1. Measure and Check Your Work

It is one thing for you to believe and trust in the quality of your content, but how do you know that your target audience is reacting the same way? The answer lies in analytics and metrics.

You’ll know if your content is working on your audience if you measure impact in a quantitative way. Stats can always seem overwhelming at first, but using a tool like Google Analytics, Sprout, or even the beneficial analytics dashboards within the platforms themselves (e.g., Facebook Company Pages), is the only true effective way to make sure your content is helping your company achieve its marketing goals.

2. Know Yourself – and Your Customer’s Currency

The Content Manager you hire must know your customer inside and out – who are they? What are their demographics? What do they like – and not like? What is their buyer persona? In addition, the ideal content professional will take the time to ask the right questions to know about your brand and how you’ve communicated with your customers in the past. This will ensure you are communicating the right message in the right voice.

3. Keep at it 

Patience is the most important virtue in content marketing and modern online marketing as a whole. While a few weeks of content are not likely to make you an overnight sensation, consistent, quality content is what will boost your website in Google search rankings, build trust among your customers and potential customers, and keep you in the forefront of your audience’s minds. If you keep a quality content system in place, your audience will come.

4. Content Means Graphics, Too.

The best piece of content writing is not going to fly in the world of iPhones, Pinterest, and Sharing without Graphic elements. When writing a blog, article, or even a Press Release, a rich, engaging photo, image, or logo should be included.

5. Just Don’t go Overboard 

While you want your content strategy to be consistent, don’t go overboard – aim for quality over quantity. If your content professional (or your budget) can only handle $100 a month, grab two or three quality, interesting blogs from a great writer to keep you at the top of search rankings and your buying ecosystem’s minds. Just as we don’t like spam in our inboxes – we don’t want to flood our audience with irrelevant information that will cause them to head in the competition’s direction.

Join the Conversation: Which of the tips above do you believe is the most important to consider in regards to effective Content Marketing?