In conclusion, my adventure with The Punk Rock Hobo has taught me a lot about building and running websites.
I learned how to build and develop websites using WordPress.
I learned how to integrate a variety of plugins, helping me track my site’s metrics, allowing me to set benchmarks, and learn more about my audience.
I learned how to generate revenue using Google Adsense.
I learned many tactics and strategies that can be used to run successful affiliate marketing campaigns.
I also learned many things that should never be done when building and developing websites.
The culmination of this knowledge and experience has since lead me to pursue a full-time career as a freelance copywriter and today, I’m proud to say that I’m the founder and voice behind The Hobo Marketing Company.
We know the online world can be harsh sometimes, but by sharing our stories and helping each other, we can build a better digital tomorrow!
We’d love to hear your story on how you first got into digital marketing. Drop us a line in the comments section below or send us a message via our Contact Page.
