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THAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE

Content marketing agencies are a relatively new concept, as the world of content marketing consultancy hasn't been around for that long. Because of this, many people don't 'get' it. So let us break it down for you, that IS what we are here for, after all.

Content - Basically, the word 'content' is just an umbrella term for blogs, SEO, content offers, social media posts, videos, original graphics, images, web copy and more.

Content Marketing - This is the process where businesses share all of that great content to build relationships, generate leads, drive sales and inform existing and potential clients of their brand messaging. Think emails, social media and web pages.

Content Marketing Agencies – Groups of creative and savvy content consultants who consult on, and create (fantastic) materials on behalf of another business.

So what exactly does a content marketing agency do?

Simply put, we help brands figure out what content they should be sharing, how and where they should be sharing it; then we create that content for them.

And if you pick the right agency (like us) the process should be fun, seamless and hugely effective – but more on that later.

Just as a side note - we work with brands all over Australia even though our content marketing agency is Sydney-based. We’ve been fans of Zoom meetings and remote working long before it became the go-to working method in 2020. So it doesn’t matter if your brand isn’t based in Sydney, we’re here to help bring your content to life.

Lots of brands create their content in-house by sales and marketing teams who are not content professionals. And often these brands don’t have a centralised Content Strategy that they’re working to either. This can result in inconsistent messages and a whole lot of effort being put into content marketing without the desired results.

The benefits of using a content marketing agency are the same as you get when you take your car to a trusted and qualified mechanic over your local neighbourhood car enthusiast.

The trusted, qualified mechanic can take a look, quickly identify what needs to be done, and then get it done fast with professionalism and expertise.

That's what content marketing agencies do; we look at the whole picture, come up with a solid plan and then go ahead and make it happen—concept to completion.

You know your brand needs a website, a social media presence and a range of customer communications - but these things can’t function without content. And that's where content marketing agencies come in.

A great content marketing agency doesn't just focus on writing; they make sure to create conversion-focused content that guides your audience towards making a purchase.

Creating effective conversion-focused content is our jam. And yes, we realise how unbelievable nerdy that makes us sound.

Sarah Spence, our Head of Strategy, is a Sydney-born SEO expert, and a Certified Practicing Marketer through Australian Marketing Institute. She has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to user experience. Her strategy is clear – Content Copywriting writes for humans first, Google second.

Sarah believes that EVERY piece of content must start by satisfying an audience need, while then also being related to a keyword phrase that has been researched and chosen. So it not only appeals to the humans who read it, but also needs to appeal to the Google bots who rank it.

Our content consultants don't rely on cookie-cutter approaches.

At the risk of sounding a bit clichéd, we believe each client is unique, so we start every consultation with a fresh, blank page.

There are so many options when it comes to content marketing, the possibilities are endless, and our content consultants get pretty excited about this kind of thing. (Did we mention the level of nerd-ary we are running here?)

Individualised Strategy

We've never implemented identical Content Marketing Strategies for our clients and never intend to. Uncovering the perfect customised strategy for each client is just way too much fun.

A Focus on Collaboration

Another point of difference from other Sydney-based content marketing agencies in particular is our focus on collaboration. We are all about working together with our clients to come up with a detailed plan to achieve their online goals. Some of our clients want to execute that plan themselves, some want us to make the magic happen – and both are fine with us!

Most importantly, though, we realise that you know your audience better than anyone else – so although audience research is one of our specialties, this step is always taken in collaboration with our clients.

Communication and Transparency

Communication and transparency are our top priorities at every step of the way. Creating great relationships with our clients is the number one priority. We want to identify your goals clearly, get to know your audience and come up with a plan that everyone is working towards together.

For some clients that'll mean a content marketing calendar of search engine optmised blog content, for others it'll mean a simple refresh of existing website pages.

Alternatively, it may mean a social media campaign, conversion-landing pages or a paid ads campaign. Whichever direction we take, we'll make sure everyone is on the same page.

We develop a Content Strategy based on your goals.

Once we identify those goals, we will advise on all the ways to reach them. We don't just specialise in one kind of content – there are too many options. Our specialist content marketers create content for all sots of online channels. Including, but not limited to website pages, blog articles, videos, eBooks, case studies, social media posts, product descriptions, Emails and conversion landing pages.

It's a lot to take in, and that's why, after examining your audience, your existing online presence and identifying any content gaps, we work out a plan that recommends what direction we think you should head.

Then we'll create the content your business needs to drive traffic, engagement and sales. And, we'll make sure it's a bit of fun too.

We believe that any brand who spends good money to employ our content marketing agency should have a seamless and enjoyable experience.

Real talk: All industries should be using content marketing. These days, it's almost impossible to operate any business without an online presence.

Today's consumers want more than just a great product. They also want a relationship with the brands they buy from.

So if your company is:

• A start-up or business that is starting a content project from scratch
• A business that has something to prove
• A business that is expanding in any way
• A business that is solving a problem

You need content marketing, and ideally, you need to have it created by a content marketing agency who thinks strategically, who employs top-level content marketing consultants and who is going to respect your business's needs.

If you're in a heavy referral-based industry, such as B2B – you may just need a website that acts as an online business card (rather than a lead generation machine), but that doesn't mean content marketing is any less essential for you. After all, B2B and B2C is all business-to-human in reality. And humans love great content.

And although all sorts of businesses really should be getting content consultancy, our favourite ones to work with are the ones who think big.

We specialise in brands that have big ideas – regardless of the industry or stage your business is at – if you've got a big idea you want to convey, Content Copywriting can help.

Obviously, we tend to recommend that most businesses need content consultancy! That's because we believe what we do is hugely valuable. We are super passionate about creating great content – because when you spend your days researching audience behaviour, creating great content and tracking the outcomes – you get hooked!

A recent study by the Content Marketing Institute found that:

• 70% of people would rather learn about a company through articles rather than an advert
• 60% of people are inspired to seek out a product after reading content about it
• 73% of brands now hire someone to help manage their content strategy.

If you want to be seen, you need a content marketing agency.

Great content helps prospective clients find you by increasing your brand's visibility. In a world where options are plentiful – we’ll make sure you’re the one that sticks in their minds.

And how do you make sure you will stick in their minds?

By creating authoritative content that builds relationships and trust with your audience. An excellent article or informative infographic can go a long way towards earning your prospects' attention and consideration.

Because you don't have the time to do it in-house.

Your time and expertise are valuable; you should be focusing your time on your clients and where your expertness is.

Unlike some content marketing agencies, we never create content on mass.
Every piece we create is bespoke, and this is because we are all about quality over quantity.

Our process includes tapping into your brand's unique values and matching these to an audience need before we even type a word.

But what exactly does that mean?

Unique Value - Something your brand does/offers/says that can provide a unique insight into the topic.

We aren't just going to create content that looks like every other listicle or article that ranks for your keywords. Our goal is to find the most interesting angle for your customers. We know that you are the experts at what you do, so we always start by interviewing someone within your brand about each topic we write about. Of course, if no one is available, we seek out external experts.

Audience Needs – We ensure we are writing to satisfy keywords that your ideal audience is actually searching for.

Using comprehensive research techniques, we identify the exact keywords your potential audience is searching for. This process of identification allows us to meet those needs with content that showcases your unique value.

Firstly, we establish and agree on the strategic direction of the content marketing piece – either by completing a Organic Content Strategies for you, or by workshopping your Content Strategy. This step includes setting the topic and deciding on all timelines.

Keyword Research

Next, we match the audience need by checking the keywords your ideal audience are Googling about that specific topic. Once the primary keyword phrase and related keyword phrases are chosen, we get you to approve them.

For example, if we identify that customers are searching for, ‘Content Marketing Agency Sydney,’ then we are going to also develop and target related terms, like ‘Content Marketing Company Sydney’ and ‘Content Consultancy Sydney’.

The process is quite complicated, but simply put; keyword phrases are chosen by identifying as those with the highest keyword volumes while also being the most likely to rank. But you can let us worry about that stuff.

Interview/Research

The next step in the process is to interview subject matter experts at your brand (or we can alternatively source external experts) and undertake additional topic research.

Map out a Suggested Content Flow

Before we start writing, the team comes together to agree on a suggested content flow. We workshop the keywords, conduct topic research, review interview notes and content flow to ensure everyone on the project is working towards the same outcome. Usually, the whole team from our Head of Strategy to our Content Editor, Copywriter to Copy Editor (yes a Content Editor and Copy Editor are two different roles!), are all involved in this step.

Create the content

A specialist SEO copywriter writes the first draft before the Content Editor reviews it. We also source appropriate imagery and suggest additional visual assets as required. Then the Copy Editor does a full edit for consistency, tone and readability.

Head of Strategy review

Before coming to you as a first draft, all content is reviewed by Sarah Spence, our Head of Strategy and SEO.

You then have time to review it, mark up feedback via Google Docs (an easy online tool for collaboration). We process your feedback and make any necessary amends before sending it back to you as a second draft.

The final check

You are then given another chance to pop in any last changes and feedback – we then process that feedback, proofread it, purchase or commission the images/visual assets and get it ready for publication.

Ready to go live

We then publish it for you on your website, do all of the fiddly bits to have it looking fantastic and let you know when it's live. You can sit back and watch it all happen.

Continued tracking

To make sure everything is working like it should, we stick around and keep an eye on the progress; this means every month we track the success of the content marketing piece using detailed analytics. If necessary, we then tweak the content – but only if further optimisation opportunities are identified.

Content marketing is an investment in the future of your brand, in today's business environment, it's not an optional extra – it's a necessity.

We charge based on the number of hours it takes to complete each content piece, and the level of expertise it requires.

Conversion-focused content requires a higher level of content marketing expertise than traditional copywriting. Long-form SEO content require us to conduct significant research and interviews before we even start writing, but as far as SEO goes, they are worth every cent.

Simply put, we aren't the cheapest out there – but our quality is the best.

And Google knows it.

In May 2020, Google did a core update, which is widely understood to have been primarily based on improving how sites with quality content rank in Google.

They also penalised sites without quality content - and all of our clients' websites had significant ranking wins.

But how much does it cost?

The cost depends on the content marketing piece and how it fits into the overall strategy.

As a guide, our SEO copywriting blog articles start from $1000/article, and our Organic Content Strategies start from $6500.

One thing we firmly believe is, we won't ever create content for content's sake. So you will never be charged for something that's not part of a strategic plan that helps your brand.