The trouble started slowly, as it sometimes does with these sort of things.
Ants. All over our apartment. Marching in single file on the patio. Streaming into an electrical outlet in the bedroom where my newborn baby lay sleeping. Swarming anything sticky. And anyone who lives with a toddler will know – there’s a lot of stickiness.
The situation was dire and escalating quickly. We needed a professional on the case.
Now I don’t like killing ants and normally we don’t; they’re just doing their thing. But this was an infestation at scale, and I had two young children in tow…
So, my husband did a reccie online and found a fumigation company.
When she arrived, I could immediately tell she meant business. As she worked, she shared with me the strange ways of the pests she killed. Watch for flies, they will vomit on your food, she warned. In the end, the ant colony was utterly destroyed and there was no recurrence.
My husband – impressed with the results of his selection – remarked that he choose the company because they had a great blog: helpful, updated and modern.
This happens every day. Companies win new clients and retain existing ones because they have professional and valuable business blogs.
But what if you’re not even sure what to blog about? Maybe you have a digital content strategy in place, but you’re struggling to create content that truly addresses your customer’s concerns, and then doing this consistently.
One of the many ways is to create evergreen content for your business blog.
What is Evergreen Content?
Evergreen content is content that isn’t dated and can continue to draw traffic to your business blog for some time after it’s been published.
New research from Digiday shows even news publishers are turning to evergreen content to inject new life into online content.
“Content can be expensive to produce, difficult to monetize, and often has a shelf-life of just hours or minutes as the news cycle spins quicker than ever…In an attempt to offset those challenges, news publishers say they are now investing in more “evergreen” content instead, with the hope it will attract a steadier stream of traffic from search and social channels and better satisfy the demands of advertisers.”
Digiday
(Note: The full post is behind a paywall.)
Buffer has a great piece on evergreen content; it’s probably one of the most definitive pieces on the topic and worth reading in full.
Buffer’s Kevan Lee gives us the following definition:
“Evergreen content is quality, useful content that is relevant to readers for a long period of time…(evergreen content) means something to a visitor who found the post the day it was published and one who happened upon it six months later…There is no specific length of time for how long evergreen content remains relevant. Some evergreen content lasts forever. Some
Kevan Lee, Bufferlasts a year or two. As long as the post can be linked to and gain traffic long after it is originally published, it qualifies as evergreen.”
In a blog post for Moz, Nicholas Eubanks, adds another aspect to evergreen content: regular updates.
“Part of building evergreen content is updating it so it stays current and relevant for as long as possible. We define it as timeless content that continually stays fresh for readers.”
Why is Evergreen Content Great for Business Blogging?
So, it’s clear the world’s leading content creators consider evergreen content to be one of the best investments you can make into your business blog.
In addition to generating traffic for long traffic after it’s been published, you can use evergreen content to establish yourself as a leader in your industry.
BuzzSumo has curated some of the types of evergreen content created by leading brands, with examples:
- Educational or informative posts:
- Practical posts
How to speak so that people want to listen
- Research or statistical reference posts
Millennials Overtake Baby Boomers As America’s Largest Generation
- Lists and resources:
The Ultimate List of Marketing Stats.
While many of these examples are drawn from bigger blogs, it’s also a useful format for small to medium size content teams. Evergreen content stays relevant and is designed to answer your customer’s most common questions. This is why it’s a great addition to your digital content strategy.
If you’re on a budget and struggling to find the time to craft useful, relevant content on a consistent basis, evergreen content makes sure your blog is always updated.
By simply tapping into your customer’s concerns and questions, you’ve unlocked a steady flow of business blogging posts for weeks or even months. If you only have time for one other post per month – perhaps an industry digest covering your sector’s latest news – you’ll already be serving your readers with relevant content.
Where do you find ideas for evergreen content
The best thing about evergreen content is that we’re surrounded by ideas.
Here’s how to find ideas for evergreen content:
Scan your emails. Maybe you have folders with different topics. What are the types of folders you have? While I worked in public relations, I received regular requests for stats. I started to include these numbers in any online posts and press releases I created.
Search for your brand or industry on social media using a tool like Hootsuite. What are the most common questions?
Type your brand or industry into Google. Check the “people also ask” tab. For instance, if you’re working at a social media agency you might find that people want to know about the best social media marketing apps.
What do clients ask you? Do they have common questions about how something works in your industry? That, my friend, is an idea for evergreen content!
Types of Evergreen Content
Now that you have a database of ideas, you can start creating content that answers these questions.
HubSpot lists some of the most popular forms of evergreen content:
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- “How To” Guides
- Tutorials
- Testimonials
- Industry Resources
- Glossaries of Terms and Phrases
- “History of” Articles
- Evergreen Content Resources
In addition to the ones I’ve tagged in this post, also check the following posts for more help on including evergreen content in your digital content strategy:
Guide to Evergreen Content – Wordstream
The Beginner’s Guide to Evergreen Content – Digital Marketing Institute
Evergreen Content Formulas – Content Marketing Institute
If you’re in the tech sector and you need some help creating evergreen contact, contact me for a free 15-minute consultation to brainstorm ideas for your business blog.
