CONTENT MARKETING—Creating, Optimizing, and Distributing Content to Engage Your Audience and Improve SEO

Amy Prindle

The Center for Online Evangelism is a missionary project devoted to developing online mission stations.

​Edits and additions by Jamie Jean Domm

If you’ve been following this series and applying the techniques and tools we’ve covered, you’ve researched keywords to get an understanding of what topics are relevant to your target audience and match their search behavior. You’ve looked at what could be considered competition and found opportunities in a few niche topics that relate to your ministry. Ideally, you’ve made topic outlines and are ready to start creating!

While we’ve mentioned a lot about writing, “content” is more than just text. Content can refer to any form of information aimed at an audience.

When it comes to digital marketing, content is made to inform, to educate, and to entertain—all for the ultimate purpose of attracting and nurturing a loyal audience that promotes your organization’s cause or buys your products.

Furthermore, content marketing is effective because it allows brands to build awareness and even recruit a following before trying to sell a product or soliciting an action! The currency of content marketing is ACT—Authority, Credibility, and Trustworthiness (though we should also add “Empathy” to this list, especially when dealing with spiritual topics and life lessons).

Once your messaging is established, focus on the delivery. Use multiple forms of content to maximize your organization’s ability to get picked up by Google’s search algorithms, as well as further engage your audience. Keep in mind that certain forms of content will perform better with some audiences than others. By diversifying your content creation strategy, you optimize your reach and increase your ability to have an impact across a variety of demographics.  

Here are the four major components that work together in a comprehensive content creation process:

• Strategy - purpose, goals, topics to cover, niche opportunities to target, outlining topic coverage, means of distribution, measurement, and analysis.
• Copy - the words within the content. What messages are being conveyed through this content to your audience? How can the language best reflect the culture of the medium and the target audience so that the desired meaning can be best understood? Remember, good communication is when we speak so that our intended audience can not only hear our message, but understand its intended meaning or purpose.
• Imagery - the pictures, videos, icons, and graphics. What’s your visual theme? What emotional response or mood are your trying to evoke? What perception(s) will your audience develop of your brand based on the images you utilize?
• Medium/Media - The final home(s) for the copy and imagery of this project. Where will it live? On your website? In an app? On another website? On various social media platforms?
  
  

As you continue through this section, consider how each of the following elements will fit into the above four-part template. 

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Most popular types of online content

Text
The written word is foundational for any type of content, and, therefore, this is where we must begin. Ideas are written down first—whether in the form of notes, scripts, or outlines—before they’re turned into anything else. In addition, written content almost always accompanies and supports the other content types. Consequently, when you set your content marketing goals, you’ll want to prioritize quality writing.

Keep in mind, however, that good writing in an academic sense is not the same as what’s considered good content writing or copywriting. Writing for digital environments is much more straightforward, casual, conversational, and concise.

The most common forms of written content online are:

• Website copy, as in, the text found throughout your organization’s or ministry’s website. A thorough outline or bubble diagram is a must for planning out website content. Each page should have a clear purpose made obvious in the headline and introductory sentences. Typically, you’ll start with writing copy for the following standard pages: home, about, service, and contact us. You’ll expand from there, depending on your type of ministry.
  
  The more high-quality content your website has, the more likely it is to show up in search results for related products, topics, causes, etc.—especially if it has a blog.
  
  
• Blogs, or a consistently-updated topical collection of articles. The word “blog” originally came from the word “weblog,” back when blogs were more like online journals for individuals posting their opinions, their recipes, documenting their parenting journey, etc. Now blogs are used both individually and commercially to engage in conversation and as a means to inform (or persuade) readers.
  
  Many blogs have inspired the formation of online communities, especially if they prominently link to their corresponding social media profiles, such as: Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, etc. Many commercial websites also leverage blogs to build or grow a community around brand values. If an organization’s blog contains useful or thought-provoking information, and is properly promoted, it can skyrocket online influence—and often conversions (taking a desired action). 
  
  
• Landing pages, or a stand-alone page dedicated to one important message, campaign, and/or call-to-action. It’s more than just a page where users perchance “land” after a search. Landing pages are where visitors are directed via a website link, social media post, paid advertising campaign, email button, etc. for the purpose of taking a specific action. For example, a landing page is where a visitor goes to learn about a specific campaign or product and is designed to encourage them to get involved or sign-up for a special offer. The call-to-action would ask them to enter an email address in exchange for something like:
  • A subscription to your newsletter
  • Registration for a webinar
  • Signing up for a free trial
  • A “lead magnet,” such as a free ebook, how-to guide, etc. on the topic of interest
    
    The primary purpose of landing pages should be to gather email addresses and other contact information for your marketing list. With the right promotional strategy, landing pages are valuable tools for growing your digital influence.
    
    ​Landing pages can also help your organization increase registrations, sign-ups, downloads, purchases, etc. When applicable, build in “buzz” words that create a sense of urgency or exclusivity that urge visitors to take action or that make them feel special.  

 

• Email content. Email marketing is still a key player when it comes to optimizing the effect of your digital influence. While this content is not indexed by search engines, it serves a vital function in nurturing the relationship your brand builds with its audience— helping to grow an actively engaged digital following across multiple mediums and platforms, which does boost your SEO.
  
  However, to generate impact, your audience must first open your email. Strategically written subject lines are meant to convince the reader to open your email. And once they do, the email content should be written as concisely and in as straightforward a manner as possible, as you only have a matter of seconds to engage the reader.
  
  Most email content is in the form of e-newsletters that serve as a vehicle to keep subscribers apprised on news, product information, new content, sales or promotions, etc. Emails may serve as notifications of new blog posts, or sometimes email campaigns can be an educational series in and of themselves.
  
  Think about what you get in your inbox. Do you subscribe to a retailer’s newsletter for updates on sales? Do you belong to a gym that sends out regular updates on class schedules or bring-a-friend promotions? Are you on the email list of your alma mater? Maybe you’re on an email list that sends you a daily devotional. Whatever type of email you receive, understand that careful thought went into how that content was presented. Email content is intentionally designed to keep readers engaged and feeling special, so they don’t wander down to the footer to click “unsubscribe.”
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• Case studies. This content features customer (or member/participant) stories and testimonies to help promote your product, service, event, or cause. Storytelling remains a top marketing practice because we’re drawn to the narrative of someone “just like us” experiencing a problem, seeking the right solution, trying this and trying that, then finally discovering how to overcome the problem.
  
  Case studies allow your product or service to be the “great discovery” that helps people succeed and find a happy ending to their story. Within that story you can highlight how your product works, what your service provides that others don’t, and give readers a glimpse of what their lives would be like if they used your product, service, methodology, etc. Case studies are often published on the company’s own website.
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• White papers. White papers are the longest pieces of content you’ll write, but they are highly effective in demonstrating authority in a subject area. White papers are educational and research-heavy but written to be easily readable and subtly persuasive. You may see them in the form of “ultimate guides” or comprehensive reports, and they appeal to their topic’s audience because they go in-depth about a common problem and outline a solution. They are usually in PDF format and are frequently offered as lead magnets, enticing people to sign up for their email list in order to receive the featured white paper.
  
  They often promote a product, service, method, or theory through a more indirect approach. For example, a software company might publish a white paper about the common security risks of a certain type of file transfer, as well as what to do about them. Readers are persuaded of the software company’s value through increased awareness on a subject of interest. The company might mention how their software minimizes those risks, but there won’t be a big flashy call to action to buy their product. Instead, they might direct you to their website to “learn more” about what a software like theirs can do for you.
  
  

• eBooks. While they are still long-form content, eBooks are typically shorter and “lighter” than white papers. Their purpose is to educate readers (provide value) about a topic of interest. For an audience that might be overwhelmed by a white paper, an ebook is a good option to go deeper than a blog or social media post allows.
  
  While white papers are best for highly technical or complex topics and are more common in the business-to-business (B2B) arena, eBooks are more attractive to individuals, whether as a PDF read on a computer, or an ePub file to be read on a mobile device. These are also a great way for your organization’s brand to demonstrate authority and credibility, and eBooks can be terrific lead magnets as well.
  
  

• Social media posts––they aren’t all silly cat pictures. Many organizations assign their best writers to engage with their followers on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and various niche-specific platforms. Social media writing requires short, punchy messaging that encourages discussion, inspires shares, or includes an enticing call-to-action to click over to a landing page, blog, purchase page, full video, etc.
  
  Social media is today’s “word of mouth.” It’s the central hub of online conversations, and—if they want to have their posts read, liked, and shared—social media writers need to write in the world-of-mouth style, catering to the audience’s interests, frustrations, convictions, etc., and using strong, specific calls-to-action.
  
  Social media “buzz” can have a dramatic effect on the prominence of your organization’s web presence. Not only is it a good source of active backlinks that can drive traffic to your website, your social media profiles can appear as additional search results as well.
  
  
• SEO titles and tags, such as page titles, headlines (or H1s), meta descriptions (the intro blurb that shows underneath the page title and link), and ALT tags. All of these are priorities for SEO copywriters, as the content found in these areas can make a big difference in which webpages get clicked on and ranked in search results. 
  
  
• Microcontent, or “scannable web copy) refers to headlines, subtitles, subheaders, lists, pull quotes, sidebars, meta descriptions, calls-to-action, etc. These are very important, and it’s actually the area that demands the most creativity from the writer. It makes content more scannable, defeating the “wall of text” issue that deters so many potential readers. More often than not, the microcontent is what convinces a reader to start reading and to keep reading.
  
  
• Transcripts for videos or podcasts. Some sites post them verbatim, while others optimize them for readability and add microcontent. This can make the transcript just as popular as the recording, especially for those (about 16% of web users) that prefer to read content, and it also highly valuable for making the content of the recording indexable for search engines.
  
  
• Checklists, as they can stand alone as their own type of post. They can appeal to hurried readers who love scannability, and to thorough readers who like the idea of a concrete list they can check off as they apply each step. Detailed checklists can also be effective lead magnets to the right audience, especially if your content teaches a process or provides ways to upgrade an existing process. 

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Video
One-third of all online activity is spent watching video. This isn’t surprising. People have always been visual creatures, and online video continues to be a popular way to consume content--for all ages!

Video is a great enhancer, as well. Have you noticed that when you click on a news story, the page often has both the written article as well as the video from the newscast? Not only does it offer two different options for content consumption, it also adds a perception of depth and authority to the story.

Video content is particularly ideal for educational content, especially “how-to” tutorials. Demonstrations, interviews, time-lapses...some things are just better presented via video.

The increase in mobile device usage has made video more popular as well. With a smaller screen, it’s easier and faster to watch videos than to read text.

When it comes to YouTube, this platform has created its own niche of search engine optimization. YouTube’s search algorithms rely heavily on keywords, titles, tags, thumbnail images, and microcontent such as video descriptions and channel descriptions.

YouTube also measures “watch time,” or how long a viewer watches before clicking away or going back to search results. The more of a video that gets watched, the better that video must be, so YouTube ranks it higher in its search results. Longer videos, especially if frequently watched until the end, get even more of a boost (outside of YouTube, however, it is still generally recommended to keep videos short, around 3-5 minutes or less).  

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Livestreams
This is when longer videos are always acceptable, regardless of platform. Livestreaming your events, whether on Facebook Live or your website, can widen your audience, further engage your existing audience, and even provide an archived piece of evergreen content that can later be repurposed. This is great for church services, special performances, programs at a school or university, conference sessions, and more.

When it comes to SEO, livestreams can have a sizeable effect. Facebook announced that its ranking algorithm favors live videos in its searches. YouTube promotes YouTube Live videos. And even if your organization’s livestreams are hosted off-site, it’s another link to your content that could show up in search results—especially if you’re live often!

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Webinars
Taking video up another notch, webinars are exclusive live educational presentations. Like its name suggests, it’s a seminar broadcast over the web using tools such as GoToMeeting, Zoom, or Lifesize. Participants are typically invited to webinars and provided with a private link. 

While the webinar itself would not be indexed by search engines, its power to engage audiences boosts SEO through lead generation and by increasing activity, trust, and loyalty to your organization. This is ideal for organizations that can use their niche to teach useful information, provide background on a popular issue, or facilitate live online discussions.

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Images
While the right pictures can elicit emotion, the right designs can inspire action and highlight strategic details. Careful planning is necessary to make sure the chosen images indeed emphasize the intended emotion, that it’s clear what’s happening in the picture, and that it looks genuine, as opposed to a cliché corporate stock photo.

Stock photography isn’t always bad if it’s carefully selected. And it’s easy to find free stock images at pixabay, pexels, unsplash and free-images.com. Click here for more free or low-cost stock photography and design resources.

For websites, hero images continue to be trending (large image that dominates the top area of a website). These pictures must be high enough resolution to avoid appearing pixelated (approx. 1600 pixels wide), but low enough resolution to keep from slowing down the site’s load time.

For images that appear on your website that are not hero images, stick to file sizes under 250 kilobytes if possible. (Learn more about image best practices for church websites.)

Certain images also go viral as memes, or pictures familiar to a specific audience and overlayed with block text, that use an adaptable but repeated theme to say something funny, inspiring, or even to evoke sadness or outrage. A fitting meme every now and then can boost engagement on your blog or social media content—but be careful not to overuse them.
 

For each image you use on your website or blog, make sure to apply ALT text to its code, which is indexed by search engines to determine what the picture is about. It also acts as text that can be read by screen readers to tell visually-impaired internet users what pictures are on a page. 

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Infographics
When explaining a process in text, an accompanying visual is a must.

If, when talking about your topic, you find yourself saying, “here, let me show you…” or “why don’t I just draw this out,” an infographic would probably come in handy.

Designers and writers must work closely to create an infographic with a clear direction so the eye knows what to read first and where to go next.

Infographics illustrate each step of a process (each bullet point) and include short and straightforward text to accompany the imagery—making complicated information easier to understand.

If you’re short a graphic designer, some free tools like Canva can help you create simple infographics, adding a splash of color to your page, post, or feed, as well as informing and engaging your audience in a creative way.

As the above infographic explains, infographics don’t just make your page more pleasant to look at—people actually google for infographics on certain topics. They’re also shared frequently on social media.

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Podcasts
Audio content can include interviews, sermons, vocal essays, monologues, presentations, seminars, etc. Podcasts can be featured on your website or uploaded to iTunes so users can subscribe (even if you’re already hosting through a provider such as SoundCloud, Blubrry, Google Drive, or archive.org). These simple audio files make for a highly shareable piece of content people can listen to while driving, walking, exercising, or cleaning their garage.

Having podcasts with your organization’s name, or even a prominent personality associated with your organization, can do wonders for brand awareness, which ultimately benefits overall SEO.  

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Interactive content (quizzes, polls, calculators, etc.)
This requires audience participation, making for a more memorable interaction with your organization.

You’ve probably seen various character quizzes on Facebook or Twitter, which are highly shareable because, to the audience, it feels like they’re sharing information about them, not about the organization that designed the quiz.

Interactive content that strives to be more helpful or practical might be assessment-type quizzes, calculators, interactive graphs or charts, or polls and surveys. They can also help you with demographic info-gathering for your organization’s strategic planning.

And anything that deepens engagement also boosts SEO! It’s always beneficial to keep people on your website longer.

There are several tools to help you create interactive content, such as qzzr, SurveyMonkey, Doodle, Vizia, and more. 

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Courses
This type of content can be important for supporting what Google refers to as an organization’s E-A-T (Expertise, Authority, Trustworthiness), while also providing yet another way for your audience to consume your content. If your organization is qualified to teach even a simple skill that has value in your audience’s life, creating courses can bolster your content marketing and SEO, and become an additional product you offer. 

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Beginning Content Strategy Worksheet

Filling out this structural worksheet can guide your brainstorming process and help you solidify your content strategy.
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1. Which topics do you wish to cover in-depth for your content marketing?
   
   
   
2. What goals and objectives do you have for your content marketing?
   
   
   
3. What keywords relate to your topic? (brainstorm below)
   
   
   
4. Run your topic and keyword ideas through a keyword research tool. What kinds of results do you find?
   
   
   
5. Are the terms you thought would be popular showing high search volume?
   
   
   
6. Which keywords show the most favorable ratio of search volume to competition?
   
   
   
7. Using what you’ve determined from your keyword research, what is the “big rock” or main topic that will guide your content development?
   
   
   
   
8. Are there a few substantial subtopics that can branch out from your “big rock” topic?
   
   
   
9. Create a “topic tree” or bubble diagram to outline your content’s topical progression.
   
   
   
10. What possible article titles come to mind? (brainstorm below)
    
    
    
11. Which of these subtopics would benefit from a visual element, such as a video, infographic, or image?
    
    
    
12. Which platforms best suit these topics and/or content types?
    
    
    
13. Start drafting article assignments and/or a publishing schedule, complete with guidelines for visual content, and describe the places and forms it will be published in.