In this post, we’re talking about several of the latest content marketing trends that help you compete online AND make it easier to manage your workload.
Read on to discover some of the ways you can stay consistent and stand out—without too much extra work.
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[01:09] Introduction
[02:32] Artificial Intelligence (AI)
[05:17] Repurposing Content to Achieve Multi Channel Marketing
[09:46] Live Video/Live Streaming
[12:12] BONUS: Content Refreshing/Updating
[16:04] Bloopers
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
RankIQ
Atomic Reach
Frase.io
MissingLettr
Restream
Streamyard
BeLive
AppSumo
[Meghan] We’re always talking about how tough marketing is when you’re already swamped with juggling life and business. It’s commonplace for smaller businesses to have to do more with less.
[Theresa] But, who wants or needs MORE to do? No one, right?! Our goal with this podcast is to alleviate the overwhelm, not make it worse!
[Meghan] Exactly. That’s why today we’re talking about a few content marketing trends that are delivering great results AND that actually make it easier for you to keep up with your marketing.
The idea here is not to add to the pile. Instead, listen to these trends with an open mind since you may discover some options that could work better overall. As in, better marketing and better workload.
[Theresa] Newer concepts can lead to improved workflows, productivity, and results. So, definitely give these ideas a chance!
[Meghan] These particular trends are perfect for the overworked small business owner or marketer.
Remember, even one small change can make your marketing more manageable and more effective.
[Theresa] Okay, I love it! That’s the kind of guidance and information that helps to improve processes and reduce overwhelm.
These content marketing trends up your game AND reduce your workload. Who doesn't need both?Click To Tweet1) Artificial Intelligence
[Meghan] Number one on the list is artificial intelligence or AI.
AI has been around for a while now. But now there are AI tools for content marketing. And you can use them without paying hundreds of dollars every month.
Some of the areas where these tools help are:
- Keyword research
- Search engine optimization
- Writing and editing
- Content topic ideas
- Content analysis and performance metrics
The beauty of AI is that it sifts through massive amounts of data and analyzes it super fast. Since AI performs much of the heavy lifting, you save time by not having to do or to learn research, writing, editing, search engine optimization, and analysis.
You can also save loads of money because paying $50-$100 a month is a lot less than hiring out for all of these tasks.
[Theresa] At first, it may feel like spending $50-$100 a month is hefty. But think about what your time and sanity are worth. If you were to hire out for this, it would definitely cost more.
So, look at it from that perspective and be open to doing business a little differently. After all, if you want to improve your productivity, you’ll need to try different things.
[Meghan] We certainly understand not wanting to invest in another app or tool. But, the right tool can be worth it.
There are some really promising apps available. For instance, there’s Atomic Reach, where the AI learns how to write for your audience in a style they prefer, which results in a 78% growth in conversion rate. Not too shabby!
There’s also RankIQ from Brandon Gaille, who is a very successful blogger and SEO expert. His app helps with SEO, keyword research, titles and more.
While I haven’t personally tried either of those apps, I did recently purchase Frase.io, which is another AI tool that helps with content research, writing, and optimization. And, I’m super excited to try this content marketing trend myself!
[Theresa] Content marketing and management require a lot of effort. So, AI sounds like a smart and affordable way to save time while also improving results.
And, these tools sound like a perfect solution to shortcut some of the tasks that usually demand the most time.
Affordable AI Tools for Content Marketing
2) Repurposing Your Content to Achieve Multi Channel Marketing
[Meghan] The next content marketing trend is content repurposing.
Content repurposing refers to re-using the same or similar content across multiple platforms and in different formats. Lots of brands are repurposing to get more mileage from their content and to have a presence on more than one channel.
By repurposing, reimagining, and diversifying your content into multiple formats, you can appeal to more people and reach a wider audience across different platforms. And that means you can compete with companies that have bigger teams with bigger budgets.
It’s really tough to be everywhere online! But repurposing content makes it possible to increase brand awareness without breaking the bank.
[Theresa] We are big believers in repurposing. For example, we record this podcast and then use the episode to write accompanying blog posts.
Then we add visuals to each blog post since images are essential for SEO, comprehension, and readability. The secret sauce is that we design these blog images so that they’re usable on social media too.
So, we repurpose our podcast into blog posts and social media posts, and we include our podcast audio in each blog post too. The three all work together to maximize our online presence.
The only thing we’re missing is video, but again, we don’t try to do it all.
[Meghan] Even without video, I think this is such a big win! It’s three for one, ya know?
Just by tacking on a few steps in your content management process, you can turn your content into multiple formats to use in so many different ways.
And look, some of this extra work is inevitable. You’re going to need social media posts. It’s simply a matter of either incorporating tasks at the front end or circling back later when you’re less likely to do it.
PRO TIP: Incorporate repurposing tasks into your content creation/management process to make it manageable.
[Theresa] Let’s be honest, how often will you go back and repurpose? You won’t. It’s too much of a burden. It’s more effective to work these tasks into your process so that you’re able to achieve multi channel content marketing without as much overwhelm.
An easy but effective way to do this is to simply create a checklist that contains the steps for creation, publishing and repurposing. It can be a Word document, a spreadsheet or be inside of a work management tool, like Asana.
A method like this supports your time management efforts. But it also becomes a fantastic resource and guide when you’re ready to outsource all or part of it to others.
[Meghan] In addition to creating processes, another key element to successful repurposing is to use tools that make it easier, especially if you’re a team of one.
For example, I use an app called MissingLettr to batch social media content creation and posting.
Once the Messy Desk Podcast blog post goes live, MissingLettr automatically creates an accompanying social media campaign. It grabs all of the images from the blog post and uses AI to write lots of social media posts for me based on the text in the blog post.
The app is fairly accurate and a massive time saver. I can edit or approve the posts then schedule them on social media how I please.
This massively simplifies my social media marketing for both the podcast and the blog post.
[Theresa] That’s a huge advantage! And you know I’m upset that I missed out on that AppSumo deal.
I’m launching a course in the second quarter of this year and repurposing some of my existing content in the ramp up to cart open. While I can totally run the play I’ve created myself, I know it’ll go faster with more hands. This is where an outsource is super valuable, so that’s the route I’ve taken.
I have a part time virtual assistant who will be responsible for part of my repurposing plan. She focuses on the lower-level tasks, like creating graphics, which frees me up to stay engaged with higher-level tasks. Additionally, it reduces my stress and workload. And that’s a huge win in my book!
3) Live Video or Live Streaming
[Meghan] The third trend—which is a persistent theme in 2021 and beyond—is video, or in this case, live video or live streaming as it’s often called.
Video is undoubtedly crushing it when it comes to lead generation and sales. We’ve already covered the jaw-dropping stats related to video in general.
But when it comes to live video, it’s the next best thing to interacting with others in a face-to-face, in-person setting. Live streaming is engaging, captivating, and influential. And those traits make it super powerful.
According to Cisco, live video is expected to grow 15-fold by 2022 and reach a 17% share of all internet traffic (Source). So, the popularity of live streaming is definitely on the rise.
But, the point I want to make here is that out of all of the content options, live video offers the most impact for the least amount of effort. If you’re looking to simplify your content marketing, live video may be the Holy Grail!
[Theresa] Let’s face it…blogging, vlogging, podcasting, email marketing, social media marketing—they all require significant effort. Even with podcasting, there’s some editing and tech work needed for a professional end result.
However, with live video, you hit a button or two, and you’re producing AND publishing content at the same time. There’s no editing, not much scripting (if any), and nothing to do after (unless you plan to repurpose your live video).
You don’t have to stress about tech too much either. People accept the rawness of live video. They prefer seeing your human side, so that makes the bar for production quality lower than other mediums.
So, I don’t know how much more you can ask when it comes to content marketing simplicity, right?
[Meghan] Totally! Of all the trends on this list, live streaming provides the biggest benefits when it comes to upping your game and making your content marketing easier.
And don’t forget that there are plenty of apps to stream live video across multiple platforms at once. This means you can reach more people with the same amount of work. Options like Restream, Streamyard, and BeLive make this possible. Check AppSumo since they seem to offer streaming app deals a few times a year.
4) Update Your Old Content (Bonus)
[Meghan] Alright, to recap…the top three content marketing trends that I see as ways to improve your results and your productivity are artificial intelligence, content repurposing, and live streaming.
I want to add a runner-up. It’s a runner up since it’s mostly specific to blog content. The trend is to slow down your creation of new content and start updating your old content instead.
If you have blog content that’s over a year old, then this tip is for you.
[Theresa] So, this is another instance where more isn’t always better or even necessary!
I love this because you can leverage older content, which means less work since you’re not starting content from scratch and that will minimize your workload.
[Meghan] That’s correct. This is a great way to minimize your workload while boosting your marketing.
Refreshing outdated content breathes new life into your content. It brings older, evergreen content to the forefront to get more visibility. And, it makes Google happy too.
[Theresa] What does “updating content” entail?
[Meghan] You’ll want to perform an audit if you can to see what content you have and where it ranks.
Determine which posts and topics you want to refresh. Focus first on posts that lost their higher ranking or posts that are almost on page one. Posts that were shared a lot also are good candidates for updating.
Make a list of the posts to update then incorporate them into your blogging content calendar.
Make sure to:
- Keep the existing url—you don’t want to lose backlinks & existing SEO juice
- Update outdated stats, references, or images
- Add new data and information
- Remove info that is no longer applicable or relevant
- Add visuals, headings, and formatting if this is something you didn’t do the first time around (aka optimize for search and people)
- Level up your post with video, charts, graphs, or interactive content
- Republish, re-share, and promote
If you have video transcripts that you’re using as blog posts, go back and format them to make them more like blog posts than transcripts. No one wants to read a webpage of text. You’ve got to optimize your content for search engine optimization. And, make it appealing for people to consume, both of which should also give your older content a boost.
[Theresa] Refreshing old content will still require some time and effort. So, schedule the tasks into your calendar just as you would for creating new content.
In most cases, the update requires less work than a new post, which is where you lessen the workload.
As a side note, this is on my task list for this year! I have a bunch of blog content and some of it is getting close to ranking on the first page of Google. So, per Meghan’s advice, I’ll update those posts first in an effort to increase their visibility in search.
[Meghan] Excellent! That’s so good to hear, Theresa.
Okay, that wraps up this episode. Thanks for listening and feel free to share this episode with your community!
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