Although it is often the more technical side of digital and content marketing that draws our attention, it can often be the case that the simplest aspects of a content marketing strategy are the most important.
This is certainly true when it comes to the topic of this article, which is often overlooked by those looking to super-charge their digital marketing performance.
In fact, while digital marketers like to spend a lot of time speaking about analytics, the finer details of SERPs, conversion rates, and a variety of other metrics, you would be amazed at the tangible improvements you will be able to see in your online presence just by following this advice.
With that said, the topic of today’s article is consistency and, more generally, why consistency is important to your content marketing strategy.
What is ‘consistency’ and why does it matter?
‘Consistency’ in the context of digital and content marketing might have a number of different meanings, each of which is equally important.
Firstly, consistency might refer to the rate at which you are posting content online, as well as the volume of material you are releasing. This understanding of consistency is particularly important in the context of SEO, where websites that post regular content that is fresh will generally score better in the search engine rankings than a website that tends to repost and reuse old material.
As the Google search engine algorithms score websites that are consistently updated with new content, it is important to post fresh material at regular intervals to ensure that you are maximising your SEO potential.
Secondly, consistency might also be taken to refer to how the brand or business you are producing content for comes across in the material itself. This would mean ensuring that the brand image is the same or similar across all material you put out. You might notice this in, for example, the aesthetic or branding, but also the brand ‘voice’ used in any written content you put out.
As we can see, although these two understandings of ‘consistency’ are different, they are nevertheless equally important. While the first meaning of ‘consistency’ ensures that your content scores well in the SEO rankings, the second will mean that the image and integrity of the brand are maintained across all marketing content that is put out.
Putting out consistent content
Although we have identified consistency as an important element of content and digital marketing, how do we actually put this together into a strategy?
For the first kind of consistency, it is important to ensure that you are putting out content regularly. Not only will this help you to score better in the search engine rankings, but it will also help you to build an audience. Having content that goes out regularly creates a relationship between you and the reader, which will create a positive brand image. It can also help to build up trust, which is particularly important if you are trying to establish your business as a brand authority.
In this way, putting out content on a regular schedule will help you to develop your relationship with your existing customers, as well as to potentially generate new leads.
The second kind of consistency requires you to ensure that all of the digital and marketing content you put out meets certain editorial requirements. This might involve, for example, the use of specific graphics schemes, formatting guidelines, or that blogs are written in a certain way. This is often the trickiest form of consistency to get right, particularly where you have a number of team members putting out content.
Effective messaging is a key element of any marketing strategy. This is particularly true where you are using written content. To ensure that your messaging is as effective as it should be, regardless of what platform you are publishing content on, the message you are trying to convey should be kept consistent and clear across all publishing platforms. This can be helped by, for example, establishing house-style guidance, as well as being clear about what message you are trying to get across and how you want it to be expressed.
Is outsourcing the answer?
As we can see, putting out content that is consistent both in terms of the schedule you publish it on, and in terms of the way that it is written and produced, can take a significant amount of resources. This is true for both smaller and larger businesses.
For this reason, if you want to ensure that all of the digital content marketing material you put out meets the requirements of both kinds of ‘consistency’, it might be a good idea to outsource some of these functions.
Having access to a team of writers will ensure that you can put out content that is fresh, original and perfectly matches the brand voice you are trying to hit and the message you are trying to convey. Professional content marketers will also have access to a range of tools and analytics software that will not only identify areas for improvement, but can also automate some of the work you are undertaking.
With that said, if you think that the best decision for your business is to outsource some of the content marketing functions you might usually do internally, why not reach out to Purecontent today? Whether you want to boost your presence in the Google search engine rankings, or simply increase your chances of converting sales, our dedicated content experts are here to help. Reach out and get started today!
