One of the most powerful attributes of any consumer product is its online brand and identity. Everyone is a consumer to some degree and the majority of us get our information from some form of online media. As a marketer for a consumer brand, it is your responsibility to create and iterate on a sustainable content marketing strategy.

Developing different forms of online content is the first step. Discovering what works on different platforms and what does not work is the second step. How you continue to iterate in steps one and two will define the success and future of your online media and content marketing strategy.

We all know that content is king, queen, prince, duke, and every other ruler in the marketing castle. Yet, we sometimes lack the realization that the power of content, regardless of quality, is useless if it is not seen in the first place. “It can help spread the word about what you do and connect you with customers who otherwise wouldn’t have known you existed. You can only reap the benefits, though, if people actually see your online content,” says Nathan Sykes.

The User Journey

As the marketer for your company and products, managing the inbound traffic to the brand is paramount. It is important to be able to control the way in which your content is seen. After all, if people do not see your content, they cannot engage with it. If engagement with your online content doesn’t occur, your marketing resources for the web are wasted and your company will lose customers.

It is also worthwhile to point out that a good content strategy focuses on both inbound and outbound marketing tactics. Optimizely, a customer experience optimization company, summarizes what each are:

“The clue to understanding the differences between inbound and outbound marketing is in the name. Inbound marketing focuses on drawing potential customers in, while outbound marketing is about outwardly pushing a business’s offering. Inbound marketing is about earning attention, while outbound typically involves buying it.”

When examining target audience behaviors and actions, following the direction of each potential customer’s online path or journey is essential. Each part of that journey is equal in value. That is why we are covering inbound, as well as outbound, marketing tactics in this post.

Getting There

One vital tip for increasing the visibility of your brand to consumers online is to create and use bold, beautiful, actionable content. Just like real life, pretty stuff online will get people to take notice and take action. Including dynamic imagery on your web page, in your blog post, in your promotional e-mails, and in your social media feed is one of the best ways to boost both engagement and visibility. Photos, videos, infographics, and GIFs are all excellent choices. Not only do visual posts get more shares, likes, and comments, but people retain the information in them better and for a longer period of time. Static images, GIFs, and short videos help to tell a story for your brand or set of products.

Think about the way you would want your ideal customer to experience your brand. For example, if you are a kitchen appliance company, with warehouses filled with inventory to tell potential customers about, of course it is important to describe each item’s dimensions and functionality, but visuals will pull the customer in to your web page, and visuals will continue to attract their interest. Stealing Share recently conducted a study on the marketing strategies of different kitchen appliance companies. The study discusses a host of different sales and marketing techniques, but what really stands out are the videos embedded in the post, showing the importance of imagery and engaging product photography for a consumer brand.

People like to be able to envision themselves with a product, experiencing what it can do for them. Viewing the item or items from different angles and settings will allow them to be able to do that and will help you convert a random viewer into a consumer. In the world of digital marketing, crisp visuals are the next best way to sell, right after being able to touch and experience a product in person.

Just be sure to tag your visuals appropriately for search engine optimization (more details on that coming up). Two-dimensional and three-dimensional visuals do the attraction, sales, and frequently, the audience retention that showrooms and stores used to do.

Stay Social

Using social media platforms for consumer marketing is not a new concept for any company that is actively online today. Yet, what many teams might not focus on is having an ongoing social media strategy. While using Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram is crucial, understanding the right way to interact with your audience on these platforms is just as, if not more, important than being present on them with your beautiful visuals.

Beyond creating a brand account on each social media channel, you should start spending time on each to observe what your target audience does, what groups they are a part of, what they share, and what they click on and like. On LinkedIn, your buyer might be interested in news about your industry, while they might “like” what someone has to say about one of your products on Twitter or Facebook. Since Instagram is a channel that focuses on pictures and short video, this is a great social channel to share the great visuals we mentioned before. Starting or continuing a hash-tagged word or term around something your company is related to can also be helpful. Be sure to research and keep up to date on what tags are trending within your industry and use them to boost your visibility even more.

“If you use social media networks on a regular basis, use this to your advantage and post updates about the content you just published. You can even post other relevant items with a link to your content as well to further penetrate your market”, says Natalie Saumure. One of the best things about social media is that these platforms were built to test out content ideas and different ways to interact with others. A social strategy that allows for change and ongoing lessons is best and will serve your brand better as it matures. Companies with multi-pronged social media strategies tend to develop best practices and a particular cadence of posts and social interaction as they grow. It is only by sharing a Facebook post, responding to an Instagram comment, retweeting a photo, or building out a group on LinkedIn that you will garner more content visibility.

Stay relevant - Remain part of the conversation and your brand will stay relevant, and (hopefully) gain market share.

Don’t Dodge the Blog

Often categorized as a part of social media strategy, a company or brand blog is one of the best ways to increase content visibility. Discussing different issues that your customers face, interviewing a well-known person in the industry, or just doing some good, old-fashioned story-telling on your company blog is a great way to connect with a consumer audience.

When it comes to developing blog readership, sharing new posts on your main website or social channels and linking back to the blog is a good way to start. By discussing issues relevant to your target audience, you will help to reinforce your brands expertise in the field. Be sure to include keywords that your customers tend to use when searching online for what your brand offers, and also include attractive photos and video clips if they help to support the post.

You can also test out the commenting feature on your blog, which, when used positively, can be another way to have your audience raise engagement and keep the conversation going on your channels. Some companies remove the use of comments on their blogs for fear of internet trolls or spam diluting their content. That is something that can be tested and changed, according to the particular behavior of your audience.

Some Mechanics

Once you’ve developed a company voice with your attractive and engaging content, pay close attention to the specific ways your brand copy stands out and pulls in eyeballs. Short, catchy headlines for different sections of your online properties are always recommended. The classic adage that first impressions matter still continues to hold true in the digital age. Creating engaging titles for your articles will entice potential viewers. This is the first thing that your audience will see, and there’s nothing worse than reading a dull or boring headline. Make it interesting and keep it simple.

Another reason to keep titles and headlines short is for search engine optimization or SEO. Optimizing your web content is the most important action you will take to drive online visibility. Understanding what Google picks up and how your company properties are ranked is essential.

The primary question to ask when building your brand’s SEO strategy is “What terms would I search for when looking for information related to my brand?” A good SEO expert understands what keywords, titles, and tags are most important for search engine pick-up, as well as knowing the online behavior of your target audience. As Charlotte Smith writes, “…Businesses can no longer build a website and leave it. They must be updated regularly with relevant, informative content. Google will recognize this and see the value in the site for users. Consequently, it will be positively ranked.” This also includes using the right descriptions and meta tags for photos and videos, since search engines are unable to actively discern what is in the imagery, they rank according to the specified text attached to visual content.

Testing, Testing, and More Testing

Following the tips we’ve described should help to increase the visibility of your online content. But how can you confirm that it is engaging? The only way to know if your work is successful is through ongoing testing. As Hoa Loranger puts it, “By paying attention to how people read, interpret, and access content, you gain a greater understanding of how to communicate, structure, and format information.”

Click-throughs, downloads, and views are some of the activities you’ll want to monitor on your owned web properties. A/B or Multivariate testing are also beneficial. There are a multitude of tools that can be used to compare content performance with your user base. Likes, comments, questions, and reposts should be measured on your blog posts and social media channels. Be sure to examine your content performance metrics on a regular basis to develop a base line of success for your brand.

Key Takeaways

Creating and amplifying engaging content should be your ultimate goal for marketing your consumer brand digitally. Understanding your user base or target audience, and what their online habits are is the key to increasing your content visibility. Monitor the impact of all branded assets and adjust accordingly. Staying genuine and true to your brands voice with content marketing and showing that you care and want to help is essential. Keep your audience engaged and informed with the tips we covered and your company will be on the right path to being a digital leader in content visibility.

Be Seen…or Else: Tips to Increase Your Content Visibility