5 Valuable Content Creation Skills for Stellar Inbound Marketing

This is a guest post written by Ann Ehnert. Ann is a marketing coordinator at SteadyRain, an internet strategy, design, and development firm.

Remember in high school when you turned in that mid-term paper, complete with perfect citation, informational graphs, and exactly 1,256 words, per your instructor’s syllabus? Not only do you breathe a sigh of relief, but a sense of accomplishment also washed over you because you completed something you knew was great.

Now, years down the road, you can rediscover that feeling. And although word count and informational graphs might be optional this time around, grades are still sought. Instead of a letter grade, these grades come in the form of traffic, retweets, rank, or inbound links. And this is where the fun begins.

Here are five effective content marketing skills that will help you earn those perfect online scores:

1. Ebook and eNewsletter Creation

Consider making your blog article part of an extended educational series that you can market to your current or potential customer base. Did you write an article focusing on best practices in your industry? Try producing a "Best Practice" series that focuses on several topics in your industry. Then, compile them all into an ebook that can be downloaded from your site, or create a customized tab on your Facebook business page. Or perhaps create an eNewsletter campaign, which each month focuses on hot topic in your series. Be sure to position each eNewsletter as part of this series and include a reminder for your audience to stay tuned to the next issue. 

2. Mobile Content Optimization

Do you have a mobile-friendly website? If not, it’s time to strongly consider this addition to your digital landscape. During a time when so many people expect to retrieve information while they're on the go, you cannot afford to be MIA where your customers are. Go mobile! Once you have a mobile site, be sure to share your content on your site, and optimize it accordingly. It’s important to note that mobile search does differ from traditional search, and your mobile audience may search for different keywords on a mobile device than they would on a PC. If you're a brick and mortar business, be sure to optimize your content for local search. In addition, if you're using Google AdWords, check the added feature in Google AdWords to cross-check your keywords for mobile search, and adjust accordingly.

3. Webinar Production

A great way to further position yourself as an expert in your industry is to expand upon your current content and transform it into a live (and recorded) webinar. Consider inviting a guest host or a panel of experts to be involved to include more insights from different perspectives. Alert your current and potential customer base, share it on social networking sites, and announce it on your blog. Be sure to reference previously created content for a highlight about what to expect in the webinar, or use it as supplemental information for webinar attendees.

4. Infographic Creation

Creating infographics is a huge online trend that involves turning great data and content into detailed imagery that serves up beneficial information in a creative way. If the topic is intriguing enough, the infographic can go viral, thus further positioning your company as an expert on the highlighted topic. Using different ways to present information is a great way to keep your audience engaged. And be sure to check out Visual.ly to either grab ideas for how to make your infographic or use it as a tool to create one.

5. Social Media Campaign Creation

Turn your content into a social media campaign to entice fan and follower engagement. There are a number of ways to promote your content in social media, but let's illustrate one example here using the 'Best Practices' series example again. One way to promote this series in social media would be to begin a dialogue about it with your followers on Twitter. Pick a date/time to host a Twitter chat, and create a unique hashtag for the chat. The hashtag will serve a dual purpose: to alert your followers that a Twitter chat is taking place and to measure/monitor your chat engagement. Begin posting your best practice points as questions, and retweet the answers. And with the feedback you receive, consider writing a follow-up article to your original content.

What other content creation skills do you think inbound marketers should have?

Image Credit: Pink Poppy Photography