Having a content marketing strategy is crucial, especially if you want to build your brand’s credibility. As a thought leader, you voice strong opinions and make bold claims about what your audience should do for them to achieve their goals. You then use your blog content to back up your claims, which goes a long way in proving to your prospects that you are sure about what you’re talking about. However, for you to do this, your content needs to be credible.
Note: credible content = brand credibility.
But how does one bring credibility to the content? Below is a checklist of six things you should check in your content to easily build credibility with your audience.
1. Use statistics and cite your sources In Blog Content
Until proven otherwise, the content you post on your blog or website is your own opinion. This is why adding statistics and citing your sources can help to validate your points. For instance, if you want to show readers that content marketing is more effective than using paid ads, that will remain your opinion until you give your audience proof.
Here you can say:
You’ve heard that content is king and content marketing is the wave of the future, but have you asked yourself why? While paid advertisements were the rage in online marketing, today, consumers are savvier. In fact, in 2019, approximately 764 million people had installed ad-block software. Therefore, don’t waste your money and time on the wrong marketing strategy.
Even after including the statistic, remember to always cite your source.
2. Read and research before you write Your Blog Content
Well-researched posts can help to set your blog apart from the rest. However, many content creators are overwhelmed by the process. According to SOAS, research is the process of discovering and supporting ideas. When you conduct your research before you write your blog posts, you will have the time to think about what you want to say and find stats and credible sources to support the points you make.
Here are a few steps that will simplify your research:
- Explore your ideas: Research will help you to clarify your ideas and questions, and you will be able to create content that can help your readers.
- Collect resources: After noting the ideas and questions related to the topic, your next step is to search for credible sources. This may include articles, images, and videos.
- Read more about the topic: Once you have your resources, take your time to watch, read, and listen to them. As you do that, ensure that you write down the important points that stand out, such as main ideas, quotes, and additional questions.
- Review competitors: Before you start writing, research what your competitors have written about the topic. This will help you identify anything you may have missed.
- Form your outline: The last step is to organize the useful parts of your research into an outline. Ideally, an outline should have an introduction, body, and a summary or conclusion.
3. Interview industry experts to get their perspective For Your Blog Content
One of the best ways to make your blog post more credible is to get subject matter experts that can contribute to your topic. Doing this will benefit you in two ways:
- You will learn something new about the topic, which will make you an authority
- The industry experts will support you once your post is published, which means you’ll have more readers
When sourcing for industry experts, it’s important that you prepare some questions. For instance, let’s say you want to discuss content marketing in your blog post. You may ask:
- Why is content marketing a more effective strategy than paid ads?
- Which types of content marketing give results quickly?
- How can a blog article drive prospects to a business?
4. Write Blog Content with authority
It’s important to talk to your audience directly but at the same time avoid treating them like children. To do this, you should identify the right tone of voice to employ. When you use a confident approach and demonstrate a high level of knowledge about the topic, your audience will value your opinion.
To start writing with authority, take a particular stance on the issue. This way, you won’t have to regurgitate ideas and facts that have already been posted on different blogs. This means that your work will look unique and well-researched. Remember to also use credible sources to back up your argument.
5. Use images when possible In Your Blog Content
There is a close relation between clarity and credibility. Therefore, when you’re writing about a technical topic or you want to explain a process, you should take screenshots that will make it easier for your readers to understand exactly what they should do.
In addition, if your topic needs tons of research, you may want to create graphs, charts, or infographics to make the content easier to understand.
6. Backup your Blog content with case studies
Your readers want examples that they can relate to, and the best examples to illustrate a concept, strategy, or action are case studies. Using case studies is especially effective when used in bottom-of-funnel content when your readers will be comparing your business to competitors.
What’s more, using case studies in your content will increase trust when you make claims about your product or service. However, you can use parts of the case study in different blog posts and you won’t need to include the entire case study in a blog post. This is important to avoid duplicate content.
Boost The Credibility of Your Blog Content
As content becomes more important to the success of your business, the need to have unique and quality content increases. To stand out from your competitors you need to establish yourself as an authority in your industry by showing credibility in all the areas of your business. Apart from showing that you’re credible, you also need to prove it. To start showing prospects that you’re trustworthy, you can follow the above steps we’ve discussed.
Do you still need help to give your content a credibility boost? Warren Research can help meet your content marketing needs. Regardless of your situation, choosing an experienced and reliable professional can be a great idea to help guide you in the right direction.
