The Smarter-Not-Harder Guide to Content Marketing in 2024 - SparkToro

🌈 Abstract

The article discusses the changing landscape of content marketing, arguing that the traditional approach of optimizing for search engine rankings is no longer sufficient. It highlights the shift in how people consume content, with a growing emphasis on social media, news, and productivity platforms rather than relying solely on Google searches. The article outlines a modern content marketing strategy that focuses on understanding and reaching your target audience where they already spend time online.

🙋 Q&A

[01] Classic Content Marketing is Dead

1. What are the key reasons why classic content marketing is no longer effective?

• Google is no longer the primary or largest source of information consumption on the web. People are spending more time on social, news, and productivity sites rather than searching on Google.
• Relying solely on SEO and targeting high-volume keywords is not enough to win in content marketing today. Content needs to be present where the audience is already paying attention and consuming information.

2. What does a modern content marketing strategy entail?

• A modern content marketing strategy is audience-first, focused on discovering where the target audience spends time online and how they consume content.
• It involves a combination of keyword research, audience research, and social media listening to understand the audience's preferences, information needs, and the content formats they engage with.

[02] Audience Research and Content Ideation

1. What are the key tools and methods for conducting audience research?

• Keyword research tools like Google Trends, Ahrefs, Moz, and Semrush can provide insights into search volume and trends.
• Surveys, interviews, and data at scale from tools like SparkToro, Brandwatch, Similarweb, and Audiense can help understand the audience's attention and content consumption habits.

2. How can the insights from audience research be used to generate content ideas?

• Analyzing the audience's search modifiers, SERP features, and popular content formats can inform the types of content to create, such as tutorials, recipes, templates, and videos.
• Identifying the content that the audience's competitors are producing can provide ideas for new content opportunities.

[03] Content Distribution and Amplification

1. What are the key strategies for distributing and amplifying content?

• Identifying potential backlink and guest post opportunities by analyzing the top-ranking pages for the audience's searches.
• Uncovering "hidden gem" social accounts and relevant podcasts that the audience may be engaging with, and exploring opportunities for co-marketing or guest appearances.
• Continuously revisiting the content ideation and distribution process to create new content and repurpose existing content across different channels.

2. How does the audience research and content ideation process inform the distribution and amplification strategy?

• The insights from audience research, such as the content formats and channels they prefer, directly inform the distribution and amplification tactics.
• By understanding where the audience is already spending time and consuming content, the content creator can strategically place their content in those channels to maximize reach and engagement.