Adding a Human Element to Your Content

Content marketing has seen a surge in the recent past and it is not letting up. However, not all content marketers get the hang of how to leverage their content. Readers are not interested in just hearing about the opinions of your brand or reading rewritten material from other industry sources. They want to relate to what you have to say. In fact, most readers are looking for solutions and that is what valuable content should provide.

Adding a human element to your content will make you more believable and that is why Google implemented the Google Hummingbird concept. Instead of writing for the search engine ranking with a bunch of keywords or phrases stuffed here and there throughout an article, why not write specifically to benefit the reader? Here are four guidelines to humanizing your content:

1.    A blog is a great way to break into your industry. It is an excellent tool for building relationships, in addition to social media. A blog is more up and personal. You have to post regular content on your blog, though, that your readers can look forward to. In other words, they will know where to come when they need answers or solutions. Make sure you keep your blog topic-specific, which means, you don’t want to have a blog about pets and you are also including articles on dating, unless your furry feline, for example, is dating another pet (just kidding!) A little humor helps too.

2.    Conduct extensive research on the topic that you are writing about. Don’t do this haphazardly. Spend some time to dig deep into the soul of the Internet. Your readers can tell if you put a lot of work into an article or not.

3.    Make sure that your content is properly edited. If you need help in this area, hire a writer and editor like myself. View my prices here. A girl has to eat, right? Once you have written a piece of content, share it with your Twitter followers and Facebook fans as well as other social media platforms such as Google+.

4.    Add infographics, videos and images to your content to make them more visually appealing.

Don’t worry about how many words you have in your article. For the most part, a 500-word article is quite acceptable, but if you end up with 400 words, so be it. Quality is more important than quantity. Remember, you are not writing for an article directory or search engine. You are writing to please your readers. Although not your entire focus, write an attention-grabbing title with keyword included. This will get your reader to pay attention, but write content that informs the reader rather than seduce them. Many copywriters would disagree, but who cares? My ethical obligation is to my readers and it should be the same with you. You want your readers to trust you. No one wants to deal with someone who has ulterior motives or bad intentions. With valuable and interesting content, readers will want to share with their friends and associates.

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Leave your Ego at the Door

This is not about you! You are creating content for the reader and you must have the best of intentions – not necessarily writing to specifically sell a product or service, but writing to share your knowledge and expertise. Of course, your content will eventually sell the product because if this is your only source of income, no one expects that you are just going to be a sucker. You simply can’t, if you have mouths to feed.

Write as if you were the reader. What would you want to read and is your own content worth reading? When you create value, you build stronger connections and relationship with your reader – addressing the issues of concern to the reader. You will become the ‘go to’ person when your reader is looking for similar information.

Conclusion

When you use the appropriate techniques to relate to your readers, content writing becomes easier and is more effective in reaching your desired audience; driving traffic to your website and making you look like the expert and leader you are. Purchase one of my latest book on AMAZON and you, too can enjoy the kind of content created for readers like you.

Why Your Business Needs Fresh Content?

So you have a business online, but you are only featuring your products and/or service and wondering why you are not receiving as many sales as other online marketers. Does that sound like you? Well, instead of sitting around waiting for the next sale, why not reach out to your target market to show them that you really care about them? How? I am glad you asked!

Content – that is what people want first. When someone thinks about buying a product or receiving a service, their first thought process is to search for information about it. Most people will go directly to the search engines to find out more about your product/service. Of course, when they come to your website, you may only have a listing and description of the product/service, but what about a list of the benefits that it can provide to the user? And I am not just talking about telling someone that your product will do this or that. It is more than that.

Let’s say you are selling weight loss tablets on your website, your goal should be about letting the prospect know that you understand what they are going through. So you have to speak to their emotions. If you have a personal story, then tell it! The prospect will be able to see that you are a real person. This will get their attention faster.

A Blog is In Order

You should never have a website without hosting and maintaining a blog. A blog platform where you post regularly will take your prospects away from your main website, but it will get them in a better frame of mind to see that you are not just selling a product, but a brand and providing information that is valuable. Your blog is the area where you build relationships through valuable content.

Your blog is where you talk about issues that people are going through as it relates to your product or service. This is where you post information that your prospect may not easily find. You talk about what benefits your prospect will receive from your product. In some cases, you don’t even mention your product in the body of the content until you get to the last paragraph; where you will include a link to your product and invite the prospect to take a look.

You don’t want your posts to be promotional. People get turned off by this and the search engine’s new algorithm, Google Hummingbird prefers that your posts be conversational and beneficial to what the person searched for.

The Importance of Content

Content is so important to your business. It gives you expert status. When someone reads your content and is able to tell that you have in-depth knowledge and expertise, who do you think they will come to for more information? You, of course! So why are you not writing fresh content? Is it because you don’t’ have time, you don’t know how or you just don’t care? You are leaving money on the table, if you aren't. 

It is better to hire a writer to do the job for you rather than be so laid back that you don’t take the initiative. Outsourcing is not new and you may need to get on board if you want your online business to catapult. With this advancing information age, you cannot afford not to. And, in addition, you will be able to reach a wider audience. While you sleep, people from all over the world will be looking at what you have to say. Lead them with your content. Don’t lead them with your product page.

If you would like to hire my writing expertise or purchase one of my self-published books to support a full-time writer, then please go to my Amazon Book Page by clicking the link. 

2014 Trends in Content Marketing

Before looking at the 2014 content marketing forecasts, content marketing needs to be clarified. Content is important and what you do with the content is also significant to your results. But - there is a big ‘BUTT.” Yes, I know I used two “T’s” in ‘BUT,” but it was just to see if you were paying attention. That is how you write content – engage your audience and provide value-added information that is not easy to find online. Your prospective customer will consider you an expert, learn to trust you, get to understand your brand and have confidence in the information you provide.

If you want your campaign to be successful when marketing content, you must establish your brand and yourself as knowledgeable in your field. This is the foundation for lasting and continuous business relationships.

To simplify, content marketing is all about building strong relationships and not only just selling a product or service. Some forms of content include:

·         Blog Posts

·         Podcasts

·         Social media Posts

·         Electronic Books

·         Online Videos

·         Guest Blogging

·         Email marketing

·         Webinars

·         Web Content

No matter what format you use to publish content, you must have a “CALL TO ACTION” – always and with no exceptions. Write content that will stand the test of time. A good topic would be “Top 10 Places to Visit in Hawaii.” For someone looking to visit this state, you will be the ‘go to’ person for valuable information.

What to Expect for 2014

For 2014, where is the trend going as it relates to content marketing? What are the challenges that online marketers face? With Google Hummingbird, Google Hangout and Google Helpsout, alertness is required in order not to ‘make Google’ or the search engine angry with you. This means marketers have to stay abreast of the new algorithm rules and guidelines.

Most online marketers use content marketing as part of their marketing approach. However, it is safe to say that some of them may not really be able to express what content marketing means to their business model. I truly think that many business owners will be able to definitively express the concept of content marketing in 2014 and how it aligns to the scope of their business. They will also be able to tell why it is so important. It is not going to be a catch phrase in the mouths of those who still say that “content is king,’ without knowing what that really means.

The New Title

Companies, in the past, hired someone to write content for marketing and would give them the title of:

·         Freelance Writer

·         Marketing Writer

·         Content Developer

However, now companies are placing more significance and emphasis on these employees’ positions since it is much more than just writing content and so look for new titles like Director of Content for 2014. No one will have any doubt; not even the employee, of what the job entails. The improved awareness will force companies to make adjustments and put more money into content marketing strategies.

Companies that don’t go the extra mile to put more into their content marketing budget will certainly lose out in 2014. Whether someone is assigned in-house or on a contract basis, companies are going to need more in content creation and distribution.

Going Mobile

Some companies have not yet caught on to the mobile marketing craze. Mobile marketing taking over and by 2016, companies not on board with this are going to feel the ‘pinch.’ A strong content marketing strategy should be incorporated into the mobile phenomenon. In fact, Google’s new algorithm, “the Hummingbird,’ and the complete cancellation of the previous keyword search tool from Google Analytics is going to quickly force companies to embrace this. What does this mean? Well, to reach your targeted mobile audience, your content must be more concise, well-formatted to meet the guidelines and provide more actionable posts since prospects will be viewing the content from their mobile devices.

If this article was useful to you, please share it with a friend, your followers and anyone who is in your contact. For business owners or companies that want to embrace the concepts and improve their business model, you can hire my services to write marketable content for you. In the meantime, check out my Amazon.com page where I have a list of self-published books. 

Google+ - The New CEO of SEO and Success for Your Brand

There has been a lot of discussion among online marketing experts whether or not Google+ is actually more effective in altering the face of SEO. Many people are still not ready to play ball. They prefer to wait and see. One of the primary reasons for the wait is that some think that Google+ is only being used by a small percentage of niche audience. Despite the dubiousness, it is apparent that Google+ has taken center stage in the world of SEO and it appears as if it will remain so for a long time to come.

Internet technology is ever evolving and that includes the marketing strategies that businesses use to maintain dominance. No business can expect to be successful on just their brand. It will take much more. People want to put a human face to the business. Anonymity is no longer an accepted protocol on the Internet. People are looking for transparency and Google+ seamlessly provides this to every brand.

Dominance at its best

Google+ has made a tremendous impact on SEO. While Facebook may have a superior market share, Google+ dictates SEO with its constantly changing algorithm rules. When you create content using Google+, it is indexed in a similar way as other pages on the Internet. However, since Google is one of the most popular search engines of all times, it goes without saying that content created on their platform will fare better. Any posts made on Google+ remains there for a long time. Compared to a standard tweet, which only receives approximately fourteen minutes of longevity, this is a major advantage from an SEO standpoint.

Google + also provides a higher profile visibility. Once your Google+ profile has been authenticated on web sites where you publish content, your image will appear next to the search results; thereby, gaining more visual attention. As specified previously, a human face offers credibility to a post or an article on a website.

When you set up a Google+ account, you will have a chance to write a profile or biography. Using targeted keywords, you can create maximum visibility when potential customers conduct a search for those keywords.

Content authority

Furthermore, Google+ is closely linked to content authority. When you write authoritative and interesting content, Google will give it higher profile dominance in search results. Google+ authorship will continue to improve your search performance. So it is in your best interest to use targeted keywords and keyword phrases in your content.

It could easily be said that Google+ is an exceptional and emergent social network that is profoundly entrenched into the ecosystem of the major search engine in the ecosphere. If you were to ignore it or undermine its prominence, it may not be a very practical thing to do. In fact, if effectively utilized, it can create new SEO opportunities for your business such as Google Hangouts and Google Drive.

Hanging out

Additionally, Google+ offers another useful feature, which is Google Hangouts. It provides users with the chance to chat face to face within the Google+ platform. You receive access to the video conferencing tool to connect to your customers and employees. This eliminates all geographic barriers and allows you to be more hands-on and productive.

You can conduct your weekly company meetings in Google Hangouts. In addition, you can access the minutes for past meetings, discuss future projects and assign new work to your team members. You can use it to demonstrate your product or discuss your services with your potential customers.

Within the Google+ Hangouts, you can choose a group of fans and conduct question and answer session. You can run a contest during the session and offer a prize to the winner. If your goal is to reach a wider audience, you can be the host of a “Hangout on Air,” which can be recorded and viewed on YouTube. Invite viewers to make comments or ask questions, which you will answer using specific keywords.

Storing and accessing documents

Google drive within the Google+ framework allows you to store documents and share them with specific individuals. Some of these documents could include presentations, spreadsheets, articles and even books.

Conclusion

It is obvious that Google+ has proven its incredible capabilities for enhancing your brand. It is easy to use and provides a streamlined method of collaboration without worrying about distance. There are also many opportunities for search engine optimization. 

Is Google Hummingbird Pecking at your Content?

For online business owners, Google gave absolutely no formal notification at the launch of Google Hummingbird. Apparently, Google decided to go that route in order to handle the more complicated search queries on the Internet. What’s all the pecking about? Google is always on rapid alert – continuously making changes to its algorithm and adding new technological stuff to the already complicated learning curve. You have to be able to keep up. This new development doesn't mean that your content is in jeopardy. It only means that you have to embrace the changes, so that your potential customers can find you easier and in different ways.

With more reliance on Google, users have been searching for longer phrases, which demanded prompt results from Google instead of a range of different page results that may or may not have the answers. Therefore, Google decided to update its algorithm and call it the Hummingbird. The Hummingbird handles conversational searches in a semantic process. So rather than process queries by the corresponding words found on a stored web page, Google Hummingbird comprehends the real framework of the query and returns the exact answer.

Question and Answer Approach

You will have to make changes to your website, since it is obvious that people are seeking the precise answers to their questions. Adapting a question and answer approach means that you may have to create a FAQ page. You don’t have to rewrite your entire existing page content, but adding a FAQ page will definitely help. In addition, it would help to create “How to” articles that answer a question.

Is content still king?

Content is still king, but with Google Hummingbird, you have to write in-depth content that addresses definite needs and wants. Your content should communicate pertinence to meet the needs of your potential prospects. This means that you have to strive to be the authority or expert in your field. Regardless of what Google is looking for, you, as a business owner should strive to provide valuable content to your readers and visitors. These days, many of your prospects are capable of conducting their own search, but you want to make it easier for them by providing information that may take them longer to find or information that they can understand. They will rely on you and treat you as the ‘go to’ business when it is time to find something worthwhile. This puts you in a better position than your competitors. Google will also recognize you for it by giving you top placement over your competition.

Conclusion

The primary goal for implementing the Google Hummingbird was to understand the human need. As a content creator, you should try to give more attention to creating pages for each basic human need and the intent of your prospective customers as it relates to your products and services. In other words, you have to think ahead of the ‘what ifs.’ Begin by mapping out your potential customer’s needs and design your website and content accordingly; using the right keywords, phrases and language to address those needs.