We’re approximately 75 days into 2018, with about 290 days left to go. That means the first quarter is just about over. Maybe it’s time to keep abreast of your content plan and recalibrate where necessary? Here are four ways you can adjust your content plan for the rest of the year:
1. Adjust your SEO
There’s no escaping SEO. You need it. And it needs you. Okay, the second part may not be true, but you definitely need to spruce up your search engine optimization or risk falling off the search results. 75 percent of browsers never go past the first page of search results, which is only slightly demoralizing until you realize you’re fully capable of high-quality, SEO-optimized content with the best, most relevant keywords for every blog post and page title you create. SEO is a best practice for reason (it’s absolutely necessary!) and it’s never too late to adjust it for your content plan.
2. Get inspired (But not too inspired, y’know?)
No one likes a copycat or a thief, especially of content like tweets and jokes. Folks frown upon sameness and inauthentic material. But that doesn’t mean you still can’t get inspired by what’s out there. See an article that pertains to your brand or business? Or a video, GIF, or insightful tweet? Share it on your own social media channel. Or write about your own impressions of that article and then share that article you just wrote. It could be a rebuttal or simply an extension of that original idea. Coming up with concepts and creating content can be arduous, but sometimes all you need to do is look around to see what else is being said.
3. Dip a toe into visual content
Consider video. Not everyone is capable of this, obviously, since there’s a lot of effort and time involved. But, depending on your brand and inclination, it can provide a serious pay off. Customers and clients want to see what they’re getting into through easily palatable means, and that could mean live video on Facebook or YouTube, recorded video, an infographic, or even a simple GIF. Take a look at this video over at PlayStation. It’s a bit on the long side and it’s basically just a rundown of the games available in a new Street Fighter collection (what, another one?!) but viewing the evolution of such an iconic franchise really put things into context for me, and now I’m thinking about buying these old games for the fourth or fifth (or sixth or seventh…) time. That’s the power of visual content (and nostalgia for the old ‘90s arcade heyday).
4. Use data to see how you’re doing
For the rest of 2018, make data part of your content plan if it’s not already. Like SEO, it will forever remain an important part of content marketing, especially if you want to know more about your audience, who they are, where they’re coming from, and if they’re even showing up at all. By analyzing how you’ve done so far this year, as well as the progress of any competition, you can figure out where you should go and how you can further your goals with the right content, personalized and optimized for engagement with the right audience.