Content Marketing – Tried And Tested Online Marketing Strategy

Every so often Internet marketers take concepts from traditional marketing and use them in their websites. This has been done from the very beginning, and there have been no surprises about their use. The real surprise comes when somebody tries something that did not come from marketing theories and textbooks, and it works. These very seldom happen, and are usually game changers. However, if like almost every other Internet marketer, you are not intent on changing the current paradigm, then you can follow marketing concepts as they apply in real world situations.

1.) Content Marketing Cross-over:

One such concept is content marketing, and testing. Simply put content marketing is giving away information or content in order to attract new users. This has been used by food product manufacturers, by putting recipes on their labels, or by giving away recipe books at malls or events. Online, content marketing is marked by the use of info graphics, newsletters, and mailing lists.

2.) Social Media:

Another important way for content marketing to be distributed is through social media. Sharing videos, music, info graphics, graphics, memes, and other media, including magazines, news and blog articles are the staple of online content marketing. It is not uncommon for websites to make use of viral media or trending topics to come up with items that are shared. The point of sharing is to start a conversation, and to attract followers. With more followers, there is a bigger chance of having sales from their websites.

3.) Testing To Improve Content:

For a lot of Internet marketers and website owners, their problem is that they are not trained in marketing. They can put up websites but they are not in a position to know which design works. When this happens they can make use of online tools and third-party products which can test their website for user interaction and responsiveness. In most instances, A/B Testing is used for improving websites. With the use of online tools, a website owner can send out two versions of the website and then take the response from the users to make decisions. The testing might be for color or theme, or wording of the copy, or even the placement of the website elements.

4.) Multivariate Testing:

If there are more elements to be tested, the web developer can resort to multivariate testing. Instead of only having one item or variable to test, and limited choices, the website can be broken down into elements and each of the elements tested for user preference. This is no longer testing one option against another.

Multivariate testing has several advantages over A/B testing. For one, you can have many items to test. For another, the data can be larger due to the bigger number of variables. Lastly, there is also a chance of correlation. That means that one design element can work well with another element, and this would show every time these two are together on a page. This type of testing will not be obvious or caught in A/B testing. Multivariable tests will have to take this into account.

In the end, a web designer can use feedback from users and site visitors in order to improve the website.

About the Author:

Charmon Stiles is a Marketer. Designer. Blog Writer. Change Maker. Unlike some marketers, Charmon is a creative entrepreneur at heart. Starting with graphic design and web design, her paths lead her to digital marketing for small businesses. With digital marketing she can combine her creativity and her logical side that likes data.

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