Marketers are confused.
It can be challenging to manage various marketing strategies while also trying to figure out which channels are most effective in terms of generating traffic, leads, and clients.
There is a lot of debate about what marketing technique is the best. One marketer claims that email is the best. Another claims that social media is the best. And still another claims that SEO wins. It is hard to say who is right and who is wrong.
Many marketers fail to personalize their content, despite recognizing how important it is. 72% of marketers understand the importance of personalization, but don’t know how to go about it.
Most confusion among marketers is about how to generate traffic and leads and how to demonstrate the ROI of their marketing activities.
The vital difference between copying and stealing
What is the difference between copying and stealing a successful marketing strategy? The difference is in how you borrow the idea.
Do you adopt the methods of other businesses and develop your own strategy? Or do you copy them exactly, bordering on plagiarism? The former is copying, and the latter is stealing.
When you are “stealing” someone else’s marketing strategy, you need to be aware of plagiarism and not get into legal trouble. Your audience will also see you as a more trustworthy website if you use strategies that work.
And if you find a hack that your competitor is using that is successful, you should not hesitate to use it as well.
If you want to be successful, you need to come up with your own ideas, rather than copying someone else’s. While copying someone else’s ideas may seem like an easy way to be successful, it is actually much less effective than coming up with your own ideas.
You can create your own version of almost any piece of content, without copying it exactly or stealing images without giving credit. Get inspiration from other marketers, make it your own, and give credit where it’s due.
Some say you should always steal ideas instead of copying them because they can be more effective.
Why some say you should steal instead of copy
Great marketers take someone else’s great idea and make it even better. They don’t just copy it and call it their own, they actually improve upon it and make it more effective.
Great marketers use the successes of others to their advantage. They will repost amazing content while giving credit where it is due.
They’re not afraid to admit when another marketer is more successful than them, and they’re not afraid to learn from them. Great marketers also know when to copy successful content, but they do it with more precision than good marketers.
It is necessary to take a step in the right direction and this has never been done before as the marketing environment is very messy and difficult to understand.
Marketers need to understand how to tweak strategies to get the best results. Marketers need to be able to understand and adapt their tactics to get the best results, as well as understanding their audience, traffic, and leads.
1. Create a free resource to generate leads
Have you ever come across an online resource that was so impressive that you felt you absolutely needed to have it? The title was so compelling and problem-solving that you would have been willing to trade something valuable for it? Most of you have probably experienced this at least once. Maybe it was an amazing resource about how to craft headlines, produce content, or optimize for search engines.
You entered your email and downloaded a resource for free because it intrigued you. The marketer did this intentionally so they would have direct access to your inbox. This is a win for the marketer because now they can contact you directly.
You can get ideas for your own resources by looking at what your competitors are doing. For example, look at resources from SmartBlogger.
This website provides templates for writing attention-grabbing headlines, which can be very useful for creating compelling content that draws people in. This is a great resource, and rivals that of similar websites like HubSpot.
There is a range of lead magnets available on their website which you could draw inspiration from to create your own, crediting them where appropriate.
2. Enhance your email subject lines
There is no secret that email is one of the top marketing strategies in today’s world. For a long time, email has given marketers direct access to their audiences and high-converting traffic.
However, with great power comes great responsibility. Just because you have direct access to someone’s email address doesn’t mean they’ll actually read your email.
The best way to get people to open your email is to have a good subject line. However, this can be difficult to do. A possible solution is to take ideas from your competition.
What is a swipe file?
I have a file where I save all the great subject lines I see from marketing email lists I’m subscribed to. That way, when I need inspiration for my own marketing emails, I have a go-to resource. I don’t always use the lines verbatim, but they at least give me a starting point.
This strategy is a must for any serious email marketers. As a marketer, the worst thing you can do is try to keep your inbox clean.
Subscribing to your competitor’s newsletters, get an idea of what they are up to by looking at their emails. See how they use their subject lines to increase their email open rate.
There are plenty of examples of great subject lines that you can take inspiration from your competition. Make sure you don’t miss out on that opportunity by creating a swipe file to use as reference when you can’t think of anything original. You can also use it every time to guarantee that you get clicks.
3. Craft better blog headlines
If the headline of your blog content is the most important part, then the words that come after and even the last sentence don’t matter as much. The headline is what grabs the reader’s attention and gets them to click on your post.
Because crafting a successful headline is important, you should either spend extra time on it or get inspiration from your competitors. Copying a competitor’s headline and making it your own is an effective strategy.
And doing this is dead simple. Go to Buzzsumo.
Type either a topic or the URL of a competitor into the provided space and click “Go!” A list of the most popular blog posts on the topic or from the competitor will appear. Use these titles to create your own blog post.
4. Get more social media shares
The more social media shares you have, the more potential traffic and leads you can generate.
The potential of a share to generate traffic to your content is directly related to the number of friends that the person sharing has. A single share can quickly reach tens or hundreds of thousands of people instead of just a few thousand people.
This creates more followers for your social media account and potential customers for your business. The best way to get social media shares is by emulating what works for your competitors.
4 Creative Content Marketing Examples to Steal
In a digital world, content marketers are under tremendous pressure to produce more content. They need to produce content on more channels for more products and more audiences.
Here are different ways to succeed in content marketing, while still following tried and true methods.
1. Deloitte used interactive infographics to teach customers about its services
Deloitte, a multinational professional services network, used interactive infographics as a way to give potential customers a glimpse into their services. This was done in order to make their services more memorable.
The strategy
Deloitte has created a quiz to help people communicate better with their co-workers. The quiz asks people to imagine how their co-worker would react to different situations. The quiz is colorful and interactive, and the questions are easy to answer.
After taking the quiz, you will get some useful tips on how to work better with a difficult co-worker.
This campaign provides a variety of content to support it, including videos that show each type of business personality, examples of famous historical figures who have that trait, and even gift ideas for each type of person.
Why it was effective
This quiz is designed to give you a glimpse of how Deloitte can help you and your team work together more efficiently.
The supporting content provides users with more information about the advice while still being entertaining, creating a memorable experience.
The key takeaway
If you want your customers to engage more with your content and products, try coming up with quizzes. For example, if you sell accessories, you could make a quiz that helps users find the right type of watch for their lifestyle.
2. American Express celebrated their customers with video content
American Express, a global financial services company, shifted their content focus to long-form storytelling featuring their customers.
The strategy
American Express typically features their customers in video content and case studies as part of a community conversation, instead of just lecturing.
One example that stands out is a three-part video series about the difficulties and successes of a kombucha company owned by a woman.
Why it was effective
The following long-form storytelling projects from American Express show an understanding of the hardships and joys that small business owners face. This builds trust with customers and shows that American Express is compassionate to their needs.
The key takeaway
Your content should be focused on your customers, not just on what you think is best. Showing that your company shares the same core values as your customers creates a community around your product and builds loyalty.
3. The Nature Conservancy became a thought leader on nature’s role for urban dwellers
The Nature Conservancy is a land and water conservation nonprofit. They used blog posts, video, and interactive maps to show how conservation efforts have positively impacted New Yorkers’ daily lives.
The strategy
The Nature Conservancy felt that people who live in urban areas are disconnected from the natural world, so they came up with a new way to raise awareness for their cause and to connect with potential donors.
The Nature Conservancy used various types of content and marketing tools, including visual content, social media content, blogs, billboards, and TV commercials, to demonstrate how clean water can result in healthier local businesses and improved recreation, for example.
Why it was effective
It showed everyday New Yorkers how nature is linked to real, local problems. It explained how the organization’s environmental goals also improve quality of life and have economic benefits.
The key takeaway
It is important to keep your company’s image fresh by using different types of content.
Your company’s mission may not change, but how you communicate that mission to your audience needs to change to keep you relevant.
4. Gusto lets customers draw their own insights with free tools
Gusto’s HR software is designed to make life easier for small business owners who have to wear many hats. They offer a range of free tools that small businesses can use, showing their customers the value of the product before they make a purchase.
The strategy
Gusto writes blog posts aimed at small business owners about topics such as finances, taxes, payroll, and human resources challenges.
The team creates how-to guides on everything from distinguishing a gig worker from an independent contractor to building a thriving YouTube channel with the help of outside experts and their own internal content writers.
Why it was effective
Gusto’s tools are designed to give potential customers a glimpse of the company’s expertise and to present their software as a way to automate calculations that are commonly done by accounting and bookkeeping teams.
Although Gusto is not as well-known as some of its competitors, it has been successful in attracting 6.4 million visitors to its website each year through its focus on content that helps customers solve their problems.
The key takeaway
Words on a web page are not all that a piece of content is.
Other tools can help you show your target audience how valuable your product is. Offering people a way to quickly solve their problems on their own provides them with immediate value. This helps establish a two-way relationship that people will appreciate and remember when they need more than just a free tool.
A creative content marketing strategy serves your customers and your business goals
If you want your content marketing campaign to be successful, make sure it aligns with your overall content strategy.
There are a lot of different ways to measure success in marketing, and it can be tough to keep up with all of them. A good way to save time and become a better marketer is to learn from what your competition is doing.