There are many ways to increase your SEO standing, but content marketing will do that and so much more. With a solid content marketing strategy in place, you can also establish expertise in your field, drive traffic to your website, and even generate leads and sales.
With that being said, there are many tools that you can use in order to help you establish a content marketing strategy that works. Many of these tools do not come cheap, however, these tools are valuable to the success of your company.
If you are looking to one-up your content strategy, and you are looking for some guidance, we recommend trying out Quora. Not only is it a free tool, but it has also proven to be a helpful tool in regard to our content strategy at Eternity.
In this blog post, we will demonstrate how Quora has helped us, and how it can help you and your business too. We will walk through best practices and show you a closer look at the tool itself.
Quora for Content Marketing
If you are not familiar with Quora, you should know that it is a popular question-and-answer website. Do not confuse it with Yahoo answers, because the quality of the answers is what makes Quora so unique. Each question offers a smart and intriguing response, with users that provide strong, insightful and well-written answers.
Anyone who writes often understands how difficult it can be to come up with a blog post topic, without it being boring and dull. This is where Quora can be extremely helpful in terms of content marketing, because it is an idea generator and content research tool. You can see what information people are actively looking for within your industry, and more easily reach them by providing them with the answers they are looking for.
Use Quora as a Content Discovery Tool
As previously mentioned, Quora is a great content idea generator. It allows you to follow different topics and users on the platform, helping you keep an eye on what conversations are happening in a specific industry.
For example, on Eternity's Quora you will see that we follow topics closely related to online marketing and website design and development. This makes it easier for us to find topics to write about for our weekly blogs, and it also shows us what conversations are being held regarding the said topic.
Find Questions That Users Need an Answer To
As a content marketing, you will appreciate questions. That means asking them, and answering them. We are a huge fan of question-based keywords, also known as long-tail keywords. They signal an immediate need for information, then making it our goal to provide the user with an answer.
When a user asks a question with long-tail keywords, their search intent is very clear. They are searching for something specific, such as a cellphone. This means that they are either looking to purchase a phone soon, or they are purchasing it as a gift for someone else. Either way, these question-based keywords make it easier for you to deliver exactly what the user is looking for.
Keep in mind that Quora is a question-and-answer site. We highly recommend researching what questions your target audience is searching for. You can then base your content off of the questions that your intended target is asking, and provide them with the content they are in need of.
Ask Questions to Find New Information For Your Content
As a content marketer, one of the most useful ways to use Quora is to ask questions yourself. Plenty of users will give you an inside perspective by sharing an array of reasons that you may have never considered otherwise. This information can be useful as you write your content, and will then be useful information that you can provide your target audience with.
Don't just ask any question, ask questions that will benefit your content marketing strategy. For example, ask what struggle they have or where they are experiencing pain points. Then, use the responses to craft content that will solve these problems and answer their questions.
Look For New Insights
If you have been creating content as long as we have (20 years) you understand that it is easy to get stuck in a content rut. Eventually, you run out of ideas and you need something to spark some creativity within you. By reviewing questions and answers on Quora that are relevant to your industry, you might come across new insights that you have not yet considered.
Quora can help you find new ways of thinking, and new perspectives worth exploring. At the very least, it could provide you with some insight into what you want to argue against in your post, ultimately strengthening your argument.
Share Relevant Resources
Do not share irrelevant resources, because that won't be helpful for anyone. Quora has strict rules that must be followed. You are not allowed to log into the site and plug your own blog posts and website. However, there are still ways that you can promote your content in Quora that align with their guidelines. Do so cautiously, but if you see an opportunity that seems appropriate with their rules, we absolutely recommend promoting your own content without being spammy.
