Author: Darrell Cuthbert

Author: Darrell Cuthbert

Author: Darrell Cuthbert

Author: Darrell Cuthbert

Author: Darrell Cuthbert

By Darrell Cuthbert

​However, many back-office functions and B2B operations come to a virtual standstill at this time of year. This does not mean, though, that your website and social media channels should do likewise.
 
A lot of consumers have more time on their hands than usual, either because they are on vacation or just because things are quiet at work – and for a lot of people that means more time spent online.
 
Aside from consumers, many business owners and managers use the Christmas and New Year holiday season to strategize and think about the year ahead, and this often includes internet searches to see what the competition is up to industry news, and to find information about products and services that the business can make use of to operate more efficiently in 2018.
 
But what if your company website, blog, and social media channels all observe complete radio-silence from mid-December to mid-January? 
 
This type of gap where nothing new is posted can really cause your content marketing program to lose momentum – and lead to customers and potential customers losing interest and moving on to other sites and pages, including those of your competitors.
 
However, keeping a website, blog, and social media accounts up to date seems an impossible task in many businesses, with employees starting to go on leave.
 
Two simple strategies can help though:

1. Plan Ahead
2. Automate Content distribution 

 
If this sounds complicated, it really isn’t.
 
Plan Ahead

• Think about subjects and themes that are topical at this time of year, and an angle that opens up the door for you to link your product or service offering to the subject or theme (in a natural, subtle way – not a spammy, hard-sell, in-your-face way).

 

• Write a couple of blog posts/articles for your company website using the above

 

• Write a series of social media posts on the same theme as the blog articles (varying lengths and styles for use on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ etc.), using the articles as inspiration and source material

 

• Put together some more social media posts that are non-promotional, but also topical where possible (e.g. fun facts about the season, interesting information about general industry trends, comment on relevant third party articles or other material spotted online (Google alerts are a great way to keep in touch with this and find topic ideas).

 
 
Automate Content Distribution

• Pre-schedule blog posts to go out on relevant dates, assuming your content management system (CMS) allows for this. If it doesn’t, you can either:
  • Save the posts as drafts and diarise the correct publication date. It should only take a minute or two for you, or a staff member) to log in on the relevant day and release the post
  • Publish all the posts before going away, and possibly forward-date some of them manually if your CMS allows for this (it’s a bit of a con as the post will appear online with a date a few days, or weeks, ahead of time – but generally very few people check blog post dates, so it will probably go unnoticed)

 

• Use a service like Hootsuite or Buffer to pre-schedule social media posts (I use Hootsuite, but that’s a matter of personal preference. I have friends and colleagues that are die-hard Buffer fans, use whichever works best for you)

 

• Link social media posts to your blog posts or the third-party content you are referring to as relevant.

 
By taking the actions suggested above, you can make sure that your company website and social media accounts keep working right throughout the holiday season – even if there is nobody in the office.
​

© D Cuthbert 2017

By Darrell Cuthbert

This nicely put together infographic from the team at curata briefly describes the process, and some of the milestones along the way, that modern marketing has followed in its evolution from the internet bubble of the late 90’s and the subsequent dotcom crash to the current obsession with content marketing.

I was especially interested in two things:

1. The statement that 71% of marketers are increasing content marketing spending. 
I have also seen similar claims recently from other sources. Although the exact percentage differs according to who conducted the research, how and where, the overall message remains the same – the marketing community is placing more and more emphasis on content marketing.

Savvy business people need to realise the importance of this trend and find innovative ways to share valuable content with their customer base. This can be a challenge, especially for smaller South African companies that don’t have a marketing agency or in-house marketing team

2. The section titled Content Overload that states “content marketing trend increases, resulting in too much content.” 

Let me say upfront that I love the concept content marketing because it seeks to gain customer trust with useful information rather than simply advertising and delivering a sales pitch at every opportunity. I both agree and disagree with the statement in the infographic though. I don’t believe there is too much content out there, that would be like saying customers are too well informed. Instead I would say that there is too much low-quality content out there.

However, the increasing popularity of the term Content Marketing has unfortunately led many well-intentioned but misinformed small and medium sized business owners in South Africa to believe that content marketing simply consists of: 

• Copying and pasting (duplicate) material from other sites, for example those of suppliers, onto their own
  
• Sending out blog posts or newsletters that consist of nothing more than pure promotional material
  
• Buying badly-written articles at $5 each from content farms that make use of unskilled writers, many of whom are not even fluent in English and lack passion, expertise and experience related to the language
  
• Delegating content creation and strategy to a junior staff member, who sees it as just another task and lacks both the business and writing skills and experience to do it properly
  

Creating high quality, relevant, engaging and original content targeted at your business’s customers and potential customers requires a passion for words and writing expertise coupled with knowledge of SEO (search engine optimisation) and marketing principles and a thorough understanding of South Africa business practice.

This is a task best performed by a specialist web content writer with both copywriting and business experience. If your business does not have or require a full-time content writer then outsourcing is the ideal solution.  

WordTiffie Copywriting and Web Content is a commercial writing business focused on providing high-quality written material to small and medium sized businesses.

WordTiffie is based in Durban, South Africa, and is owned and operated by Darrell Cuthbert – South African writer, blogger and online marketer.

Get in Touch now to discuss your content and copywriting requirements

 

By Darrell Cuthbert

A few days ago I needed to go The Pavillion (a local mall) to do some shopping. While I was there I noticed that the payment counters at a sports clothing and equipment shop (Mr Price Sport) had been changed since I was last there, or maybe they were like that all along and I didn't remember.

The counters include a shelf in front of and below the main surface – ideal for placing packets containing other purchases and, I assume, handbags. I had three other packets in my hands and I was reminded of all the times I had struggled with shopping bags while trying to deal with my wallet, cash, card, change and receipts.

The counter design may seem like a small thing but I walked away feeling more relaxed and organised than from all the other shops I visited that day. I would not choose to shop at this particular store based on the counter design only, I go there because I think the quality of the merchandise is generally good and the prices reasonable, but it is a nice added touch.

What does any of this have to do with Content Marketing?

Sometimes the little things count and become a differentiating factor. As an already loyal customer the convenience factor helped remind me that I had made the right choice of where to shop. There are other stores selling sporting goods and clothing in the area but I don’t like their layout and the way they make me feel when I walk in.

Likewise with content marketing. Your business may offer products or services to the buying public that are in many ways similar to those of competitors. One way to differentiate your offering is by the way you tell the story of your brand or company. This includes generating content and sharing it with your target audience. But don’t forget – the little things matter.

A piece of content that is well written, relevant, engaging, original and written in the appropriate tone for the audience will connect with your customer base and make them feel comfortable about doing business with you.

The Flip-Side

On the contrary, a poorly-written piece of copy containing spelling and grammar errors that is written in the incorrect tone and style and fails to make an emotional connection will be more likely to irritate potential customers and subconsciously lead to a lack of trust.

Another quick illustration from my mall visit – inside the men’s bathrooms there are aluminium frames on the walls that contain small advertising posters for a variety of businesses. As I am always interested in how businesses use written content in their advertising I read all of them.

One in particular stood out – but not in a good way. The very first word in the copy contained an obvious grammatical error. I didn’t read any further. No doubt the company concerned had spent a fair amount of money on having this advertisement designed, printed and displayed in one of the largest malls in Durban. To have all of that effort and expense tarnished by an incorrectly placed apostrophe is both unfortunate and entirely preventable.

Once again this shows how the little things matter.

Put Your Money Where it Matters

If you are a business owner please pay special attention to the quality of the content you are using for marketing purposes. Spending a lot of money on design, printing and placement is foolish if the content can’t deliver what the design promises. Invest some money into good quality copy and the impact of the message will be greatly increased.


© D Cuthbert 2014

WordTiffie Copywriting and Web Content is a commercial writing business focused on providing high-quality written material to small and medium sized businesses.

WordTiffie is based in Durban, South Africa, and is owned and operated by Darrell Cuthbert – South African writer, blogger and online marketer.

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By Darrell Cuthbert

Content Marketing – mention this term in most countries and business environments and you will generally get mixed reactions; ranging from rabid enthusiasm (content marketers and writers) to rolled eyeballs and dismissive gestures (traditional marketers), to looks of confusion (business owners that don’t really understand what it is), and varying combinations of all three.

Whether you love it, hate it, or don’t understand it – the reality is content marketing is here to stay. Many large and well-known international brands have embraced it and allocated substantial resources and budgets to doing it right. 

Utilisation of content marketing is not restricted to international brands though. South African companies are slowly but steadily also venturing into this space.

Are the Ponytails Doomed to Extinction?

It is unlikely that content marketing will ever completely replace creative advertising. However more and more brands and companies are moving away from their total reliance on traditional marketing methods and investing varying amounts of effort, time and money into participating in and mastering content marketing.

The marketing and advertising landscape is rapidly changing, driven largely by the widespread adoption of the internet, the popularity of social media channels and the ease which with content can be viewed, commented on and shared by users (customers).

Smart marketers will find a way to blend traditional and content marketing techniques into a single, highly-effective promotional strategy.

Size Doesn't Matter

In order to stay relevant and connect with a younger generation of tech-savvy customers and potential customers all South African businesses, large and small, need to have a content marketing program in place.

One of the advantages of content marketing is that it is accessible to businesses of all sizes and types, from large multinationals with a South African branch office or subsidiary, to small and medium sized enterprises.

Sharing fresh, relevant, original content is an excellent way for any business in South Africa to increase their engagement with and boost the loyalty of existing customers as well as increase the company’s exposure and profile.

This results in more leads, customers and sales.

 © D Cuthbert 2014

Not sure how to get started with content marketing or need material researched and written for your existing program – Contact me

WordTiffie Copywriting and Web Content is a commercial writing business focused on providing high-quality written material to small and medium sized businesses.

WordTiffie is based in Durban, South Africa, and is owned and operated by Darrell Cuthbert – South African writer, blogger and online marketer.

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Most big businesses in South Africa have a company website and practice content marketing in one form or another.

In addition more and more local small and medium sized businesses are setting up websites and participating in the online world. However, not all owners of SMEs in South Africa realise the power of a properly planned and executed content marketing program and the impact it can have on their business.

All business owners want more traffic to their website as this is a powerful way to attract potential customers and increase the business’s engagement with existing customers.

Creating and sharing well-written, interesting, relevant content that informs and educates customers is the most efficient and sustainable way to increase a business’s search engine rankings and draw traffic to a company website.

The infographic below (courtesy of Quicksprout) cites some interesting statistics, including:

• 61% of consumers feel better about a company that has a blog
• Companies with active blogs receive 97% more leads
  
• 90% of consumers find detailed content useful
  
• 50% of consumers say content marketing has a positive impact on purchasing decisions
  
• 86% of B2C (business to customer) marketers use content marketing
  
• 62% of companies outsource their content marketing
  

If your business does not already have a company blog it is important to set one up as soon as possible and fill it with useful content – ideally by posting informative articles and other material on a weekly basis.

Content marketing works for companies of all sizes and in all industries but is especially powerful as a growth tool for South African small and medium sized businesses.



By Darrell Cuthbert

WordTiffie Copywriting and Web Content is a commercial writing business focused on providing high-quality written material to small and medium sized businesses.

WordTiffie is based in Durban, South Africa, and is owned and operated by Darrell Cuthbert – South African writer, blogger and online marketer.

Get in Touch now to discuss your content and copywriting requirements