Insight

Best Practices for Integrated Content Marketing [ 1 ] CREATE A MEASUREMENT PLAN. Before you are able to measure your integrated content marketing efforts, you need to have a process in place to identify your goals and objectives, key performance indicators (KPIs) and targets, and how you and your team will respond to any findings your measurements bring to light. [ 2 ] DEVELOP PERSONAS. Truly knowing your audience goes beyond gender, location, and income. Consider their likes and dislikes, from favorite TV shows and snacks to favored forms of technology, where they go on vacation, and most-used magazines and social media platforms. Digging deeper allows you to create a three-dimensional persona that guides topic selection, tone, and other content elements. [ 3 ] FIND YOUR VOICE. Do you want your content to be fun? Informative? Authoritative? Setting—and maintaining—the tone of your publication, blog, and other integrated marketing channels can have a huge impact on your potential readership. The tone of your message should mimic a resource your audience depends on for facts and important information. If you find people are not reacting to your content, consider tweaking the tone. [ 4 ] SET A SCHEDULE — AND STICK TO IT. Once you start developing content consistently, your audience will come to depend on your content showing up on a regular basis. This is especially important when extending content online, as search engines reward sites that feature a steady flow of fresh, relevant content. Keep an outlined schedule with seasonal topics, such as "Maintaining New Year's Resolutions" or "Back-to-School Safety" for content developed at specific times of the year. ( 5 ) ASK " WHAT 'S IN IT FOR THE READER?" When you've answered that question, lead with that information. For example, if you want to talk to the community about your new mammography technology, include an article about breast health myths or tips on performing breast self-exams. After creating that emotional connection with the reader, you can then tuck the details about the offering into the article and close with a strong call to action (CTA). [ 6 ] MAKE IT MOBILE. More people are reading content from their smartphones and tablets, especially when a print article links to a website for more information, so optimize your digital content for mobile use. Too many large graphics could keep your # DISCOVER MORE INSIGHTS, IDEAS, AND BEST PRACTICES AT TRUENORTHCUSTOM.COM/BLOG website from loading, tempting people to close the tab. Mobile users are also less likely to scroll, so find ways to keep content limited to one screen—or offer click-through links to related topics. [ 7 ] KEEP THE CONVERSATION GOING. The average human attention span is now 8.25 seconds. Capture—and keep—the attention of your publication's audience by moving them toward digital content that links to other resources. Those links in your blog content or e-newsletter allow readers to immediately access more information and answer questions that may occur to them while reading. Including bulleted lists or checklists, short paragraphs, and bold or italicized words or phrases are other easy ways to keep readers engaged. [ 8 ] TAG AND TEASE IT. Don't just replicate content from print in your digital channels. Leverage each platform's unique features; for example, use hashtags that can boost who sees your content on social media. When sharing a cardiovascular article, tweet it with hashtags such as #hearthealth, #cardio, and #fightheartdisease. Just make sure you search hashtags to ensure you're reaching the right audience before tweeting, and don't let hashtags dominate your condensed word count. Writing custom teasers for different types of social media, such as Facebook, can also encourage readers to click or share your posts in their newsfeed. [ 9 ] HEED THE CALL. The CTA is the first step, and arguably the most critical component, in the conversion process— but too many marketers mistakenly treat the CTA as an afterthought. The most effective CTA is precise about promised deliverables and includes a clearly defined value proposition. What exactly are you asking the reader to do and for what reason? [ 10 ] TEST AND LEARN. Choose a key performance indicator you want to improve, and create a test for that KPI. Work with your marketing agency or internal team to set up and launch an A/B split campaign that, for example, tests the open rates of a particular type of email subject line. Once the experiment has run its course, process the results and refine your strategy. The keys are to keep asking questions and be willing to act on the answers. THIS COLLECTION FROM OUR "FROM THE EXPERTS" BLOG HIGHLIGHTS THE MOST EFFECTIVE METHODS FOR MAXIMIZING YOUR CONTENT ROI. Top 10 TRUENORTHCUSTOM.COM INSIGHT V11N3 5 insight BEST PRACTICES

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