Content marketing can help you generate approximately three times as many leads as traditional marketing and it costs 62% less.

But all content published on the internet is not equal. Some content can go viral and drive tons of traffic to your website. Other content can get lost and forgotten.

Do you want to create content that goes viral? Are there any specific ways to create content that can attract and engage your target audience and encourage conversions?

Andy Crestodina, my guest on this podcast episode, is a top-rated speaker, content creator, and the co-founder of Orbit Media Studios. He frequently speaks at national conferences on marketing topics varying from social media to content, and has also written a book on “Content Chemistry.”

With over 18 years of experience in the marketing space, Andy joined us to help marketers like you, who want to increase conversions with successful content marketing.

So what process do Andy Crestodina and his team follow when a client approaches them for content marketing? How do they help the individual or the brand grow?

The Most Important Pillars of a Successful Content Marketing Campaign

Let’s take a look at the step-by-step process that you should follow to plan and execute a successful content marketing campaign.

Connect with Your Target Audience

The most important aspect that determines the success of any marketing campaign is how well you understand your audience and connect with them.

If you want to create content that goes viral and encourages purchases or conversions, you need to put your target audience first. You can’t ignore the needs, desires, and preferences of your audience if you want to create content that converts.

Andy revealed that the first thing he focuses on when a client approaches him for content marketing is their audience. Analyzing their audience demographics and interests is a top priority.

For this, you need to answer the following:

  • What does your audience care about?
  • What do they need?
  • What are they hoping for?
  • What are they afraid of?
  • What are their buying triggers?

When it comes to content marketing, you need to optimize your content to provide value to your potential customers. It is also important to ensure that each piece of content you create compels readers to take an action. You may ask them to subscribe to your newsletter, check out a product, or help you get the word out.

Experiment with Content Formats

The majority of marketers stick to content ideas and formats that have worked well for their competitors or themselves in the past.

Andy recommends that you experiment with various types of content. You need to constantly look for valuable ideas for creating engaging content for your blog, social media profiles, and other content distribution channels.

Don’t settle for blog posts, infographics, and videos. Instead, you should take the time to create something more valuable and authentic for your readers. Publish something that is totally original such as an in-depth research study.

Research studies and other in-depth content pieces demand a lot of hard work, analysis, and real-time industry experience. It might be difficult for an individual or a brand to do all of it on their own.

That’s why Andy Crestodina also emphasizes the significance of valuable collaborative content.

I endorse his recommendation. In fact, I have also been focusing on producing a lot of collaborative content in the past few years. This includes expert roundup posts, podcasts, webinars, interviews with other thought leaders in the industry, and so much more.

And I am glad that I took the courage to experiment with all of these formats as it has really helped me grow my business.

Leverage Collaborations

When you create any content piece, you need to promote it to get more reach, engagement, and the kind of traction that can increase conversions.

Are you struggling to drive targeted traffic to your blog, improve your content readership, attract prospects, and increase sales?

Though this is not something that many would recommend, Andy Crestodina tells brands and marketers to make the most out of multiple collaborations.

You can create expert roundup posts for your blog or partner with brands to publish valuable case studies, ebooks, and research studies.

You can also approach influential bloggers and editors of top publications for guest posting opportunities. Contributing to relevant and authoritative websites or publications can help you generate tons of engagement on your content.

Similarly, you can also get the top social media influencers in your niche to do a shoutout for your brand. When done right, influencer collaborations can help you increase your brand’s reach, engagement, and conversions significantly.

For instance, the world-famous watch brand, Daniel Wellington, is great at leveraging influencer collaborations to drive tons of engagement and sales with user-generated content.

Thousands of people, including influencers and consumers, take to Instagram to showcase their Daniel Wellington watches through creative posts. The majority of them include the branded hashtag, “#danielwellington.” Many influencers also include affiliate codes to promote the brand and encourage sales.

Here is one such post:

leverage collaborations successful content marketing campaign

Image via Instagram

You need to realize that you can’t do it all on your own. Building a good network and establishing mutually-beneficial partnerships can help you speed up your growth.

Analyze Your Content Marketing Results

It is extremely important to track, analyze, and measure the results of your content marketing initiatives.

You need to figure out what kind of content resonates the best with your audience and why.

To do so, you should seek answers to the following:

  • Did a blog post or video bring a huge spike in traffic?
  • Did readers spend more time on a particular piece or type of content?
  • Did the content created on a specific topic get more traction on social media?
  • Did posts from an influencer lead to a significant number of sales?

This can help you understand whether or not the content you create is attracting and engaging your audience. You should monitor the performance of your content to identify areas that can be improved to generate new leads.

It’s Never Too Late!

Sometimes, you may feel like your competitors have an edge over you because they started leveraging content marketing earlier. Or, perhaps it is too late for you to implement a certain strategy or create a specific type of content.

But that’s not true. It is actually never too late to drive tons of engagement and conversions by creating content that converts.

Andy says that he knows a number of people who jumped into the marketing space quite recently and have already made it big.

Just like them, you can also leverage effective content marketing tactics to increase brand awareness, attract and engage your target audience, and boost conversions. All you need is a little guidance from experts like Andy Crestodina.

Shane Barker

Shane Barker is a digital marketing consultant who specializes in influencer marketing, product launches, sales funnels, targeted traffic, and website conversions. He has consulted with Fortune 500 companies, influencers with digital products, and a number of A-List celebrities.