Why Editorial Content Should be at the Forefront of Your Content Strategy in 2020

The search landscape is becoming ever-more cluttered as search engines evolve and throw more and more features into their screen real estate – they are businesses after all, and making money is just as important to them as it is to you and me.

Populated by more ads than ever, it’s no longer the case that ranking in position 1 guarantees your organic listing the success it once did. It’s time to diversify; and developing an editorial strategy as part of your content marketing efforts in 2020 should be at the top of your list. Here’s why.

First thing’s first though, let’s get some housekeeping out of the way.

What is editorial content?

Editorial content consists of long form posts that target users at all stages of the buying funnel and those with differing purchase intent. The buying funnel consists of four stages:

• Awareness: The consumer discovers the brand and is aware of its products, promotion, offering and services.
• Consideration: The consumer shows interest in the products or offerings. Here research offers a ‘helping hand’ in converting a customer.
• Conversion: The consumer becomes a customer by buying the product or service. A positive experience here is essential.
• Loyalty: Customers become loyal if they are happy with a product or service, they themselves then promote the business to others.

It’s important that the content at all stages of the buying funnel is SEO-rich and targets pain points for consumers without being keyword heavy.

Become thought leaders in your industry

There’s more to life than optimising your on-page content and with more and more competitors taking up valuable screen space, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to improve keyword rankings through this tactic alone.

By implementing an editorial content strategy, you can show potential customers and those that are already loyal that your brand is a voice of authority in your industry. It’s important to not rest on the laurels of your brand identity as in the super-savvy world of modern retailing, that just simply isn’t enough.

Approach your content strategically and develop a content calendar that suits the brand, takes into account seasonality, but also features a variety of different post types. Plan out your article structure ahead of writing it, with relevant keywords and subheadings and the rationale all included in your plan. This way, you can ensure your content has true benefit.

From inspirational pieces to buying guides and product-focused articles, the possibilities are endless.

A multi-faceted approach

Using your blog to the best of its ability will pay dividends in the end. Creating a bank of editorial content that can be served to users over the course of the year is an efficient way to get more eyes on your brand.

Use email and social media to push out your content. If it’s serialised posts you’re sharing, make sure that you have a dedicated day and time in which to share them: this way, users will get into a routine and automatically come back time and time again.

Does editorial content drive revenue?

A common misconception of blog posts is that they don’t really drive revenue, but this isn’t the case. While the revenue gains may not by huge in comparison to PPC campaigns or category page optimisation, the benefit of editorial content is that it remains live and can be altered as and when you see fit, introducing a steady source of revenue for your brand.

At Summit, we’ve produced reports for our clients that show that people who interact with editorial content are often more likely to go on and make a purchase. They also have a higher AOV than those that don’t.

2020 is the year to iron out your editorial strategy

The world is in turmoil as the coronavirus pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the global economy. Brands here in the UK are suffering, with Debenhams having already called in administrators for the second time in 12 months. There are also rumours that Cath Kidston, Oasis and Warehouse are among others seriously struggling in these unprecedented times.

Many retailers have taken the decision to halt online orders and make their sites non-transactional or pause PPC campaigns, but by keeping your content marketing and SEO in tip-top condition, you can ensure that those lost customers still come to your brand for other means.

Your blog is a content hub that can attract users through genuinely interesting and thought-provoking articles that can even take them elsewhere to your site. Including email sign-up boxes on product pages to alert users when an item is available again is a way of ensuring a steady stream of revenue once you make your site transactional again.

For advice and help in developing your content marketing strategy, get in touch with us: alex.leith@summitmedia.com. We can tackle this challenge together and bring your content marketing bang up to date.