While getting links for SEO purposes is a very important part of your overall content marketing strategy, it is not the most important part. In this episode of Here’s Why with Mark & Eric, they explain what your content marketing priorities should really be.
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Full Transcript:
Mark: If you’re starting out in content marketing, you probably think getting links for SEO is your top priority… Wrong! In this episode of “Here’s Why with Mark & Eric”, I’m willing to ask Eric Enge, lead author of “The Art of SEO”, what your first content marketing priorities should be.
Mark: Eric, too many people still think the primary purpose for content is for link building. Now, what’s wrong with that idea?
Eric: Great question Mark, it’s really putting the cart before the horse. Your content has more important marketing jobs to do than just earning links. Although, as we’ll see, great content built for the right priorities tends to earn great links as well.
Mark: Alright then, so what should be your first priorities for your content?
Eric: Your very first priority absolutely should be building your reputation. When people think about your brand, you want them thinking good thoughts. You can use content marketing to help build that image on your behalf.
Second, build your visibility. Content marketing can help build your visibility in many ways. The basic concept is to create content that people are going to want to share with others via social media and other means, and this gets you exposure to new people.
Third, build your audience. You need to build your own set of fans that will look for your content wherever you may end up publishing it. Audience growth is also incredibly important, as your audience will help you gain exposure to more and more new people. Every time you post and share, you’ll get a ripple effect like this one. Notice at the top of that diagram that links are being created. These are natural, or earned, links from sites exposed to your content as people share it to new audiences.
Mark: Ok, so your content should be designed to build representation, your visibility, your audience… I’m all set! Now to start creating my content!
Eric: Not so fast! There’s one more very important ingredient.
Mark: Oh, what’s that?
Eric: Well, you have to be approachable. Representation, visibility and audience are all great, but you also need to be perceived as approachable. You could have thousands or millions of raving fans, but if they’re afraid to engage with you it will limit the business benefit of what you have accomplished.
Make sure you engage with others, influencers and non-influencers, so the audience at large understands that you’re not sitting in some ivory tower. Getting these four parts of your strategy right is essential. Over the long run, it’s what will lead you to the best quality links with the least possible risk. It’s one of those odd things that happens in life; the less you focus directly on what you want, in this case high-value links, the more of them you’ll get.
Mark: Well, thanks Eric! For more on how to get started with content marketing, including the rolls of guest posts, social media, and more, see Eric’s article on Search Engine Land at this link. Be sure to click subscribe at the end of this video so you’ll never miss another “Here’s Why with Mark and Eric”.
Eric: See you next time!
