In today’s day and age, content marketing is crucial to your institution’s success.
According to 74% of companies, content marketing brings in interested consumers. And those new folks are six times more likely to go with you than a competitor who doesn’t do content marketing.
But those statistics don’t mean you should throw anything on your site or social media accounts. Poor content repels consumers, so if you commit to content marketing, be sure to do it well.
How? Here are some tips to help you craft community bank or credit union marketing content that counts.
Optimize Your Content
Without search engine optimization (SEO), it’s possible to create genius content no one ever finds. You must remember to moderate creativity with the practical matter of climbing the Google rankings. And when fewer than 1% of people visit page two of Google search results, you really need to climb the rankings.
Consider doing these things to start optimizing your content:
- Keyword research to target the best terms
- Include target keywords in titles, descriptions and meta tags
- If writing an article, use keywords throughout
- Explore generating content for Quora or other sites consumers use
- Take advantage of Google My Business posts and backlinks
It’s important to note that "content" doesn’t just mean articles. Your social media posts and YouTube videos are also searchable and SEO-relevant.
Readability
People are busy. They search quickly. They read quickly.
According to Semrush, 83% of high-performing content is very readable. If your content isn’t readable, potential consumers pass right over you. What are keys to readability?
- Keep paragraphs short and sentence structure easy to comprehend
- Use bullets or numbered lists for fast skimming
- Create subsection headings to help people find what they need
- Keep word choice at an eighth grade level
- Incorporate infographics or videos
Make welcoming content someone can dive into immediately. Don’t intimidate consumers with anything that looks like work. Remember: your consumers already work all day…so they’ll dismiss anything that looks like unnecessary labor.
Creativity
The first section advised you to "moderate creativity" and shift some of your focus to SEO. But that doesn’t mean ditch creativity completely. Inventive content still hooks readers.
People want fun. They want to engage. They want a reason to stop scrolling and consume your content. When your prospective members or customers receive thousands of marketing messages each day, you need something intriguing to cut through the noise.
Twist a normal subject into a fascinating read or watch.
You could title a January ID theft article, "Avoid ID Theft with Credit Score Checks." Or you could say, "New Year, Fake You? Not With Credit Score Updates!"
Again, this isn’t limited to blog posts or newsletters. The first line of a social media post is a great spot for a hook, especially if the viewer must click "see more" to get the full picture. Video titles must encourage clicking too.
But don’t go hog wild! Balance creativity with clarity, and never clickbait. Always give the consumer what you promise…or risk them leaving in disgust.
Do you want to see where your marketing content (and more) is currently at? Book a free consultation for a marketing assessment and find out now.
