Advice on Content Marketing in a Tough Niche

[BobGW]

Hello,

In our niche, nobody links to the content/information with rare exceptions. Do you guys have any good articles/ideas for cases like this? The content that is linked to is once removed in subject matter from the content of our site, like if we sold shoes and had to write on different types of clothing stores.

Looking for advice on what to do and how to figure out what to write about. We've probably got a descent budget this time but we're not sure how to go about this.

Any advice is appreciated.

[BobGW]

Jane, do you recommend that we do a brand new study like Aviva did? It seems like that would make for a much higher quality article. If so, what's the minimum sample size and are there companies you know of that we can hire to do the study?

Thanks! Great ideas here.

[jnfere]

I am in a hard market for links as well. I find that studies and reports on data work quite well. So what I do is identify a topic that is interesting, gather the governmental data and put it together in a way that I have not otherwise seen.

[JaneCopland]

I have seen some companies commission interesting studies that are vaguely related to their niches, supposedly for research purposes, but if these are good enough and interesting enough, they are often cited in news sources.

Take insurance company Aviva - insurance is pretty boring, right? The company compiled a study on the amount of money new parents spend on their babies a couple of months ago - the article Aviva published is here: http://www.aviva.co.uk/media-centre/story/17298/first-time-parents-spend-492-million-preparing-for/

Here is some of the press that study got:

http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/business/money/Consumer/article1411345.ece (also in print edition, hence brevity of online snippet)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2609904/Do-really-need-Moses-basket-newborn-Parents-splash-1-600-baby-wasted-unnecessary-items.html

http://www.mindfulmoney.co.uk/financial-planning/first-time-parents-spending-almost-500m-preparing-for-their-babys-arrival/

http://www.covermagazine.co.uk/cover/news/2340859/just-one-in-five-new-parents-have-life-cover

https://www.healthinsurancedaily.com/health-insurance/product-area/life-critical-illness/article440449.ece

http://www.futureproofinsurance.co.uk/blog/?p=397

Unfortunately, these articles don't link to Aviva's website - either the home page, the release or anywhere else. This is an action that should be followed up by the SEOs (disclaimer: I have worked with Aviva on projects in the past, but neither myself nor anyone I know was involved in this piece of content creation or distribution - I just liked the study and appreciated the attention it got, minus the links. I read about it in the newspaper).

Aviva has conducted similar studies in the past, as have a bunch of similar companies whose core product is otherwise both competitive and not a perfect candidate for "content marketing". The trick is to spin the market such that you find an interesting facet to research and write about.

If that market happened to be shoes, a study could focus on how many Americans suffer unnecessary injuries due to wearing the wrong footwear. For instance, running shoes that don't suit their running styles, high heels in jobs where people spend a lot of time on their feet, shoes that are too small, whether Vibram shoes are beneficial to foot and leg health or whether they're a gimmick, how much money per year Americans spend in health costs associated with foot / leg health that could be avoided by wearing better or correct footwear. I've made this up quickly, so please excuse the rough idea!

The key is to find something that resonates with a lot of people, not just your target market. Aviva doesn't really mind that the majority of the people who consume their new parents article are not going to take out an Aviva health insurance or life insurance policy. Whilst they're definitely raising awareness for these products, they're also raising basic company awareness and they should gain links because of that press.

The more obscure or dull the industry, the harder this can become - and consumer insurance does have direct ties to a large portion of the population's everyday life. Again, you're looking for an angle that outweighs the fact that "nobody links to the content/information with rare exceptions." The more you can tie your angle to both your basic niche and the general public's interest, the better.

You can also get more specific than "the general public" and target a group of potential linkers who would otherwise not be interested in your market - say you are a shipping / international logistics company. You might find that the music industry is very liberal with their blogging and link-giving. Research and write about the amount of money lost per year in damages shipping music equipment, providing insurance options and developing guidelines for safety in that specific market. Again, a very off-the-top-of-my-head example (and I doubt the music industry links like this at all, but you get what I mean).

Hope this helps!

Jane

[scodtt]

Don't worry about the links, especially at the start. Just keep blogging. Over time you'll get to where you figure out what resonates with readers and drives engagement.

[DJ123]

Is it a national, regional or more local site?

Perhaps you could find a national topic or even international topic which has a track record of being linked to, write an article about that topic, then start emailing the sites who have a history of linking to past content to let them know about your new piece of content.

If you keep trying, you will get the right kind of links even in a tough niche.