The ubiquity of technology and the criticality of its application in an array of industries and sectors cannot be overemphasized, and technology has characterized efficiencies—not just in marketing, but also in other sectors like manufacturing.
Content marketers, expectedly, have very high expectations of the effect of technology, and a majority of them rightly believe that technology could play a key role in making content marketing more efficient.
This is generally a tactical benefit, but technology could be more effective when used strategically, since it can help content marketers work smarter, fundamentally in terms of developing as well as implementing more successful content marketing programs.
Benefits content marketers can expect from technology
A number of studies have indicated that the benefits of technology are generally more strategic. They have established that the amplification of results, clarity on success, and the revelation of previously unknown avenues or opportunities are some of the key strategic benefits of technology.
In a recent survey, John Bell, CTO at SolidEssay, asked his respondents about the benefits that they expect from using technology as far as content marketing is concerned; a majority of the respondents indicated that technology would help them save time at 71 percent, amplifying the results at 62 percent, opportunities at 62%, and clarity on success at 55 percent. This is shown in the graph below:
Here are ways that technology can be used to make a content marker smarter:
Technology can audit the content library
Auditing the content library would go a long way in facilitating the identification of the content gaps, as well as real-time opportunities. Tracking content inventory is one of the aspects that content marketers spend a lot of time doing, and this includes using of spreadsheets, which in some cases, they have to manually assess.
However, if a technology tool is used in the process of auditing these content assets, the work would most likely be done automatically, as well as in real time. This saves time, and a content marketer can stay ahead of the new trends, the shifts in buyer’s needs, and upcoming sales among others.
Technology can also optimize keyword research to identify the content sweet spot
Uncertainty is a fact in each piece of content that a marketer produces. This is fundamental because these are investments with uncertain returns, and as Gary Marsden, Marketing Director of ConfidentWriters explains, a smart marketer would reduce risk significantly, and this he or she would do by finding the topics or the areas of interest and publishing content that is able to provide the best and precise answers to their buyers’ inquiries.
Using a technology tool would help a content marketer to cross check his or her keyword data against the various performance metrics as profitability or the volume of shares.
Technology can facilitate content curation and add credibility to editorial
Content marketers who are able to craft curated blog posts, for example, such as combing short quotes and reference them to the original piece with the previous commentary, would go a long way in helping the content marketer provide more valuable content to the audience. This can be achieved without having to take a lot of time in creating original content.
The use of content discovery software would go a long way in smoothening the process from conception all the way to posting. This makes a smart content marketer.
Technology can also play an important role in optimizing content systematically—considering that all other factors are equal, a blog post, for example, is likely to perform much better if it is optimized. Technology tools can be used to automate the process of adding links and linking them to external references among others functions.
The role of technology in facilitating effective content marketing constitutes giving the marketers an edge in terms of the various activities that characterize the entire process. This article exhaustively outlines how a marketer can be better and smarter and have an edge over the competitors.
