Are you a business owner or marketer looking to get more value from your blog content? If so, you're not alone. Over 600 million websites have blogs, so competing in such a crowded space can prove problematic, depending on your industry and your business's size.
Companies with blogs on their websites average 55% more traffic than brands without engaging posts. When you consider this factor, it's no surprise that people want to get the most value from the content. As you begin to create more high-quality content, you'll likely see an increase in sales, conversions and traffic.
The best way to stand out from the crowd is to create a diverse range of content, so users from around the internet can engage with your brand. There are plenty of clever ways you can turn your existing blog content into something new for your visitors.
Today we will take a look at four ways you can get the most value from your content. Using these tips, you can breathe life into articles buried on page 15 of your blog while engaging subscribers and generating new leads.
Let's dive in!
1. Turn blog posts into videos.
Your blog content is meant to be a compilation of helpful information for users who have questions about your products or industry. The thing is, we are all a little different and prefer different styles of media. Some people love reading long blog posts; others would prefer to watch a video.
One of the reasons we know this to be true is through consumer surveys across various companies over the last several years. A surprising 43% of consumers said they want to see more video content from brands. You can generate more traffic and engagement by simply using different types of media to display the information in your posts.
If you want to make the most of your existing written content, think about ways to take some of your most popular articles and turn them into video. You could create and grow a YouTube channel, which is an excellent way to build an active and highly engaged audience.
You should also share your videos on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. When new consumers find your site via your social media page, you'll encourage them to visit your website after watching a helpful video tutorial or guide.
2. Compile content for lead magnets.
Lead magnets are an excellent way to grow your email list, convert more existing subscribers, and keep your audience interested in your products or services. Essentially, lead magnets are pieces of content like e-books, case studies, and whitepapers that you offer to visitors in exchange for their email address.
Your existing content is a great jumping-off point when you want to create a lead magnet for visitors to your website. Let's say you have an art supply e-commerce storefront and want to generate more email leads by offering your users an e-book on different painting styles. There's a good chance you already have all of the content you need for this project on your blog. You can pick the essential styles and examples out of your blog posts and use them as a foundation for your e-book.
Try to put as much value as possible into your lead magnets while still delivering a smooth user experience. When a new user lands on your site, they will have access to some of your best content through a lead magnet. If people within your target audience are visiting your website, you're bound to see people downloading your book and joining your email list.
3. Update existing articles.
Do you regularly update the content you've already published on your website? If not, you're missing out on an excellent opportunity to get more value from your posts. Many business owners publish a post and don't bother to update it again. As a result, some articles near the end of the list of published posts don't get a ton of traffic.
You can change this by updating your article with new information or statistics. The goal is to keep your article relevant and fresh, while actively promoting it to users on your site, social media and email.
If you're displaying the same exact posts every week, people will stop clicking through, and your engagement will drop significantly. However, if site visitors see that your post was updated, they are more likely to click your link and read the updated content.
For example, let's say you created an article for your marketing website called "Email Marketing Stats You Need to Know in 2019." In the year 2019, this article would probably get a ton of clicks. But at the start of 2020, you should have updated your post with new statistics, strategies and information. Don't forget to include the updated year to your post so visitors know they are reading timely and relevant information.
4. Snip your posts and user-generated content for social media.
Social media is a great place to get your content out there to a broader audience. Over 3.81 billion people use social websites like Facebook, so it's well worth thinking about how you can add more value to your content using these platforms.
You should frequently snip your posts and use user-generated content on social media. You can cut specific parts of your articles, such as statistics or interesting facts, and use them as a foundation for your social media posts. Include a link to the article featuring the snip for more traffic and onsite engagement.
User-generated content includes guest posts, reviews and testimonials. In this instance, reviews and testimonials can help you drastically build social proof and increase sales. Did you know that 59% of people use social media as a source of shopping inspiration? Consequently, users often read reviews on a brand's social media pages to see what other customers think of that company's products or services.
Use this as an opportunity to gather previously published reviews and testimonials and share them on your profiles. The reviews don't need to be long or take up too much time. A summary of several sentences could be more than enough to convert leads on social media. If someone was previously on the fence about visiting your site, this small piece of content could bring significant value to your business.
Conclusion
You spend a ton of time writing and fine-tuning your content, so you should get the most value you can from your hard work. The best way to accomplish this task is to step back and figure out how to put what you've already created into a new and exciting format for your customers.
Use the tips above to flesh out your content and spread brand awareness through social media. At the same time, look at ways to compile existing content into longer documents that users will gladly download in exchange for their email addresses. Spend plenty of time learning what people love about your content so you can bring that aspect to life in all other forms of media.
Before long, you'll have a robust platform with plenty of interesting blog posts, videos, e-books and posts for your users to read. As you open more doors by diversifying your content, you'll add more value to your brand and create compelling content for your customers.