What, again? Yup. You always need fresh ideas for driving traffic to your website, with plenty of new visitors, of course. We thought it was time to offer up a collection of quick and easy tips, the kind that get your numbers climbing with the least investment of time and money. So, fasten your seat belt…
Tip #1 Repurpose-Recycle-Reuse for driving traffic
Whatever term you use (but we prefer repurpose), save time by repurposing your best content resources. Reformat content for multiple platforms to access a much wider audience and reinforce the messages that matter. Look for your best blog posts, articles, white papers and more, and target new audiences for them through podcasts, slide decks, videos and infographics. Thanks to open source software there are lots of DIY solutions out there for marketers at every level of business. If these multimedia tricks still seem overwhelming, check in with a digital marketing agency that offers customized solutions to driving traffic and meeting content creation challenges.
Tip #2 Podcasts go everywhere
Use podcasts to get your content out to more internet users, 20% of whom tap into audio podcasts–that’s 20% of all of them–doing the math yet? Create your own podcast for useful content that appeals to your audience by accessing open-source audio software, such as Audacity. Make your content compelling and be sure to finish with a strong call to action.
Record using a reasonably good USB mic and save your files in MP3. Once you upload the file to your site, check into Google’s Feedburner and mark the “I am a Podcaster” option. If your site uses WordPress, you can easily install one of their plugins to start podcasting. Remember to add subscription buttons to your website. Finally, look for the best podcast directories and submit yours for maximum exposure.
Tip #3 Slide Decks are visually inviting
People love to view slide decks–or presentations–an easy, digestible way to access good information and remember it, thanks to the association with a strong visual. Chances are you already use PowerPoint for presentations (or Keynote on Mac, or get open-sourced OpenOffice). Share your creation on SlideShare, the site that gets 60 million+ visitors a month and is tops for B2B marketing. Keep in mind that the visual images are most important and limit copy points per slide as well as total word count to fit the site’s guidelines. Alternatives are out there, so check on Prezentit, AuthorStream, SlideBook, Scribd and others to see which one best fits your needs.
Tip #4 Videos (yes, you can)
You’re not going for a red carpet awards show with this, just trying to get the eyeballs of your target audience with an image and script that conveys useful, high-quality information. Given that people tend to retain 70% of information they can see and hear together, videos are clearly a powerful option, and easier than you might imagine.
Start with an existing PowerPoint presentation (remember–repurposing). You can save it as a video (a Windows Media Video or .wmv) after you record and time the voice narration, along with laser pointer movements. Add to the production values with animations and transitions, although that will increase the time commitment when creating your video. Best of all, you can be confident that everyone who opens your video can view it, even if they don’t have PowerPoint.
When your video is ready, submit to as many sharing sites as you can, like YouTube, Dailymotion, and Vimeo, or use OneLoad to submit to multiple sites at once, just as you might use Hootsuite for social sharing.
Tip #5 Infographics are fun
Infographics are now among the most popular formats for quickly scanning and absorbing information, such as relevant business statistics and industry trend graphics. First, identify a topic that helps educate readers and establishes your site as a source of relevant data and info, with solid, documented sources. Here’s another opportunity to repurpose an existing, well-researched article or blog post, especially if it has a good record of shares.
Call on your in-house graphics team or individual to create a dynamic, fun visual, or you can DIY it, using free tools like those suggested on Hongkiat. If you aren’t up for creating the artwork, go to one of many sites to choose a freelance graphic designer, or add it to a package of tools in a strategically planned, professional content marketing campaign.
Get the word out by creating an embed code on your infographic, enabling viewers to embed it on their sites. Now, you’re ready to distribute this thing everywhere. Look up the free infographic directories and add yours.
Feeling overwhelmed? Reach out for help from a one-stop-shop where seamless coordination among all platforms helps keep your campaigns fresh and your traffic and sales results growing.