Update 2021 – Why content marketing strategy will help you succeed during & after covid 19

With a vast proportion of the population, businesses and customers facing uncertain financial circumstances as a result of close to a years worth of lockdowns, things are looking up with the rapid development and rollout of global mass vaccination programs. So much so that some parts of the world are well on their way to a level of relative “normality”.

Blog writing & content marketing going “back to normal”?

The data from 2020 is in, and as a result of the world spending more time at home internet usage grew by 50 to 70% and by 12% for streaming services. The average time an individual spends online everyday now totals 6 hours 26 minutes compared to 5 hours 28 minutes in 2020. A major contributor is that organisations in industries from clothing, festival, hospitality and beverage have been unable to physically update customers through in store or on-premise communication, so content marketing became the only way that brands could communicate with their customers.

Everyone knows it and the data confirms that covid-19 has irreversibly changed the way in which we consume content and the way customers purchase. Additionally, according to a recent report offered by Research Dive, the global content marketing industry is projected to gain revenue of $137.2 million by 2026, rising from a market share of $42.2 million.

Brands that leveraged blog writing and content marketing strategy as a key strategic tool

Nike
Despite temporarily closing it’s stores in key markets like the US, Western Europe, Canada and Australia, the brand has been ever increasing it’s engagement with customers, primarily using content marketing.

It developed a marketing campaign called Play for the World, utilizing it’s athletes, showcasing how they’re keeping their fitness up despite having to workout from home. This coincided with them making their Nike Training Club app free, providing the millions of consumers stuck in lockdown with workouts and training programmes they can undertake from home. This genius marketing strategy is helping to ensure once lockdown is over Nike is remembered, and with any luck consumers with the app still on their phone will get continual exposure to the Nike brand.

Ahrefs
During the crisis Ahrefs decided to provide their “Blogging for Business” course for free. The course is normally $800, however, with reduced spending and an increased appetite for learning while people are off work this was a perfect time to provide people with access to a resource like this for free.
No doubt many marketers across the industry will take on this course, as well as those new to marketing, increasing brand trust alongside helping their clients build up valuable skills.
When the pandemic is over, who do you think these marketers will turn to for SEO software? We’re pretty sure it’ll be Ahrefs. If nothing else, it’s helped increase brand exposure, trust and goodwill.

Images Magazine
The print industry has been hit particularly hard with many print shops seeing huge losses as a result of the decimation of the events industry. With that in mind their blog has become a dedicated portal of resources to help print shops weather the storm. They’re providing financial advice, a breakdown on the government updates and how they’re applicable to the print industry, alongside case studies from printers out there pivoting their business to survive. 

When the pandemic is over, no doubt they’ll have an increased subscriber base, and in turn more collateral when it comes to getting advertisers on board. They’re not just thinking about the here and now, they have a long term vision, and we believe it’ll work.

The 2020 Edelman Trust Barometer Special Report: Brands and the Coronavirus outlines that ‘more than eight out of ten respondents’ want brands to provide educational content and to be a source for reliable news right now. During an age of mis-information, now is your time as a business to shine.

How Blog Writing and Content Marketing Strategy Have Changed

System1’s research found that there was no reduction in advertising’s ability to connect with people despite the current pandemic. With that in mind, marketing should never stop, merely evolve and say the right things. Your first port of call should be to audit your content, as what you had scheduled for the year may no longer be appropriate or relevant, with rapid changes in the global landscape you need to be more responsive than ever. We recommend checking over any pre-existing content to make sure it’s hitting the right kind of empathetic tone, that will resonate with users at this challenging time, and adjust it if necessary.
It’s worth avoiding hard-sell tactics or vanity messages, the key focus needs to be on showcasing leadership and authority in your field, helping to build up your brand reputation longterm. This will help ensure that you’ll have some momentum built up with your blog writing & content marketing efforts. Needless to say, long form content doesn’t necessarily have to be completely rewritten, nor does any of your content, but it may be worth reviewing and updating to acknowledge the new circumstances and point out why this piece is still relevant.

Ways to adapt your blog writing and content marketing strategy

Adapt your Content Messaging & Targeting Strategy

From a survey conducted in 2021, the Content Marketing Institute found that 63% of B2C marketers surveyed changed their messaging/targeting strategy in response to the pandemic. Changing your messaging/targeting strategy can be done in several ways, but prior to doing this you want to ensure that you change it to suit your business. From the examples we have identified earlier, many brands used this opportunity to provide free and educational content, aimed at providing an opportunity to those who may have lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic – this is a good method to soften your brand image and reduce any potential “corporate” image you may have and create a more compassionate and empathetic brand image that is socially aware.

For example, content marketing can help the business become recognized as any of the below, think about where you fall now and where you think it would make sense to go relevant to your business:

• An industry educator
• A provider of alternative ideas and solutions to current challenges
• A thought leader sharing views of the future, post-crisis world
• A source of relevant but non-pandemic information

Use these prompts to guide you to evaluating your current messaging strategy:

• What is your current blog writing and content marketing messaging strategy?
  Things to consider: take into account your ideal client persona (ICP) and how they have been affected through the pandemic.
• How is your organisation currently perceived?
  Are you brand experts that keep all knowledge under lock and key until your clients pay? It may be time to give some of that away for free to soften your image.

Change your Blog Writing and Content Marketing Distribution Strategy

As a result of the world spending more time online, the type of content that people consume also must be considered in your blog writing and content marketing strategy.

In the same survey, the Content Marketing Institute found that the most commonly used types of content used in the last 12 months were:

• Blog posts (short articles)
• Email newsletters
• Video’s (pre-produced)
• Infographics

The main differences since the previous survey are:

• Virtual events/webinars/online courses increased to 39% from 27%.
• In-person events decreased to 37% from 50%. (DUH, possibly should have reduced a bit more following lockdown protocols…but we’re not the government)
• Livestreaming content increased to 35% from 13%.

Interestingly, the survey found that long form text i.e. articles that are greater than 3000+ words were the least commonly used type of content. Additionally, also Forbes discuss how the pandemic has changed video content and consumption since the pandemic and how things like tik tok has grown from an unknown entity in 2018 to having over approximately 700 million users worldwide.

Does this mean that blog posts and long-form content are dying and may be a thing of the past?

Nope.

It shows that consumers want useful content in an accessible format, i.e. short articles or video. We’ve already conducted research on the optimal blog length and found the sweet spot to be approximately 1000-1200 words.

Long form content still occupied 22% of content published by marketing agencies.

Marketing Tip: All content creators from YouTube to Instagram to Hubspot use breakdown strategies, these are creating lots of content and drip feeding it into their marketing funnel. A similar approach should be used with long form content. Instead of creating one mahoosive long form piece of content, create a series of installments that cover a particular topic and divide it so it allows your target audience to selectively decide what they are looking for.

Conversely, if your audience likes it and your subject matter ponders to it, then it may be worth considering how you can leverage video technology as a method of translating traditionally large posts into short and bite sized videos.

Content Is a Long-Term Investment

The Content Marketing Institute found that nearly 90% of the most successful brands stated that content marketing played a key role in increasing brand awareness over the course of 12 months.

The Content Marketing Institute found that 73% of organisations that undertake blog writing and content marketing activity have became more strategic. Of those, 42% have a documented strategy, up from 33% the previous year

Your audience may not be engaging with your content right now, but providing you are aiming your sights at the long term with a combination of timely content and evergreen content, you’ll likely reap the benefits of your blog writing efforts during and after the pandemic.

Over the next few months, we recommend creating content that

1. Improves brand awareness 
2. Informs potential buyers about the current status of your business
3. Builds trust with your customer base through continual communication and support
4. Increases loyalty through offers, support and engagement
5. Boosts leads through informative content

Don’t think of each blog post as a here-and-now strategy or sales generator, it’s a long term investment into your brand, so when we come out of the other side, you’ll thrive.

As the graph below shows, blogging more and keeping your content updated (across the languages/regions you serve) will help increase your traffic and in turn brand awareness.

Consistent Blog Writing Matters

Since April 2020 there were nearly 75 million blog posts published on WordPress sites. Nearly two-thirds (62%) of businesses with 5,000 or more employees publish content daily. If we learn nothing else from this, it’s that content consistency and regularity matter. Whether you do it in-house, source a freelance team, or use an company like ours creating quality content regularly is a vital part of blog writing success. You may not be able to publish daily, but having some sort of regular schedule during this time is important. With us you can have as little as a single 500 word article every month on auto-pilot, so you don’t even need to think about it. It’s not tricky, but it is worthwhile.

Additionally, Google is always searching websites for new content, meaning while others may be putting things on pause, you can get a foot up in Google through your blog writing efforts. If search engines aren’t consistently picking up on new content from you, your SEO results, and in turn your position on Google could be damaged. 

“Content marketing first rose in popularity with the need to be discoverable in search, engaging on social, and trusted enough to create affinity and loyalty. These are tactics every business should apply given that in the face of an oncoming recession, trust will be the deciding factor in business recovery and growth.” Bian Salins EMEA Lead, Content Marketing Consulting, LinkedIn

Conclusion

Content and blog writing are tools, so they’re only as effective as the brands that use them. Both during and after the pandemic, it’s going to be the companies that continue to produce content, that come out ahead as thought leaders, educators, and popular brands.  The key takeaway here is that blog writing and content marketing as a whole is a long term game, but as with all great things, if you’re patient it pays off dividends.

Don’t Have Time Or Resources For Regular Blog Writing?

If you’re struggling to maintain everything else during this challenging time, let alone worrying about writing blog content, then we may be able to help. Whether it’s topping up your current content or producing all of your blog content we can help. You can get started literally for less than a meal out per month – ensuring you’re able to benefit from our services whether you’re a startup or an established brand. Just head this way for everything you need to know about us.