Want cracking content? A top copywriter shares her tips
In this posting from the LinkedIn Agency Influencer program, Lucy Bingle enlists the help of top SEO expert Kate Toon to advise businesses on improving their social media and content marketing.
In our latest interview, Georgie Robertson chats to Kate Toon, the number one ranked SEO copywriter and SEO consultant in Australia.
Kate shares her thoughts on content strategy, how often businesses should be blogging and key tips on how to get the most out of LinkedIn.
But first, a bit about Kate: she is known for her sense of humour and her ability to “work faster than a hamster on crack.”
She has worked with big brand clients including eHarmony, Kmart, American Express and Westpac and has also helped countless small businesses produce great content and improve their copywriting and SEO.
Kate is also the founder of The Clever Copywriting School and The Recipe for SEO Success eCourse, as well as co-host on the Hot Copy Podcast.
Kate, in 2015 you wrote a tongue-in-cheek post titled, “Is LinkedIn worth the effort? You described it as dull and time-consuming compared to ‘prettier’ options such as Instagram. Fast forward to 2017 and LinkedIn is now a key component of your marketing strategy, so what prompted the change of heart?
Establishing trust with your audience is essential, and the beauty of LinkedIn is that allows you to build up credibility and solve your reader’s problems.
It is one of the few social media platforms where I’ve seen direct conversion and several of my long term followers have eventually turned into customers.
In terms of thought leadership, it’s hands-down the best platform for publishing authoritative content on a regular basis.
Do you have any advice or tips for a manageable content strategy that clients can deliver on so that they don’t feel overwhelmed?
When I write an article or a blog, I want serious bang for my buck, and that involves promoting the hell out it across all social media channels.
Don’t be afraid of sprucing up and repurposing old content, it’s a massive time-saver, and the chances of someone seeing it on several platforms are minimal.
So mix it up, write different excerpts each time you share the post or take chunks out of the article and share as individual tips.
I will often take a snippet of an article that I have written, post it on LinkedIn and then provide a link back to my website with the suggestion to read the rest of the post there.
The more articles you post on LinkedIn with direct links to your site the more likely you are to drive traffic, conversions and potentially encourage shares and links to your content.
My general advice to small businesses is they should aim to publish two blogs a month on their own site, guest blog on someone else’s site, a daily update on their preferred social media channel such as LinkedIn and one email a month. It’s important to pick your channel and do one channel well.
Do you have any advice on writing great articles that will increase LinkedIn engagement?
You need to find, create and deliver relevant and engaging content – and by engaging I don’t mean photographs of sunsets overlaid with motivational quotes. And remember, it doesn’t always have to be industry specific, so don’t be afraid to branch out a little.
Sometimes off brand posts can generate more interest than those that are just industry specific. There is nothing wrong with the odd random post about your fave cafes in Sydney. It’s about balance, and sharing stories, connecting with your audience and showing empathy.
Even the big brands are moving towards increasingly personalised content.
Are companies better outsourcing copywriting and content marketing?
The first thing to say about blogging is that Google does not reward the most regular or most consistent or the newest content. Google rewards the best content. With this in mind, businesses need to think about how to come up with the best possible content.
If you are going to do it yourself, then you have to learn how to do it properly. As you get bigger and larger income streams, it depends on your skill and level of interest.
It’s about passion and investment. Commit for the long haul, and work on creating great content.
Kate’s tips on getting the most out of LinkedIn
- Complete your profile and use a professional-looking photograph.
- Complete every profile field including languages, awards and anything else you can think of.
- Keyword optimise your job titles using words and phrases you think people will be searching for.
- Increase your group membership. This will not only increase your network, but also add the names of the groups (for example “SEO COPYWRITING”) to your profile, boosting your search relevancy for that term.
- Claim your own vanity URL for LinkedIn.
- Promote your LinkedIn profile. Add the details to your email signature and other social media accounts, and use a linked icon on your website.
- Build recommendations. Stormphorst believes 10 or more recommendations will improve your profile’s search ranking.
For more fab tips, google whispering guidance and advice on SEO success, check out Kate’s website at www.katetoon.com
Lucy Bingle is a LinkedIn marketing expert
This article is part of the LinkedIn Agency Influencer program. See more from the program by clicking on the banner below.
