It’s that time of the year again. There’s a mix of hope and anxiety in the air.
Hope, because the new year means a clean slate that brings a ton of opportunities. And anxiety, because all of those opportunities mean nothing if you don’t show the results.
And, as a marketer by profession, I’m committed to doing FIVE things in my job at Optmyzr this year to grow our brand using content. Before I tell you what those are, let me clarify that there’s nothing groundbreaking about these 5 things because content marketing experts have been saying these things for years.
But, now that we’re in 2024, technology in the past few years, and especially in the past year has totally changed the content game. So, I believe doing these 5 things is absolutely essential this year if you want to grow your business using content.
So, let’s get started.
1. Produce video content.
Like I said, there are no surprises here. You’ll fall behind if you’re a brand that has big goals for growth for this year and yet you don’t create video content in 2024.
Text content is becoming saturated. Google search has been taking away traffic from websites for years. Zero-click searches are on the rise. And people are looking for their answers elsewhere, especially on YouTube.
So there’s no excuse for not doing video unless you’re lazy like me. We’re at a time where anybody can pull out their camera and shoot a video. There’s absolutely no friction to creating video, which, to be honest, means we’re going to see a lot of junk video content everywhere.
And this has been going on for years ever since the top content platforms like YouTube, Blogger, Medium, etc. have democratized (a fancy word that means making something accessible to a majority of people) the content creation game.
The bar to producing video content is so low today. I personally think there should be some level of friction to producing video content because that will strongly call for putting out better quality content, or else there’s only going to be noise. But that’s not the world we’re living in now. So, moving to tip number 2…
2. Show your face on video.
Your viewers need to see your face when you’re talking to them because people only do business with people they trust. That’s Human Nature 101. And that starts with showing yourself on video. They need to know that it’s an actual human talking to them.
So, get out of that comfort zone and put yourself on video. Because you want them to open their wallets and pay for what you’re selling which is ultimately your endgame. So, show them who they’re doing business with.
3. Raise your standards.
If you’re not being original and authentic, your audience will stop listening to you, which means fewer listeners, fewer leads, and fewer sales. Content is exploding everywhere and to stand out YOU need to raise your standards.
Here are some things you can try:
- Share original insights using data.
- Share your users’ stories; showcase the successes they’ve seen using your products.
- Explain what makes you different from the rest of your competitors; add your personal experiences here.
This is what we do at Optmyzr. We regularly share original stories, data points, and customer stories to stand out.
4. Build trust and authority. Associate your brand with trusted names in your industry.
There’s too much content on the web, and your industry is likely loaded with so many players (unless you’re in an industry with relatively fewer companies). So the only way YOU can stand out is by building trust and authority for yourself. Having expertise in your industry is one great way to build that.
At Optmyzr, we’re fortunate to have multiple people with decades of experience in the field of advertising. But not everyone has that luxury. So the next best way is by associating yourself with the experts in your industry.
Look for those experts or creators in your industry. Try to build partnerships with them. Or try to hire people with that expertise.
5. Interview more customers and prospects.
You’ve heard a million times that you need to talk to your customers and prospects. But I’ll not bore you by saying that once again.
Instead, I’ll share some lessons I learned from reading an amazing book called ‘The Mom Test’ that’s about conducting more effective user interviews. This book is actually targeted at startup founders, product managers, and UI/UX designers, but, in my opinion, the same principles apply to marketers too. I’ve yet to apply this well when I conduct customer interviews myself, but here’s what I learned. You’ll get a far better understanding when you read the book yourself.
- Approach the interviews with the right mindset
- Ask questions that look for specifics and examples
- Learn more about their life instead of your product
- Don’t assume your problem space matters to them (if you’re talking to prospects)
- Ignore compliments — that’ll cloud your judgment; instead, learn their pain points
- Refine your customer segment until you get a set of consistent problems across multiple interviews
To a better 2024 and beyond
Average content is not going to cut it this year. All the things that were “good-to-do” in 2023 will now be “must-do” in 2024.
I’m going to commit to these 5 things as the bare minimum things to do to level up as a marketer. If you’re already on the next level, that’s great. But if you aren’t, these 5 tips should help you get there.
