Content Marketing Skills: 10 Must-Haves for Content Success in 2024

The biggest challenge that online sellers face is how to boost their reach and website traffic. Widening one’s target audience through exceptional content marketing strategies has made innumerable sellers have sleepless nights. We understand how stressful it is, especially for SMBs.

You may have talented writers and content creators on your team, but all their hard work will go in vain if you are not following the appropriate content marketing approaches. So, if you find yourself struggling in this area, here are some vital content marketing skills you must acquire this year.

10 Vital Content Marketing Skills You Should Learn in 2024

Are you an aspiring content marketer but confused about how to scale your content creation processes? Here are the ten must-have content marketing skills you should master in 2024.

1. Keep it Simple

Yes, you surely need to write well enough to convey your intended message to your audience. However, simplicity is key. Keep your content simple, straightforward, and precise. Avoid writing overly complicated figures of speech that the layman might find difficult to understand. The best idea is to ensure your language reflects the colloquial language of your target market. We understand it’s challenging to maintain simplicity throughout because it might become monotonous for the writer. But think of your readers’ preferences and language choices before writing every sentence. Avoid using too much jargon to ensure higher reach and reader engagement. To make your blogs and articles more interesting, write in a story-telling manner using simple and easy-to-understand language.

1. Perform Content Analysis

At the end of the day, if you are unsure how well your content is performing, how will you identify the right content type for your specific audience? If you cannot identify your readers’ needs and preferences, it will be difficult to create targeted content using relevant keywords. Use efficient analytical tools, such as Google Analytics, Google Search Console, SEMrush, etc., to gain real-time insights into the performance of your campaigns. Check which keywords are working best for your brand and what kind of content is receiving more response and engagement. You can also check which web pages are getting more clicks and traffic.

1. Identify the Right Type of Content

Based on your target market’s demands and needs, decide what type of content would meet your marketing goals. For instance, today’s audience loves visual content, including videos and infographics. So, focus on creating more visual content in 2024. However, some readers love scrolling through different e-books or blog posts rather than watching videos. Determine the appropriate content type depending on your market demographics and your specific audience type.

1. Write Helpful and Informative Content

The traditional content marketing techniques won’t work anymore since Google has announced its latest March 2024 Core Algorithm update, stating that web pages with helpful content will rank higher on search engine results. So, what is this Google’s March 2024 Core Algorithm update all about? In this new March 2024 algorithm core update, Google has announced that after its launch in April, web pages with helpful and informative content will have improved rankings. On the other hand, websites with bad SEO practices, like keyword stuffing and not publishing original content, will suffer from poor rankings. Furthermore, Google’s spam policy update has announced that some web pages may even be banned from the SERPs for publishing loyalty content. Therefore, abstain from implementing black-hat SEO practices and say ‘No’ to keyword stuffing and creating unoriginal content that won’t be “helpful” for Google’s users.

1. Set Clear Goals

Content marketers should be great at setting clear content marketing objectives. It will help them track the right metrics and work on improving their content creation plans. For example, you may want to increase sales, boost brand identity, or improve website traffic through your content marketing campaigns. Now, create an implementation plan to reach your goals. It will motivate you to write more informative and engaging content.

1. Perform A/B Testing

A/B testing is not reserved for code tests alone. Content marketers, too, can run these tests to analyze how their web page content is performing. In content marketing, an ideal A/B test would identify shortcomings in the following areas:

• The content itself (including titles, subtitles, text blocks, images included, etc.)
• Content structure (titles, subtitles, headlines, bullet points, paragraphs, embedded videos, etc.)
• Content format (including blogs, infographics, podcasts, videos, etc.)
• Correct placement of CTA (call-to-action buttons or sentences)
• Mid-gating content (to accelerate lead generation by prompting the reader to fill out a form mid-way through reading the content).

A/B testing is more commonly used to streamline email marketing strategies, which are content, too.

1. Don’t Skip Proofreading and Editing

Post-writing, you might be tempted to publish the content immediately. However, that’s not a great habit for content marketers. Always take the time to proofread/reread the entire content once or twice. Make necessary edits and modifications, whenever required, to improve the write-up. Research and writing the actual content are two steps in content creation. Proofreading, editing, and adding the finishing touches make your content stand out. It may be hard to review your own write-ups since you may overlook the common errors. So, it’s a good idea to make a teammate do that for you so you have a pair of extra eyes to look for any gaps in your content. However, in a world where teams are shrinking in size, rereading your content several times before publishing would help.

1. Focus on White-Hat SEO Practices

Google supports those who follow only ethical search engine optimization tactics and follow the right algorithm guidelines. For instance, avoid overstuffing your content with keywords or writing inferior-quality or unoriginal content. Create more original content so that it is genuinely helpful for your readers. Your SERP rankings will automatically improve. Besides, use keyword-rich meta tags and informative meta descriptions.

1. Plan Your Content in Advance

Every aspiring content marketer should have a personal editorial calendar to manage their content and social media posts efficiently. Plan all your future posts and web page content and keep them ready so you can launch them on time. The best idea is to pre-schedule your content across different channels. Maintain a content calendar for yourself and your team to publish the right content at the right time.

1. Consistency is Key

Keep writing and publishing different content types regularly and consistently. To make yourself known amongst a wider audience, keep posting regularly. This way, your audience would connect with your brand and its unique content across different platforms. Apart from simply writing long blog posts, try creating shorter content pieces for social media. Even replying to your post comments and interacting with your customers is part of an effective content marketing strategy.

Final Words

In short, we should master every skill required to become professionals at content marketing. Do you have any other content marketing skills in mind that you feel are crucial to master in 2024? If yes, let us know in the comments.