In recent years, companies of all sizes have developed a renewed interest in content marketing. Now a $43.9 billion industry, online content is a thriving sector of the e-commerce economy. Brands that allot 50% of their marketing budgets to content report better ROIs than those that don’t. Furthermore, B2B firms that blog regularly boast 67% more leads per month than their non-blogging counterparts. When crafting your own content, the following tools are extremely helpful.
1. Google Trends
Timely content is a key ingredient in any successful online marketing strategy. Figuring out what Internet users are searching for can be accomplished with web apps like the Google AdWords Keyword Tool, but they won’t really tell you anything about the relative popularity of competing topics. For that, you should use Google Trends to see what’s hot and more importantly what’s gaining traction with the general public.
2. Social Mention
Those looking for a “real-time social media search and analysis” tool should take a gander at Social Mention. It allows content marketers to gauge overall interest in various content pieces based on keywords on a variety of social media networks. In a nutshell, it enables you to quantify the effectiveness of content throughout the social media landscape at any given time. Better yet, you can set up alerts for various keywords based on popularity and reach.
3. Toluna
One of the best ways to brainstorm ideas for content is to rely on feedback from real world consumers. The main problem is getting reliable intelligence from your desired target demographics. A paid research service like Toluna can help you to cut right to the chase and discover what kinds of content your audience desires most. Toluna aggregates data from surveys to inform the results it ultimately delivers to customers.
4. Quora
Arguably one of the smartest social networks currently in existence, Quora can be a great place to find inspiration for new and unique content. The hardest part of content marketing is finding a question being asked by your followers that hasn’t yet been answered in a definitive manner. By perusing Quora’s extensive archives of Q&A posts, you can track down burning questions and research the best corresponding answers.
5. Facebook Graph Search
One of the most anticipated tools to hit the search world in recent years is Facebook’s Graph Search. Though fairly new, it has already demonstrated its potential to completely reshape social content marketing. Marketers of all stripes use it to illuminate the connections between followers based on shared interests. It highlights the topics and concerns that matter most to one’s core audience, allowing you to cater to that demand with highly specific content.
The Market Is Crowded
With so many companies rushing to leverage content marketing for their own ends, the field as a whole has become incredibly competitive. Consequently, many businesses are enlisting the help of content professionals to stay ahead of the game. At the moment, 62% of companies outsource their content marketing to some extent. If you need to get up to speed fast with content marketing, a few hired content guns may be the way to go.
