Reaching customers is arguably the most difficult part of running a business. That’s where SEO copywriting comes in. If you’re wondering what it is and how it could help your business, we’ve written a simple guide of everything you need to know. 

What is SEO copywriting?

You’ve probably heard of copywriting – the act of writing text that aims to increase brand awareness. But, what is ‘SEO’ copywriting? Well, it’s a specialised form of traditional copywriting that contains keywords or phrases. These specially selected words are those your target customer is likely to type into a search engine because they desire the service or product you are selling. Ultimately, keywords will enable your content to rank higher in search results. Sounds simple. Right? 

Well, unfortunately, it’s not enough to just shove a bunch of keywords into your website content and hope it pays off. Your copy needs to be fine-tuned to the constantly changing search engine algorithms to ensure it ranks high on google. It also needs to be clearly written and enjoyable for your audience to read. 

4 Steps to successful SEO copywriting

To better understand what SEO copywriting is and how to do it, we’ve broken the process down into steps.

Step 1: Keyword search

Before you start writing, carry out some keyword research. Begin by channelling your customer, and ask questions similar to these: 

• What are people searching for?
• How many people are searching for it? 
• How do they want their information presented to them?

A lot of people bypass this step because it seems like a lot of effort when you already know what content you want to write. But, it really does pay off. Putting time and effort into the planning means your content is more likely to satisfy both what you want to rank for and what your audience really wants to read. 

Now that you’re inside the head of your audience it should be easier to create a list of keywords. You can also use tools such as wordtracker to help you decide on the best variations and combinations of these terms. You might then want to create a table of your keywords to summarise the information and order it according to some form of priority. 

Still a little unclear on keyword research? Take a look at this helpful guide .

Step 2: Plan your writing

We know, we know… more planning. But, if you want the writing part to go smoothly, then this stage is essential. Again, begin by asking some questions similar to these:

• What is the purpose of what you’re writing?

Answering this question will help you decide how you are going to write the article. For example, is the purpose to amuse your reader? Inform them? Or, is it to persuade them to do something? 

• What’s the key question you want your writing to answer?

Having this in mind will ensure your piece stays on track which is important because you want every word to count.

• What information is required for your piece?

You’ll need to make sure you adequately research the topic before you begin writing. Otherwise, you will risk running out of things to talk about or fail to answer the question your piece is intended to answer. 

• How do you want to structure your article?

A clear structure gives you a better chance of ranking well on Google. Your target readers are more likely to grasp your main points, and there’s a higher chance of converting them into customers if they properly understand your message. 

Step 3: Get writing!

Don’t let all of that planning and research go to waste, it’s time to get writing.

People often find it overwhelming to stare at a blank page, wondering where to begin. A good trick is to begin by mapping out the structure of your text, write your intro and conclusion, and then fill in the gaps. This way you’re breaking it down into manageable steps. Don’t worry about grammar and spelling, for now, you can perfect this in the final stage.

Step 4: Proofread and edit your text

With your SEO copy written, it’s time to make it perfect. In this final stage, you’ll want to remove sentences that are unclear or awkwardly written, correct any grammar or spelling errors and make sure your structure is well organised. It helps to pinpoint mistakes in this stage if you read slowly and outloud, you can also ask for feedback from someone else – a fresh pair of eyes will spot things that you’ve potentially missed. 

The aim of the game is to increase your brand’s search engine visibility. Using the right keywords in your writing is bound to have customers stumble across your content. But, if you want to maximise your success, follow our step by step guide on how to write a great SEO article that will not only rank high but be an enjoyable read for your customers too.

Good Luck.

Byter Team. 

What is branding? In broad terms “branding” is the idea or or image people have in mind when thinking about specific products, services, and activities of a company. This is both both in a practical (e.g. “the shoe is light-weight”) and emotional way (e.g. “the shoe makes me feel powerful”). Branding is the first thing you think of when you are asked about a particular brand. This concept also applies to personal branding.

For example famous people all have unique personal brands; Queen Elizabeth I, was famous for her red hair contrasting her pale face, accompanied by her extravagant gowns, she is known to this day as the Virgin Queen. In modern times big corporations have refined branding into art, with teams of people dedicated to massive advertising campaigns and carefully curated public relations. With the rise of consumer culture, more and more of the same products are being sold, and the only way to differentiate these products is through branding. This rise in ‘branding importance’ is now combining with the rise in importance of social media and micro-influencers.  

When you run a small business, you have an interesting branding dilemma. Do you solely represent your company as a corporate entity, like Coca-Cola does? (You have no idea who runs Coca-Cola.) This is the usual practise of corporations. It is how they appear professional and trustworthy. Or do you put yourself at the front of your company, essentially creating a cult of personality around yourself, like Steve Jobs did for Apple? 

If you sell a product, the corporate image is more important. If you sell a service, then the personality-based branding is probably more your cup of tea.

Here are 5 tips on creating your own personal brand:  

Branding, whether personal, or for a company, is basically the same. You must always find a way to differentiate yourself. Below are five steps to help you build your own brand.

1. Decide What Sets You Apart

• Look at what you do

• Look at what the others in your niche do 

• Work out what you did that makes you special: what can you do, or what do you do, that the others don’t?

• This USP (Unique Selling Point)  can be your product, or where you come from, or how you present your product, etc 

• Your values

This part of the process of branding is called differentiation. This is what separates Coke from Pepsi: two otherwise almost identical sodas. You can differentiate yourself through many things:  price, product, location, values, appearance etc. 

If you have a new and interesting product then it is probably easier to come up with a unique brand as no one else will be selling your product, but branding becomes more difficult if you are providing a common service or product. 

 If you are, say, a local plumber,  and you offer basically the same services and products as two other local plumbers, you cannot differentiate yourself from them through product, price or location. You can differentiate yourself by associating yourself with different values. For example, in Auckland, New Zealand, there is a company that provides general handyman services. They have called their company, Hire-A-Hubby. Their vans are pink, their logos are cute and funny. They are very recognisable. Hire-A-Hubby provides almost identical services to other less heavily branded handymen, but it had differentiated itself through its branding and has created a whole new market for themselves. Their target market is very clearly women who need handyman services. 

2. Make Sure the Right Content Is Being Found

This point is rather self-explanatory. If you are going to be your own personal brand, that means people will be googling you, to find out about your services. As a user of social media in your private life, you will have some kind of pre-existing footprint: photos from weddings, fishing trips, drunk Friday nights etc. If you set up a personal brand that associates you with say, wholesome family values, you do not want photos of your bachelor party on Hawaii being easily found by anyone who googles your name. 

You don’t have erase your entire online existence, however. It is a good idea, though, to google yourself and then do your best to clean up what appearsp. Make personal/ family pages private, so that strangers cannot see them. Do your best to get rid of any weird photos, or online profiles that can be easily traced back to you, e.g. you ran a Facebook page dedicated to some celebrity when you were thirteen. Delete or lockdown any accounts that you think do not match your chosen branding.

3. Start Networking to Build Your Brand

• You want to build a community around yourself. Your community will help spread your brand by word of mouth, whether on purpose or incidentally. If you build a community you are more likely to have good customer loyalty, and you will have a base which you can turn to in times of troubles. Networking takes time. You have to get people to become used to you and eventually trust you. You have to consistently interact with the people in your area, e.g. Commenting, liking, message sharing, etc, their content. You have to interact with people who come to you, do ‘giveaways’, polls, questions. Chat with them, put time into building up relationships. You have to choose a level at which you will engage with other people. If you keep interacting permanently,  people will find you annoying. But if you don’t interact regularly people will forget you. 
• Networking is basically a formal word for making friends in your area. You must make sure also that your friendships are on-brand. For example, if you are being a small, local  family-friendly plumber, maybe do not make friends with too many foreign drug dealers 

4. Find Ways To Make Your Personal Brand Stand Out. 

Once you have decided what your personal brand will be, what values will be associated with it? Who will your market be? What platforms will you be using to interact with customers? You will have to start creating content that will explain your brand and values to your customers. If you have chosen the personal brand format you will be having to sell a version of you to your customers. You have to get people interested in you, (well the version of you that you have chosen to be your brand). If you are using social media there are five main ways to get people interested in your personal brand. 

1. TELL YOUR STORY: people want to know stories so that they can become invested in your struggle
2. SHOW YOUR PERSONALITY: they want to know what you are like, social media is all about the person, they want to know what you like and don’t, what values you hold etc
3. MAKE IT MEANINGFUL: Instead of just commenting a heart emoji on 100 posts, and giving default business answers, actually take the time to talk to people. Make people feel like they are more than a faceless customer.
4. OFFER A BRAND EXPERIENCe: this is all down to your ability to pay attention to details. Small businesses on Etsy are a good example of this. They have their own special packaging, thank you card, and videos. They offer a very strong brand experience.

A good example of people who employ the above strategies, is fitness influencers. They often sell anything they can get sponsored for, so they do not have a fixed product. Their entire brand is their fun, quirky and above all very healthy personality. They often detail their struggles with weight loss, mental health or something else that allows them to tell a compelling story. This will take practice and probably quite a while to be able to create content that hits the right note with your customers and your brand.

5. Keep Your Information Updated

Lastly, if you want people to work with you, you have to keep your online presence up to date. This does not mean just your social media accounts,, you have to keep your Google listing up to date. Update your opening hours if you are a physical location, or check your reviews, answer questions etc. If you do not have a physical address you can still make sure your contact details are up to date. 

What is a social media manager? The Social Media Manager is responsible for a brand’s online presence, with an emphasis on social platforms. The Social Media Managers job can scale from being the only person in charge of a small brand’s entire social platform presence, creating all of the content and posting it; to managing huge companies online presence. In recent times more and more companies are understanding the vital importance of having an effective online presence, making SMM (Social media manager) one of the most sought after professions in digital marketing. 

What does a social media manager do?

Social Media Managers are in charge of the maintenance of the businesses online presence. So what are the responsibilities of a Social Media Managers? Some of a SMM’s tasks are monitoring, moderating and responding to audience comments; manage social media partnerships with other brands; and creating and posting sharable content such as videos and images. So what makes a good SMM? Communication, good copy, creativity and time management are all great skills to have as a Social Media Manager. This article gives a deeper explanation of the each skill set a SMM should have! Great read too!

Other skills you can work on to optimise your SMM skills:

• Literacy, and the ability to understand analyse

An obvious one. As a social media manager, you live in a world made of photos, but also of words. You have to be able to have a good command of the language, create engaging and interesting copy quickly. Another aspect you need to be aware of is your grasp of the language your brand uses to be aware of implications or be able to play with it. You will also need to know how to quickly research and analyse data, both from yourself and your competitors. being able to successfully analyse events and situations will allow you and your brands to keep up with trends.

• Being able to understand the various social media platforms and their analytics.

As a Social Media Manager, your sole job is to increase the effectiveness of your and online presence. There are four main sets of social media metrics that aid in evaluating the success of your online presence. 

Conversation rate – The number of conversations per post. On Facebook, Google+, and LinkedIn comments and on Twitter replies.

Amplification rate – The number of re-shares or retweets per post.

Applause rate – Retweets, Likes, +1s, etc.

Economic value – The sum of short-term revenue, long-term revenue, and cost savings.

Evaluating the success of posts depends on the purpose of the post. Some posts are aiming to have a high reach. Other posts aim to have high link clicks or signups. 

• Being able to use at least one graphics package

This is another obvious one, you are working in the area of brands and branding is a heavily visual art. There are plenty of graphics packages out there, ranging from the simple, like Canva to the complex such as the Adobe suite.  You have to be able to make effective visual displays for your online presence. 

• The ability to plan.

When you are running social media for brands it is very important to have a plan for your content. This prevents you from posting low-quality content, running out of content to post, being unprepared and being unable to reach goals, or even have useful goals. When working for a brand, you have to plan your social media ahead of time so you can show it to your client for approval and have enough time to revise and change it. The interesting thing about social media marketing, unlike normal sales,  is the appearance of being new, unplanned, fresh and up to date. Social media managers have to hit a careful balance between appearing new, fresh, and off the cuff, to the customers and being carefully planned and true to brand with the company.  

• SEO knowledge.

Search Engine optimisation. This is thrown around as mysterious hard understand. It isn’t, it is mainly to do with websites and blogs. There are even plugins to sites such as WordPress who will help you with it. It is less important if you are only running on social media platforms like Twitter or Instagram.  

The best social media manager is someone who understands the platforms, the brand, and is flexible enough to mould both into a successful and engaging presence. It is a modern much more fast-paced version of traditional sales.  

• Being flexible/ spontaneous

As much as we have mentioned the benefits and importance of planning, we have also mentioned the necessity of also being a little spontaneous and taking risks. Sales live off this, you might accidentally create a viral trend, and become very important, or you could terminally embarrass your boss and be forced to put out an apology. Again here experience will help.  

• Valuable content 

Lastly, this is maybe not a skill but more of a statement, this is where social media sales is different from traditional sales. There are a lot of different marketing rules, but there is a general rule which is the 80/20 rule. This rule is 80% useful content talking about something other than yourself, and 20% talking explicitly about yourself. There’s another rule 70/20/10 rule. This rule is a refining of the 80% rule to help you narrow down what you need to post. 70% value, 20% promotion, and 10%, human. 

So, 70% of what the brand is going to post should be of value to its audience. Educational, funny inspiring etc. 20% promotion, discounts, sales, promo codes, giveaways etc.  10%  is the “personal touch”. These posts are often about things the brand cares about, brand values, or seemingly relatable personal things. (a good example of this maybe would be Wendy’s Twitter account when its creator took to roasting people for a few weeks).

In conclusion, a Social Media manager is a person who is responsible for a brand’s online presence. They are a combination of creatives, organisers and salesperson. The job is a flexible multi-faceted sales job, they must be able to understand the basics of advertising, like what campaigns are, but they must also understand the day to day stuff that goes into running a social media presence.

You can be your own social media manager as a business owner, but often that work can get too much for one person to handle. At Byter we specialise in Social Media Management, from content creation, strategy, management and audience engagement. If you need to alleviate some of your work load with social media marketing, don’t hesitate to give us a call or email (Contact page) 

You can also reach out to us on any of our Social Media platforms, we are more than happy to have a chat!