Step Out Of Your Routine: 5 Ways To Refresh Your Content Marketing Campaigns

There’s no denying that marketing is a fast-paced, ever-changing world. We only need to look at the shift from print to digital, from direct mail to targeted communication, and from unreadable, keyword-stuffed articles to valuable, relevant, and engaging SEO content to see that.

Sticking with a familiar content marketing method may seem like the safe option, but it’s not enough to help you succeed at this time of rapid evolution. This is a time when marketers should be thinking about taking the next step.

What Makes a Good Content Marketer?

Of course, the definition of a ‘good’ marketer will change over time depending on the latest trends and audience expectations.

However, right now a good content marketer is one that’s able to roll with the punches; who is flexible in their approach; who is creative; who isn’t afraid to step out of their comfort zone and find new ways to identify new prospects and engage with their audience by understanding their pain points and knowing what they find valuable.

So, do you meet the criteria of a good marketer?

If you’re clinging onto what you know, rather than reaching out to generate new ideas, don’t panic. Here are 5 ways to refresh your content marketing campaigns.

1. Change your workflow (and try to improve it)

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While changing all of your internal processes may not be the best idea, working to enhance one or two areas of your content marketing campaign can bring many benefits with minimal disruption. The first step is to take a look at your current workflow, identify which areas are working well and where there is a room for improvement.

Could you take more time to research your target audience? Can you define your marketing goals and milestones better? Can you make sure that the everything you implement is followed by a thorough testing process? Do you track all important metrics you can use to optimize your campaigns?

There are a lot of different tweaks you can do to improve your current workflow and ultimately deliver better results. The only question is if you have the time and are you willing to put in the effort.

Here is one simple example.

We have a client that has been on our content marketing program for over a year now. Lately, we’ve noticed that it’s been hard to come up with new content ideas as we covered basically all main pain points defined in the initial target audience analysis.

And while we usually aren’t in the habit of doing this, we decided to used a mind map to dissect all the areas that we’ve covered to see if there was something that we’ve missed. This resulted in so many new ideas that we now use it on almost every other project.

It was a simple, yet very effective change in our workflow.

2. Try out new tools

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There are many different ways in which new tools can breathe in some fresh air in your stale content marketing projects:

• Automating boring tasks gives you more time to focus on creative assignments

• In one way or another, new tools usually force you to do things differently and adjust your current workflow

• The right tools can often give you more options for overcoming your content marketing challenges

So which tools should you use? Well, that depends which part of your content marketing project you wish to improve.

Are you looking to spice up your social media marketing? Look at different scheduling tools like Buffer and Hootsuite, social reporting tools like Dashthis or Databox, or meme generators and GIF creators.

Do you want to improve your link building campaigns? Look at different blogger outreach tools, tools for finding contact information (we especially like Clearbit Connect and Hunter), or resources and tools that can inspire you to create better topic suggestions.

Interested in freshening up your content creation process? Make sure everything is done on time by using appropriate collaboration tools (we are big fans of Breeze, Box, and Slack) and powerful design software (you can never go wrong with the Adobe Suite if you have the budget for it). Content Success by Ryte is a really helpful tool as it will tell you which keywords to add, increase or remove to improve your search rankings.

As content marketing often relies on your ability to come up with useful and creative content ideas, having the ability to save every bit of information you might be able to use later can be a lifesaver. A convenient way to do that is to use something like Evernote Webclipper. Install it today, thank me later.

3. Discover and try out new marketing methods

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Your own ‘tried and tested’ methods may well be working, but have you considered that there might be alternative methods that could complement your existing efforts to boost the overall success of your content marketing effort?

Let’s say you have been doing guest posting and republishing infographics for a couple of years now and you are struggling to find new opportunities to reach out to. Well, maybe it is time you try other link building strategies to increase the visibility and authority of your website.

Of course, you can apply this to any other area of marketing you do. Take some time to inform yourself about the new and existing marketing methods and review which of them could be used to reach your marketing goals.

Here are just a few ideas you can look to implement:

• Video marketing (according to HubSpot’s research 54% of consumer want to see video content from a brand, more than any other type of content)

• Ephemeral content (as a type of content that is only available for a limited period of time, ephemeral content taps into the “fear of missing out” and adds certain exclusivity that can increase the engagement of your target audience)

• Evergreen content (probably the best long-term strategy that helps you increase organic traffic and pick up more targeted leads through its ability to build brand trust and carry multiple lead magnets)

• Storytelling (instead of just stating facts and conclusions, use visuals like custom graphics and videos to tell an engaging story)

• Content curation (you don’t always have to create new content from scratch; present your audience with some interesting pieces from your niche and a reason why you’ve chosen them)

• Mobile marketing (it is hard to find someone without a mobile phone today which is why mobile marketing shouldn’t be brushed off as an ineffective strategy until you explore what it can offer to your brand)

4. Schedule regular brainstorming sessions and workshops

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It’s natural to become accustomed to doing things in a certain way, so sometimes it takes a fresh set of eyes to help you deviate from the norm and identify new avenues to travel down.

Through regular team brainstorming session, it becomes easier to see the campaign from different perspectives, and it provides a platform where new ideas and concepts can be discussed openly.

However, one of the primary issues with brainstorming is finding the time, especially if this task takes key players away from more directly profitable actions. It is important to schedule these brainstorming sessions into the campaign calendar and find ways to free up your vital human resources.

One way to solve that problem is by organizing workshops. It’s something we like to call Workshop Wednesdays. So, instead of having all of your marketing team research something, you have one person doing the work and just transferring his discoveries to the whole team in the form of actionable tips.

It saves time, it is fun to do, it builds team spirit, and it always gives you some interesting insights you can use in your content marketing campaigns.

That being said, running into a brainstorming session without a plan can sometimes end up as an activity that just wasted an hour for everyone included.

To ensure that doesn’t happen (and to try out something new if you have been doing this for a while already), here’s a good read on different types of brainstorming techniques. You are bound to find some you’ll want to try out as soon as possible.

5. Expand your reach

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One of the questions you are faced with when you’re creating a content marketing strategy is – which promotional channels should I use for this project?

And the answer is almost never – all of them. You know that you have limited resources and that you want to focus on channels and methods that are appealing to your target audience.

However, if you have been leading a project for a while and have your main channels covered, maybe it is time to expand your reach and look for ways to increase engagement and conversion rate.

Here are a few examples of what we mean by that:

• If you have been focusing only on Twitter, it might be time to give Facebook or Instagram a try

• Consider investing more into paid advertisement like FB PPC and Google Adwords

• Write e-mail sequences that will trigger whenever someone downloads one of your lead magnets

• Optimize your content (and blog) to be more shareable

• Start a monthly newsletter

• Open your blog to guest contributors

• Create dedicated landing pages instead of simple pop-ups

• Consider creating webinars and another form of interactive content you didn’t use up to this point

As you will have to adapt your approach to the channel you are focusing on and the type of content you are creating, there is no doubt that this will force you to implement something fresh in your content marketing campaigns.

Even if your projects are on the right track, it never hurts to freshen up your approach every now and then to ensure you stay on top of the latest trends and give your audience what they’re looking for. Marketing is constantly changing, so it’s essential to stay on your toes and be flexible.

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