A guide to choosing the best content marketing agency

Content marketing: what is it? And how can I choose the right content marketing agency?

Scott Ingram. Director, Helium Marketing.

Content marketing is the process of developing content and publishing it on a website with the intention of attracting new business. Content marketing almost always refers to written content (also called “copy”), but can also include visual elements likes graphic design or videography. This content should be insightful, valuable, and helpful. Depending on the type of business you are, the goal is to direct people to an online store, physical shop, or enquire about one of your services.

The difference between a content marketing agency and an in-house team is that the agency will typically have a wider range of skillsets, such as web development, graphic design, copywriting (content writing), video production, social media management, as well as SEO and analytics management. They also have access to more resources than in-house teams can provide.

More importantly, the role of “in-house team” often falls to professionals who are great at what they do, but don’t have any marketing knowledge. We often see content marketing become burdensome, and simply done poorly, because it’s been delegated to the manager, receptionist, intern, business owner's spouse, and so on. Without the right knowledge and experience, content marketing is almost certainly bound to fail…

Two primary types of content marketing

For many businesses, content marketing is their most powerful form of marketing and comes in two major forms: SEO and blog content — which go perfectly hand-in-hand. Both are, in a sense, free, but very time consuming and involve a lot of trial and error. These are “free” content marketing strategies when done in-house because the only expense is your staff’s time, unlike say, Google Ads, which requires a significant ad spend.

Of course, when outsourced, SEO and blog writing are no longer free. But, most business owners find content marketing pays for itself in the long run and is well worth any agency fees. This is because content marketing requires a huge time investment — time businesses often don’t have — to create quality content that will be shared with your target audience.

Best practices in content marketing: blogging

The type of content you create.

SEO encompasses many parts of your website, but a significant chunk of it is attributed to blogging. So, let’s talk about blog content. How can you know what to write about? It’s imperative that you conduct research and base your articles on trending and popular Google searches. This way, you know people are actively searching for the exact information you’re putting out. So, here are some best practices to implement.

1. Use free tools like Answer The Public to uncover what kind of content your audience is looking for.
2. Once you find a relevant topic, tailor a blog article to this specific content. Always tie it back to your business, products or services. Where relevant, you should include hyperlinks to other areas of your website (like when we link to our Perth SEO services!), as well as external links to helpful resources (like we did with Answer The Public) and research sources.
3. To ensure its optimised and has a higher chance of your audience finding it, you can use a free tool like this Keyword Density Checker. This makes sure your topic is mentioned enough times and gives Google a better chance of picking it up for key search terms.

How you promote your content.

Best practices in content marketing are not only what content you create, but how you promote that content. Google might display your article for relevant searches, but let’s not leave it to chance…

1. Share your article on Facebook, Linked In, and Instagram (if you have them).
2. If you have a database of client or customer email addresses, share your article with them in an eNewsletter that encourages them to click through to the website.

Finding a Perth content marketing agency that's right for your business

There are many things to take into consideration when choosing a content marketing agency. For example, some exclusively work with large organisations or specific industries (e.g. education or mining). Others, like Helium Marketing, mainly work with small-to-medium businesses, with a select few large ones when we feel like the fit is right.

The best way to work out whether an agency is right for you is to do a bit of research. Explore their website, get a feel for their work and services and pricing, and take a look at their team. When you’re ready, have a discussion with them to learn more about what their content marketing strategies could look like for you.

So, are you ready? Let’s chat.