Keeping content fresh, exciting and bringing back visitors is a challenge for all businesses. Startups, government bodies and Fortune 500 companies all struggle with keeping their content compelling and unique. It’s definitely industry and team dependent, but it’s a challenge that can often be resolved with a few fresh content marketing hacks. Here are a few hacks that will help you stand out.

1. CONTENT
MARKETING
HACKS
THAT WILL HELP YOU
STAND OUT
Ross Simmonds
www.rosssimmonds.com

2. Video is Content.
Tweets are Content.
Contests are Content.
Blog Posts are Content.

3. Instead of spending billions of dollars
on billboards and radio, the best
brands are putting their dollars into
rich, compelling content.

4. “
All advertisers need a lot more content so
that they can keep the engagement with
consumers fresh and relevant, because
of the 24/7 connectivity.
”
– Jonathan M,
VP Global Advertising Strategy Coca Cola

5. 1.
WRITE YOUR
HEADLINES LAST
CONCEPT
Committing yourself to a title before actually writing the
post forces you to stay inside a bubble. It’s always good to
have a concept, or at least an underlying message, that you
want to write, but never look at your title as a concrete rule.

6. 1.
WRITE YOUR
HEADLINES LAST
TAKE AWAY
“Rules are meant to be broken, and it’s
those who break them that shine.”

7. 2.RELATIONSHIPS
EMBRACE BLOGGER
CONCEPT
Relationships all play a role in making a business work. In
marketing, a new wave of relationships between brands and
bloggers are becoming more and more important.

8. 2.RELATIONSHIPS
EMBRACE BLOGGER
TAKE AWAY
Sure, bloggers’ style is different and the content they write
isn’t always up to “journalism standards”, but the influence
that these bloggers have cannot be denied.

9. 3.INFOGRAPHICS
CREATE
VALUE DRIVEN
CONCEPT
Take the time to think about your target audience and truly
understand what type of visual you could create that they
would find real value in. Create an infographic that is worth
being printed and shared.

10. 3.INFOGRAPHICS
CREATE
VALUE DRIVEN
TAKE AWAY
When you build an infographic that has a sense of value,
people share it. The death of the infographic has been greatly
exaggerated as great infographics still have the ability to cut
through the noise.

11. 4.ADD CREDIBILITY
USE
THIRD PARTIES TO
CONCEPT
When possible, use a third party throughout your content in
the form of research and academic studies. The use of
research to confirm a point is a great way to demonstrate this
content took effort to create.

12. 4.ADD CREDIBILITY
USE
THIRD PARTIES TO
TAKE AWAY
People love a third party confirmation. Especially if the third
party is someone who, in their mind, carries a significant
amount of credibility or authority.

13. 5.GUEST POSTS
CREATE AWESOME
CONCEPT
Understanding the existing audience of the channel, showing
examples that add credibility, and embracing reader feedback
will ensure that the post strengthens your brand.

14. 5.GUEST POSTS
CREATE AWESOME
TAKE AWAY
Too many brands and businesses are embracing quantity over
quality with the hope of backlinks, instead of putting quality
content in front of a new audience.

15. 6.FOR THE MEDIA
BUILD CONTENT
CONCEPT
Media coverage not only gives you a wide reach into a new
audience, it also gives your brand a sense of credibility. It’s a
great way to put your brand in front of an audience that is
engaged with your story.

16. 6.FOR THE MEDIA
BUILD CONTENT
TAKE AWAY
You need to tell an interesting story if you want people to talk
about you in the media or on social media. It’s not enough to
blend in. You need to strive to stand out.

17. 7.
NICHE CONTENT.
NICHE DIRECTORIES.
CONCEPT
The internet is filled with passionate individuals. As such,
identifying where your audience is spending their time and
creating content specifically for them, is a great approach to
driving content marketing success.

18. 7.
NICHE CONTENT.
NICHE DIRECTORIES.
TAKE AWAY
Understanding your audience is one of the most important
pieces of marketing. Ask yourself what your audience is
interested in and then do the research to find out where they
spend their time.

19. 8.
ALWAYS USE
SHARE PLUGINS
CONCEPT
Social sharing plugins are a key asset for any piece of content
you’re looking to spread. If you want your content to get
shared on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn – Integrate social
sharing buttons.

20. 8.
ALWAYS USE
SHARE PLUGINS
TAKE AWAY
It’s a simple idea, but it’s one that is often overlooked.

21. 9. PRESS SEND
COLLECT EMAILS
CONCEPT
In today’s day and age, email is a very personal form of
communication. When a brand sends out a tweet, they are
sharing that content with the world. When a brand sends a
potential customer an email, it comes off as more
personalized.

22. 9. PRESS SEND
COLLECT EMAILS
TAKE AWAY
Studies have shown that email can play a significant role in
customer retention and acquisition.

23. MAKE YOUR
CONTENT STAND OUT.
9 SIMPLE HACKS
Write Your Headline Last
Embrace Blogger Relationships
Create Value Driven Infographics
Use Third Parties to Add Credibility
Create Awesome Guest Posts
Build Content for the Media
Niche Content. Niche Directories.
Always Use Share Plugins
Collect Emails. Press Send.

24. INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE?
Look out for my e-book
Stand Out: A Content Marketing Guide
With click-through rates on online ads
plummeting and the amount of
competition increasing, businesses are
looking for results. In a world where
there is more noise than ever before, it’s
important to create content worth
reading, creating and sharing.
www.standoutguide.com

25. ROSS SIMMONDS
www.rosssimmonds.com
@TheCoolestCool