Google Begins Rolling Out AI Search Results
Google has started rolling out AI search results in the United States, beginning with recipes and meal inspiration content on mobile. With this new feature, Google is using artificial intelligence to organize search results by pulling content from across the web, including articles, videos, forums, and more. During testing, Google found that searchers have responded positively to the AI-organized results pages, finding them more helpful than standard search results. The technology also helps surface more diverse content formats and sites, helping content get discovered. New AI-Enhanced Design for Knowledge Panels In addition to the new AI-organized search results, Google is also launching an updated design for its Knowledge Panels that appear for some search queries. The new design includes AI-generated links and citations, providing users quick access to supporting information about the topic. Google’s tests of the new links and citations format showed increased traffic to the linked websites compared to the previous design. The company says the updated experience makes it easier for people to visit sites they’re interested in learning more about. The new Knowledge Panel design is rolling out globally wherever the panels are available. More AI Innovation in Google Search Beyond the major launches mentioned above, Google also highlighted some other AI advancements powering its products: Ads are now available in AI-generated Overviews on mobile in the US New multimodal features in Google Lens allow searching via video, voice and images Enhanced shopping features in Lens like price comparisons and reviews As AI capabilities continue to evolve, users can expect to see more enhancements like these that aim to improve the helpfulness and efficiency of Google’s search engine and other products. What This Means for SEO As Google continues introducing more AI into search, SEOs may need to adapt their strategies. Factors like the ability of AI to synthesize information from around the web may become more important for ranking highly. Optimizing for semantic search and voice search may also gain more relevance. While AI opens up new opportunities, it also presents challenges for search engine optimization. Staying informed on Google’s latest AI developments can help SEOs adjust their tactics accordingly.
Repurposing Content: Get More Mileage from Your Ideas
Coming up with fresh, quality content can be difficult and time-consuming. However, you don’t always need to start from scratch. Repurposing or reusing existing content in new ways can help you get more value from your ideas while still providing value to your audience. Here are some tips on repurposing content effectively. What is Repurposed Content? Repurposed content refers to taking existing content and presenting it in a new format or context. For example, you could turn a blog post into a video or break it up into social media posts. Or you could take a section from a long-form piece and turn it into a standalone article. The goal of repurposing is to reach new audiences and get more mileage from your high-quality content. When done right, repurposing allows you to expand the shelf life of your ideas without compromising on quality or relevance. Benefits of Repurposing Content There are several advantages to repurposing your content: Saves time and resources. You don’t have to start from zero every time. You can build on existing research and writing. Maximizes value. You increase the number of people exposed to your ideas. Broadens reach. Hitting different formats and platforms allows you to reach new audiences. Provides consistency. Keeping messaging aligned across formats strengthens your brand. Generates more leads. Each new piece provides another opportunity to convert readers. Improves SEO. More high-quality content using relevant keywords boosts search performance. Keys to Successful Repurposing Follow these best practices when repurposing content: Choose High-Quality Source Material Identify your very best performing and evergreen content to repurpose. This ensures you are starting with top-notch source material. Long-form blog posts and guides that cover topics in-depth tend to be great candidates for repurposing. Adapt the Content for Each Format Resist the urge to shortcut repurposing by making minor tweaks to the original. Take time to adapt the content to suit each new format and audience. Add or remove details as needed to fit the medium. Maintain Consistency Across Pieces While adapting content to specific formats, ensure your core messaging and branding remain consistent. This strengthens recognition across pieces. Using white label content from a single provider can help maintain tone and voice. Provide Unique Value in Each Version Avoid publishing overly similar versions that dilute value. Make sure each repurposed asset provides something new and stands alone as a valuable piece of content. Optimize Repurposed Content Include relevant keywords in each version of the content. This helps optimize content for search and ensures repurposed versions are easily discoverable. Promote Far and Wide Leverage all channels available to promote repurposed content, including social media, email marketing, SEO, and paid advertising. The more promotion, the more mileage you’ll get from each asset. Credit the Original Source When repurposing content published elsewhere, be sure to credit the original creator or outlet. This shows respect for others’ work and complies with copyright best practices. Top Examples of Repurposed Content Need some repurposing inspiration? Here are some of the most popular and effective ways to repurpose content: Blog Post into Video Turn your written content into videos for platforms like YouTube and Facebook. Add graphics, footage, and voiceover narration to bring posts to life. Shorter posts can become one video while longer posts work as a series. Long-Form Article into Infographics Illustrate key data, stats, and takeaways from your long articles in engaging infographic formats. These visual assets play well on social media and your blog. Webinars into Blog Posts Summarize your webinar content in a blog post. Include key lessons, data points, and takeaways your audience can apply. Promote the post to those who missed the live event. Podcast Interviews into Blog Q&As Repurpose your podcast interviews into “Q&A with [expert name]” blog posts. Transcribe key exchanges and add images of the interviewee. Promote the posts to readers. Blog Posts into Short Social Updates Break your blog posts down into shorter titbits tailor-made for platforms like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. Link back to the full article for those interested. Long-Form Guide into Multiple Articles Divide your comprehensive guides or eBooks into a series of standalone articles. Release them over time to extend the content lifespan. Leveraging White Label Content Sourcing quality white label content from an external content provider can make repurposing even easier. White label refers to unbranded content you can use on your own website and channels. Look for a content writing agency like Ink Elves that offers flexible white label packages. This allows you to repurpose their high-quality articles, blog posts, and guides in various ways. The content will align with your brand style and voice. Working with content writers for hire enables you to repurpose expertly crafted content without taxing your own team. Be sure to find blog writing services able to meet your content needs and volume demands. Conclusion Repurposing your best content into new, tailored formats is a smart way to maximize value. With strategic repurposing, you can expand your reach, boost SEO, and get more mileage from great ideas. Look for ways to turn long-form content into short social updates, articles into infographics, blog posts into videos, and more. Sourcing white label content can provide quality source material to repurpose. Contact Ink Elves today to learn more about our flexible white label content packages.
How to Leverage Social Media for Content Distribution
Social media platforms offer an incredible opportunity for businesses to distribute content and reach new audiences. With billions of active users across sites like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and more, leveraging these networks is a must for content marketing success. This guide will explore proven tactics to utilize social media for effective content distribution. Follow these best practices to expand your reach, drive engagement and boost conversions with your content. Optimize Content for Social Sharing The first step is creating content optimized for social sharing. You want content that compels viewers to share it across their own networks and profiles. Here are some tips for optimizable content: Visual content – Photos, videos, gifs, and other visual media tend to get higher engagement on social platforms. Infographics and listicles with eye-catching designs also work well. Entertaining or emotional content – Humorous, inspiring or emotional content elicits reactions like laughter and awe. This makes people more likely to engage and share. Useful, actionable content – How-to guides, list posts, interviews and other informative content provide value readers want to pass on. Controversial or debate-sparking content – While risky, content covering controversial topics and opinions can spread like wildfire on social media through shares and debate. Personalized, behind-the-scenes content – Give followers a peek behind the curtain with personalized content about your brand, employees and work culture. Timely, relevant content – Content tied to major news events, holidays, trends and interests will interest social media users in the moment. Optimizing your content for the social platforms where you are active will make distribution efforts much more successful. Choose the Right Social Platforms Not all social media sites are equal when it comes to content distribution. It’s important to focus your efforts on the platforms where your target audience is most active. Here are some of the top social platforms for content distribution: Facebook – With over 3 billion monthly active users, Facebook reaches more people than any other platform. It’s ideal for image, video and link sharing. Twitter – The go-to network for real-time, newsy content. Use it to share brief updates, articles, images and videos. LinkedIn – With 500 million members, this platform dominates professional and B2B content sharing. Publish long-form posts natively or link to content off-site. Reddit – A collection of forums (subreddits) around topics and interests. Share content to relevant niche communities. Pinterest – Highly visual platform ideal for sharing infographics, illustrations and visual how-to content. Instagram – Owned by Facebook, this photo and video sharing app is perfect for visual content. Leverage influencers with large followings here. Quora – Question-and-answer site where users distribute content by answering relevant questions from the community. Identify where your audience spends their time socializing online and focus efforts there for maximum impact. Spreading efforts too thin across too many networks dilutes results. Engage Followers with Content Driving content distribution through social media requires engaging your existing followers and communities. Here are some ways to get them sharing content: Poll questions – Ask for input related to your content topic. What do they think of the advice in your post? Have they tried the tactic you wrote about? Calls to action – Directly ask followers to like, share or retweet your content if they found it helpful or interesting. Hashtag challenges – Launch a branded hashtag challenge asking followers to share their own related content. Retweet/repost requests – Ask happy customers from brand mentions to repost your content. This puts it in front of their own audiences. Giveaways and contests – Offer prizes and rewards for sharing content. Require tagging friends or using branded hashtags to enter. User-generated content campaigns – Repost visual content from customers using or discussing your products. Always ask permission first. When publishing content, don’t just distribute and expect engagement. Promote it through direct engagement with the people who follow you to drive shares. Leverage Influencers Influencers with large social followings can amplify the distribution of your content in a big way. Identify influencers who create content related to your niche and build relationships over time. Offer to provide unique data, insights or access to company experts to help them create compelling content featuring your brand. You can also send pre-written content like blog posts for consideration in their feeds and stories. Be sure it is high-quality and brand aligned. Influencers will not post content that seems overly promotional or sales focused. Focus on useful, informative content that also highlights your products or services organically. Look for influencer marketing opportunities on every major social platform: Facebook/Instagram – Partner with influencers by sending products to feature in posts and on Instagram Live. Twitter – Have influencers tweet your content, quote tweet with their insights and participate in Twitter chats. LinkedIn – Request posts featuring your content in their feed and in LinkedIn Groups. Pinterest – Get pinned by influencers with highly-engaged boards in your niche. YouTube – Sponsor influencer videos and ask to be featured or mentioned. This form of social content distribution utilizes voices with established trust and readership. Align with the right influencers to put your content, and brand, in front of more social audiences. Go Live on Social Live video represents a rising content distribution opportunity across social media. Platforms are heavily promoting live broadcasts through notifications and search placement. Use these built-in amplification effects to your advantage. The most popular networks for branded live video include: Facebook Live – Stream to your Page and in Facebook Groups to engage followers in real-time. Instagram Live – Go live during a product launch or event to expand your organic reach. LinkedIn Live – Share live videos in your feed and Group posts to distribute video content. YouTube Premieres – Pre-record but premiere video content live with viewer chat. Twitch – For long-form live streams focused on gaming, tech and entertainment niches. Live video is a great way to create an interactive, community experience around your content while expanding its reach. Enable comments and engage viewers in real-time
The Essential Role of Content in the Customer Journey
The customer journey represents the complete experience a customer has with a brand, from initial awareness to post-purchase engagement. Content plays a critical role at every stage of this journey by educating, informing, and nurturing potential customers. For brands looking to attract and retain customers, developing a thoughtful content strategy is essential. Define Your Audience Personas The first step in mapping out an effective content plan is identifying your target audience and creating detailed buyer personas. Look at the demographics, goals, challenges, and values of your ideal customers. Get specific about their roles, pain points, and motivations. This will allow you to craft content that truly resonates with their needs. For example, an HR software company may define two primary personas: 1) HR directors at mid-size companies looking for an applicant tracking system and 2) recruiters at enterprise organizations searching for a more comprehensive talent management platform. Tailoring content to each persona’s unique interests allows the brand to attract both segments. Understand the Customer Journey Next, map out the typical customer journey for each of your personas. The customer journey can be divided into three overarching stages: Awareness Stage Early on, customers may not even know they have a need or that your type of solution exists. Content should focus on educating them about the problem and framing your offering as the ideal solution. Blog posts, eBooks, and infographics work well here. Consideration Stage During consideration, prospects are defining their needs and researching options. Content should provide value and detailed information to assist comparison. Product pages, customer case studies, and free trials are impactful. Decision Stage In the final stage, buyers are ready to make a purchase decision. Content should aim to provide reassurance, social proof, and incentives like free consultation or discounted pricing. Reviews, analyst reports, and trial extensions can help tip the scales. Plot Relevant Content at Each Stage When the customer journey is clear, map out content topics and formats that make sense for each stage. For awareness content, explore broad industry challenges without pushing your product too heavily. eBooks like “The Small Business Guide to Choosing HR Software” or blog posts on topics like “5 Signs It’s Time to Upgrade Your Applicant Tracking” add value while priming interest. For consideration content, offer detailed, informative resources on your product’s capabilities and advantages. Webinars, product tour pages, ROI calculators, and free trials enable in-depth evaluation. Finally, for decision content, provide social proof of your solution’s value, such as customer testimonials, case studies, analyst reports, and awards. Special offers and pricing pages can also motivate action. Optimize Content for All Channels Today’s customer journey extends across many touchpoints, both digital and offline. Develop content that can be distributed across multiple channels for amplification. For example, an eBook can be promoted via email, social media, and PPC ads. An infographic can be shared on the blog, embedded in the website, and printed for trade shows. Webinar and workshop recordings can live on YouTube. Adapt content formats for each channel and include clear calls-to-action to drive conversions. Develop Content for the Full Funnel Taking a full funnel approach means creating a range of content tailored to every phase, from attraction to retention. Top-funnel content should aim to drive traffic and new leads by targeting relevant keywords that prospects are searching. Optimized blog posts and guides for informational queries perform well here. Mid-funnel content focuses on consideration with valuable, solution-oriented materials like buyers guides, product comparison pages, and interactive tools. Lower-funnel content convinces customers to make a purchase with promotions, free trials, demos, and product tour pages. Post-purchase, content focuses on onboarding, training, and fostering loyalty. This comprehensive funnel view ensures you attract, nurture, convert, and delight customers with content tailored to each need. Focus on Quality and Consistency For maximum impact, content must be high quality and published consistently. Ensure content is: Well-researched and accurate Engaging and easy to consume Grammatically correct and natural sounding Optimized for SEO with strategic keywords Illustrated with graphics and visuals Promoted across channels Shared consistently on a regular cadence Setting processes to ensure content quality will amplify results. Measure Content Performance Analyze key metrics to see what content resonates best with your personas and which stages of the journey it influences most. Track metrics like: Traffic referrals by content piece Leads generated by landing page or offer Conversions by campaign Time spent on page or asset Social shares and engagement Adjust your strategy based on insights from the data. Double down on high performing content and rework or eliminate what fails to connect. Developing targeted, valuable content for every touchpoint is crucial for brands today. Take the time to truly understand your personas and their journey in order to map out an orchestrated content plan. With the right white label content partner, you can easily produce quality content at scale. Contact our expert content writers at Ink Elves today to take your content further.