Is content really king? Read on to find out… 
Content marketing has for some time now been hailed the king of internet marketing.
And the definition of content marketing is simple.
It involves getting into a study to determine what your target audience wants, and then creating content that engages, informs, educates and persuades them.
If you’ve been online for a while now, you’d know that content is king. But that’s not the whole truth.
Because every form of content can only be made King when it has VALUE.
And while it continues to reign high up in the world of marketing as a whole, there are still many businesses that are uncertain of how to strengthen and ultimately capitalize on content.
Business blogs in particular are a challenge for startup companies that may not be familiar with this form of marketing.
Here are six easy ways your business blog can make content the king in your marketing efforts.
1. Post a variety of information
From ‘case studies to product information to general industry how to’ information, your blog should be filled with a variety of information that can be used by your customer.
Likewise, having a variety of authors on the blog makes for a more interesting read for the people coming to your site.
Everyone from the CEO to the programmers to the marketing team should be able to have a say on your site. The readers of your blog should always feel like they received something of value when they arrived.
To keep information interesting and to keep customers coming back for more, create an editorial calendar that includes well-rounded blog content from a variety of people within your organization.
2. Be consistent with updates
Blog readers want to hear from their bloggers regularly.
Make sure you have a solid plan in place that will allow you to regularly update your blog so that you are not left with gaps in posts making your business look unprofessional and disorganized.
By keeping a regular calendar, or scheduling posts a week in advance, you can automate this system easily so your blog is always kept up-to-date, even when the hours slip away from you during the work week.
3. Encourage valuable comments
Comments make us feel fulfilled and happier as content marketers. I agree that comments are not good metrics to determine the success of a blog, but it motivates and builds your brand.
After each blog post, encourage engagement from your reader base by asking for their comments on the information you just provided. Don’t ask them to thank you for the post.
Instead, ask for their opinions by asking them a question that would either challenge what they already know, or trigger their subconscious mind to act.
Ask for opinions, feedback, and more to get them involved in a conversation on your site. Once your readers have left their comments, be sure to respond in a timely fashion and continue the conversation.
This is a great way to improve the overall experience the reader gets when they visit your site. For people who do not like to comment, they will still enjoy the interaction they read between your company and other customers.
To get more comments for your blog posts, ask only one question at the end of each article. If you ask more than one, your readers would be confused and take one action – LEAVE.
4. Quality content is not a cliché, you MUST focus on it.
While this may seem obvious for many bloggers, businesses that are just starting out in the world of blogging may be uncertain what to post.
The number one rule in any business blog is no matter what you post, it should be of very high quality.
The quality of content on your site will not only make your blog more engaging and entertaining to read, but it will also directly impact your search engine rankings making your content even more important.
Write with intent to provide quality information and your blog will be more successful.
5. Use analytics to determine what people want
While you may think you know what your customers are searching for and want out of your blog, analytics should be the final determinant to show where people are visiting most.
And what content gets shared the most, and what type of content fell flat. This will give your brand a better opportunity to create more of what works well and strengthen the content offered on your blog over time.
6. Run competitions and offer free stuff
Your content can be fun as well as informative.
Use it to keep readers engaged with your brand by offering a prize for the best comment, or do a random drawing for a prize given to those people who respond to a specific inquiry.
This will make for a fun opportunity for your reader base, and will allow you to engage with them on a new level improving the overall content in your blog.
Make content work for your brand by keeping customers engaged, and giving them a reason to spread the word about your brand.
Kingship takeaway
These are the simple steps on how to make content king and in the process, grow your traffic, leads and sales.
This year, make it a duty to always bring value with your content. Don’t be in a hurry, take your time to make it work. Because quality is better than quantity.
Please answer this question in the comment box: Is content truly King or just a buzzword that website owners are throwing around? Let me know what your thoughts are. See you at the top!
About – Patrick Del Rosario is part of the team behind Open Colleges, one of Australia’s pioneer and leading providers of great Management Courses and latest certificate iv in training and assessment. When not working, Patrick enjoys blogging about career and business.