Content marketing is crucial to the success of your Shopify store. Inbound marketing is one of the best ways to promote your online store, and excellent content marketing should be the first stage of your sales funnel. We’ve put together 5 tips and tricks to improve your content marketing strategy – by following these tips, you can attract more of your targeted audience and establish more leads.
#1 Use Attention-Grabbing Headlines
By “attention-grabbing,” we mean catchy – not clickbait. Your article’s headline will determine whether or not people decide to read it. A boring headline will often cause otherwise interested readers to miss the important content you share. This can cost you readers and leads, so use tried and true headline formulas to attract more readers.
Which types of headlines attract the most readers? Typically any kind of headline which offers actionable, interesting content to the reader will be enough to get a read. Titles with phrases like the following tend to perform very well when coupled with excellent imagery and content:
- “10 Things You Must Know to ______.”
- “Something Interesting Explained in This Simple Graphic.”
- “This Amazing New Tip Could Help You ______.”
- “Are You ______ Right?” (asking the reader questions about something pertaining to their interests).
#2 Lists Are a Fan-Favorite – No Matter Your Niche
Everyone loves a great list post – you must, because you’re reading one right now! Buzzfeed is an excellent example of a list post-based content sharing website who made it huge, and you can mimic their success with actionable and unique lists of your own.
Only use quality content for your lists. Many of the lists found on the web feature poorly curated content aimed at attracting readers without providing them with actionable information. Instead, create unique lists about topics relevant to your target audience.
List posts have a reputation as being a cheap way to attract readers, but they don’t have to be if you write them correctly. Offer information your readers actually care about, and you’ll find list posts to be very valuable to your content marketing strategy and your Shopify store.
#3 Cut the BS!
In high school or college, you probably stuffed your papers with fluff and BS to make sure your reached your page or word count. This may have worked with your teachers, but it won’t fly with your readers – your reader’s time is valuable, and you need to respect their time by stuffing your content with actual information instead of fluff.
Generic articles may seem like an excellent way to trick Google’s algorithms as they’re normally stuffed with keywords, but they’ll actually work against you. Unique articles answering uncommon questions will rank more highly in Google’s results when people make relevant search terms. An article about the smartest dog breeds will have an issue competing with the thousands of other articles on the topic, but an article about hip dysplasia treatment in English Bulldogs will appeal to a more targeted niche.
Simply put: don’t right generic articles filled with uninformative fluff. Your goal is to educate your reader and provide them with actionable content. Educate them on your products, how they can help your reader in certain situations, and other solutions they can use to resolve their problems. You’ll attract more interested readers and they’ll trust you more as a brand for offering content they can trust.
#4 Actively Promote Your Content
Google’s ranking algorithms have changed significantly since they were first introduced, and this means you shouldn’t rely solely on search engines to direct traffic to your site. Social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook are an excellent way to promote your content to your target audience and build your readership.
In addition to promotion, social media provides you with a chance to get honest feedback from your readers about your content. When you post content, you can see who shares it and your readers can leave comments. If your posts receive few shares and your readers don’t leave positive comments praising your content, you may want to change your trajectory and focus on a different content marketing strategy.
What are your favorite content marketing tips? How have these tips helped you grow your audience? Let us know in the comments below!
