Content, content, content, content, content. These days, everybody and their dog is trying to boost their business by writing blog posts. And many businesses subscribe to the philosophy that the more content they churn out, the better their chances of being found by their ideal customer.

But with over two million blogs being written every day, is more content really better? Perhaps not. In the rush for quantity, some companies forget about quality.

Don’t let yours be one of them.

Jack of all trades, master of none

From freelancers to agencies, there’s often a recurring pattern when it comes to content marketing success: starting off as a generalist with a shallow level of expertise and then developing a niche as knowledge and experience grow.

Unsurprisingly, this deeper level of expertise provides a higher level of value to prospects and customers. Instead of being somewhat knowledgeable on many topics, you become extremely knowledgeable about one particular topic. Then, the content you put out improves exponentially.

Why less is more in content marketing

Great content that’s promoted to the right audience helps you drive more traffic to your website, generate more leads and achieve your overall business goals. Therefore, the typical response is to create more content. However, most of the content out there isn’t original, lacks deep knowledge or is completely irrelevant.

There’s no ideal frequency when it comes to how often to publish content on your website. It all depends on your audience and goals. But as it turns out, 5% of branded content accounts for 90% of engagement.

Yes, you read that right. So, all those superficial, not-saying-a-whole-lot blogs that you’re cranking out? They’re a giant waste of your time.

Therefore, the key to creating winning content is to make it count by creating high-value content.

How to create and distribute high-value content

There are several steps to take when creating and distributing content that will create a major impact:

• Know your s**t: I know. We’re all busy, and taking courses or reading up on new trends often falls by the wayside. But by carving out a few hours a week to deepen your mastery you’ll be able to share your new knowledge with readers, giving them information that will be of real value.
  
  
• Build a foundation: An hour of Googling isn’t going to cut it. For deep-dive content, you want to do deep-dive research. Conduct a study or a survey, or create test cases. Dig out information that isn’t already easy to find, and bring in research that others have done to solidify your statements.
  
  
• Package it up: Once you have a wealth of extensive, detailed information, it’s time to package it up. A good approach is to combine your research with your expert analysis to create a whitepaper, video course series or pillar page. This is the big, high-value content that actually moves the needle.
  
  
• Give it away: Think the job is over because the initial content piece is written? This isn’t Field of Dreams, and building it doesn’t mean they’ll come. Instead, take the time to be strategic about how you’ll distribute your content. You can do this by:

 Portioning out the findings of the report into separate pieces of content like blog posts, short videos, slide decks and infographics. Although small, these content pieces won’t be superficial. Instead, they’re solid, hefty chunks of knowledge you’re dropping onto your website, social media and email list.

 Making sure to link back to the initial content piece. You can even consider not gating this content. It’s a departure from traditional marketing wisdom, but by giving away your knowledge (and showing the enormous amount of work it took to get there), you’re providing major value to readers. As well, you’re reminding them you’re the experts on this subject and they really should hire you to handle this kind of thing.

Related Content: 10 Simple Ways to Repurpose Content on Multiple Platforms

• Keep it fresh: Because you’ll have less (but better) content, it’s important to keep the value high. Keep your cornerstone pieces of content (and their related content) updated, and make sure you let people know when you’ve updated it and what new knowledge they can expect. By doing this, readers will come to rely on you as the ultimate, up-to-date source on the subject.

By focusing on a narrower subject, mastering it and then sharing that deep knowledge, you’ll focus on quality while still putting out a respectable quantity. And the result is high-impact, valuable content that gives your audience something that they’ll remember, learn from and want more of.

All great content marketing starts with a documented strategy. In fact, only 32% of businesses that don't have a documented strategy feel their content marketing is effective. If you haven't yet formalized your own content strategy, fear not ... our Complete B2B Content Strategy Guide provides guidance and lots of helpful tools to get you started!