Tech marketing teams often find themselves in a tug-of-war between highlighting the newest trends and establishing a robust repository of evergreen content.
As regular product launches and innovations hit the market, it’s tempting to prioritize the latest products and exciting industry news over evergreen topics. However, while timely content helps you reach the top search engine rankings for now, evergreen pieces are your content’s foundation, ensuring a steady traffic flow for years.
So, how do you embrace the best of both worlds, balancing trend-driven and timeless content simultaneously?
Understanding the Tech Audience’s Needs
Given the complexity of tech topics, it can be challenging to engage a tech-savvy audience. Even more challenging is catering to that group’s diverse interests.
Aspiring IT professionals seek a foundational understanding of tech topics. Meanwhile, seasoned industry leaders skip the basics to read about innovative and forward-thinking concepts.
To truly resonate, begin with clarity: Who exactly are you writing for? Dive deep into market studies, online forums, and audience feedback to grasp your readers’ needs. Leverage tools like Semrush or BuzzSumo to pinpoint common queries, shedding light on pain points and passions.
By developing detailed audience personas, you can determine who your audience is and what calendar dates offer the best opportunities to engage with that audience.
In crafting your content calendar, recognize the fluidity of the tech sphere. Today’s buzzworthy topics might fade into the background tomorrow. It’s imperative to weave trend-driven pieces and enduring content into your schedule, ensuring a content mix that remains pertinent amidst ever-changing technologies.
When you genuinely understand and address your tech audience’s unique preferences, your content becomes more than just words. It transforms into a catalyst for enhanced engagement, heightened brand visibility, and tangible conversions.
The Importance of a Regular Publishing Schedule
To establish yourself as a trusted voice in the industry, consistently producing original content is crucial. By maintaining a steady publishing rhythm, you’ll unlock the following advantages.
Audience Expectation
By keeping a consistent publishing cadence tailored to your audience’s interests, you captivate their attention while setting clear expectations for when new content will be available. This predictability encourages readers to return to your website regularly, bolstering recurring traffic and fostering sustained engagement.
Search Engine Optimization
Search engine algorithms reward websites that consistently publish high-quality posts. Consistently posting content lets search engines know that your site is active, so they’re more likely to present your content in search results, elevating your site’s rankings.
Streamlined Workflow
An established, streamlined workflow promotes greater productivity. Set up an editorial calendar and decide how frequently to publish blog posts. Planning lets you allocate resources appropriately, ensuring no rush or last-minute content compromises.
Synergizing Trends with Fundamentals
In content creation, evergreen topics remain relevant and in demand, regardless of freshness or current trends. Within the tech domain, a foundational layer of knowledge retains this evergreen charm. Such content, encompassing explainers and how-to articles, caters to novices eager to grasp core tech concepts while serving as a valuable resource for seasoned professionals looking to diversify or refresh their expertise.
The key to generating compelling evergreen content lies in understanding its timeless nature. Start by identifying the foundational topics within your industry with a long shelf life. Aim for depth and comprehensiveness when crafting the material, ensuring the article becomes a definitive subject guide.
Avoid including time-sensitive statistics or current event references that can quickly become outdated. Instead, focus on providing actionable insights, step-by-step guidance, and easy-to-understand explanations.
Lastly, even though you’ve designed the content to be evergreen, periodically review and update it to ensure accuracy, especially in a fast-paced industry like tech. This commitment solidifies your authority in the space while ensuring your content remains a trusted and relevant resource for years to come.
Evergreen Content Types
One effective approach to evergreen content is to employ whitepapers, case studies, and customer testimonials with broad appeal. By showcasing real-world scenarios, you provide tangible evidence of your company’s capabilities and expertise.
Several other forms of evergreen content can serve as a valuable resource for audiences over time. Tutorials and how-to guides focusing on fundamental concepts remain popular, helping readers navigate specific tasks or challenges.
Leveraging Industry and Calendar Events
Piggybacking on industry events and conferences can generate new leads and provide valuable resources to power your content strategy. Close to 70 percent of survey respondents believe in-person events offer the best opportunity to learn about new products.
An effective way to use events to your advantage in content marketing is to plan your content releases around product launches, tech conferences, and industry milestones. Say you’re covering a product launch. Create a content plan that starts before that date, culminating on event day and offering supporting content after the launch.
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Start by increasing anticipation for the product launch by revealing exclusive previews on popular social media platforms.
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Create short snippets to publish on distribution mediums like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
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Schedule interviews with key stakeholders before the launch and promote their quotes.
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Guest post on other outlets to improve brand awareness and maximize visibility and reach.
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Create informative post-launch content that showcases the new product’s possibilities.
Similarly, take advantage of technology-based holidays like Cybersecurity Awareness Month, National Technology Day, Data Privacy Week, STEM Day, and National IT Professionals Day to promote your products and interact with readers. Even general holidays offer an opportunity to write a creative technology-focused piece (think something like The Physics Of Santa Claus).
Relating your content to events helps harness the attention these events get in the industry (and vice versa).
Strategies for Tracking Tech Trends
Researching the latest tech trends is a must to captivate your audience. Here are a few tips for staying current.
Follow Tech News
Keeping your finger on the pulse of industry advancements and trends is paramount. One of the most effective ways to achieve this is by subscribing to reputable tech blogs and websites. These platforms often offer in-depth analyses, reviews, and the latest news, ensuring you’re always a step ahead in your understanding.
A few notable examples include:
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Hacker Noon: An independent tech blog with real stories and insights from technology professionals across the globe.
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The New Stack: A digital platform offering insightful pieces on new developments in cloud-native technologies and their implications for real-world businesses.
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CodeProject: Tailored for developers, CodeProject offers tutorials, design articles, and updates on a wide range of programming languages and tech tools.
Attend Tech Conferences
Attending tech exhibitions and conferences lets writers and marketers meet industry experts and gain firsthand knowledge of the latest products and emerging technologies. Participating in these events helps you stay up-to-date on new developments and better understand the technology landscape.
Participate in Tech Communities
Join tech communities on platforms like GitHub, Hacker News, Stack Overflow, and Reddit, where developers, coders, and thought leaders hang out. After all, this is where essential tech discussions happen. Participate in these community discussions to expand your knowledge, create a presence in the community, and stay up-to-date with the latest trends.
Next Steps
Investing in a content calendar that balances trending news and evergreen content keeps your target audience segments engaged and informed. Include a mix of content to ensure your efforts are timely and timeless.
Are you planning your content calendar for the upcoming quarter? Let ContentLab guide you to success.
