Ignore content marketing at your peril! This is the advice for businesses large and small, local or international – content is key to successful online campaigns. But creating and sharing quality, engaging and unique content can be a daunting task for many organisations, especially when that content needs to be suitable for a multilingual audience.
That is why International Content Outreach is a key feature on the agenda of the International Search Summit London next week, and ahead of speaking at the event, Lisa Myers of Verve Search shares some of her tips and experience.
Why is Content Outreach so important now?
Content Outreach is still very much the most used and successful strategy for acquiring links to a website. But the medium, methods and ideas of content outreach has changed dramatically over the past year. You have to think more about attracting links and social shares rather than asking for it, if the content is good enough the links and shares comes naturally. Therefore the standard of content and the creativity of campaigns and the different mediums used has seen a significant overhaul in terms of quality. It is also hugely important to realise that one doesn’t fit all, especially when doing content outreach internationally. At Verve Search we currently do content outreach in 7 different countries, what works in one country might not work at all in another. Therefore the leg work of research and understanding the audience you are targeting, needs to get allocated significant time. In my session at ISS I will share some case studies of different type of content outreach as well as the power of attracting links.
How can international businesses scale outreach when managing content in lots of languages?
There is no such thing as scaling outreach, it can’t and shouldn’t be done quickly. Quality and creativity is everything in successful international content outreach, but most of all understanding your audience and embracing the differences. Don’t ever feel tempted to just translate a campaign or article that worked in the UK for the Scandinavian market for example, custom make campaigns and content instead to fit the audience in the country you are targeting. My biggest advice; hire great creative thinkers and writers in the countries you want to do outreach in.
What are the biggest pitfalls to watch out for when embarking on a global outreach project?
Do not get lost in translation! I know it can be tempting to translate an article in several languages and give it a go at targeting sites, but the chances are you won’t succeed. I also would advise against the urge to hire freelancers that are not based in your office or outsourcing entirely, it can get messy and you have little control over quality. Keep the people close, teach them everything you know and inspire them to create the best content possible, whether it’s an article, a video or an infographic.
Are there any countries which stand out as being particularly different or challenging when it comes to outreach?
I’m originally from Norway and I must confess Norwegian and Swedish market has been the most difficult to “crack” in terms of outreach. Scandinavians are very direct and honest and quiet suspicious by nature, although often seen as quite similar as the British they are really not. We changed our strategy twice in Scandinavia before we finally got the hang of it, but that’s what is so fascinating and interesting about SEO and outreach, you have to keep trying. Now I think some of our best outreach campaigns are in Scandinavia, because we had to think differently!
With so much focus being placed on content creation and sharing, how do you stand out from the crowd – especially on a global scale?
You do it better and faster! Not necessarily work harder but think SMARTER.
And why attend the International Search Summit?
Attending ISS will help you get a step ahead of your competitors. There is SO much potential in international targeting and SO many brands and companies doing it badly. This is a conference where people share the strategies that really work internationally. If you have a site that is targeting more than one country this conference is a must!
If you want to hear from Lisa and range of other international search marketing specialists, join us at the International Search Summit on Tuesday 22nd October. You can even save 15% on the price, when registering with the code ISSCC15.
Gemma Houghton
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