Writer's Stop by Stephh922
As time ticks by more and more people are turning toward the internet as a primary source of communication. Or as a way to permeate their voice and opinions quickly and easily. Or to create life-changing, money-making content ... the list goes on.
The point is, in the digital world content is becoming a commodity and the going price isn't cheap.
Our toughest competition is ourselves: other like-minded digital marketers trying to lure in potential customers with quality content. The 2014 Moz Industry Survey shows that content creation breaks the top five activities across the digital marketing landscape, nearly 80 per cent of marketers offer a content creation service and the demand of content creation has increased to over 70 per cent year over year.
Aside from other businesses trying to make a living, we digital marketers also have to compete against print media making the switch to digital mediums as rumours swirl about the dying print industry.
Writers like David Pogue, a prominent New York Times Technology columnist, went digital last year - leaving his column at The Times and starting up a tech site with Yahoo.
In 2012 the Globe and Mail made the switch to commoditize their online content, asking users to pay to read articles after a set amount of free content was viewed.
Some magazines like Newsweek and Autotrader literally stopped the presses and went strictly digital, while other publications are making a stronger push in the digital marketplace in addition to their print counterparts.
Although the competition might be stacked, there are still ways to make your content stand out in the crowd and provide value to your customers.
Be Dedicated To Your Craft
If you want to stand a chance against the competition, you at least have to be in the ring.
You might have the biggest, grandest ideas for your blog but putting them into action might be another story.
In order to keep yourself on track, build out an editorial calendar to track the content you want to post and when. By having a hard copy of your blogging plan, it will be easier to stay on track and meet your deadlines.
Think Outside The Blog
Consider your blog as the vehicle for creating an online library of cool, sharable content that goes beyond just words. Expand your blog to include eye-catching images or photo galleries, informative or funny videos, innovative stop-motion video and engaging or knowledgeable infographics.
By diversifying your content, consumers won't get bored of seeing just words on a screen and will look forward to what you come up with next. Dispersing your content in different mediums also lets you extend the life of a piece, allowing you to "cook once and eat five times."
Be Adaptive
You can't fit a computer in your pocket, can you? Research from Google shows that over half of the Canadian population owns a smartphone and 66 per cent of them access the internet on it every day. What's even better is 77 per cent of these smartphone users have researched a product or service on their device, while 27 per cent have made a purchase on their phone. With more people choosing to use their smartphone or tablet as their digital weapon of choice, it's crucial for your business to have a responsive website that looks great no matter what it's being viewed on.
Talk To Somebody
Get your information straight from the horse's mouth: talk to an expert. People are far more likely to believe what you're saying if you've got a professional to back you up. Not only can you provide your content with some great credibility, but you can also end up talking to some big names. Believe it or not, the internet is a great search tool when it comes to finding contact information for a potential interviewee, whether it be direct or through PR. Friends and colleagues may also have connections you can take advantage of to get a great perspective and another highly searchable way into your content.
Straight Up SEO
The one major advantage we digital marketers have is our cunning ability to get found on the web. Whereas online print publications may simply be copy and pasting print content onto their websites, we have the knowledge and power to make our content searchable. Continue to create engaging, life-changing content that's appropriately optimized and your site is certain to keep coming out on top.
Although the competition in the content scene is getting tough, that's no reason to give up. Stay ahead of the game and be the one setting the bar when it comes to content and not only will you be an example for your competitors, you'll be able to build and maintain a loyal customer base before the market becomes oversaturated with content.
About the Author: Kari Clarkson
