I love food and drinks. It’s no secret. It’s no secret that I spend the majority of my time planning my next meal. I run a hipster caterer called More Gravy and a blog called Round The World Cooking, where my children and I cook breakfast, lunch, and dinner each Week from a different country. Cuban Week was all about rum and cigarettes. The children ate a ham sandwich. In an alternate universe, Big Star could be a real-life agency that provides Gordon Ramsay Kitchen Nightmares-style consultancy.

I’ve had the opportunity to work with many great clients at Big Star, from Domino’s Pizza to Martini to the Sherry Institute of Spain to the legendary chef Anton Mosiemann.

Big Star has taught me a lot about content marketing. Here are my four essentials to success.

Here are some statistics to consider if you want to know whether or not content marketing will be worth your money as a food business:

• 70% of marketers actively invest in content marketing. (HubSpot)
• Content marketing costs 62% less and generates 3 times more leads than outbound marketing. (DemandMetric)

Still not convinced? Still not convinced?

Content marketing will not go away, even though the digital landscape is constantly changing. Where do you begin? What can you say that’s not already been told about?

1. It’s not necessary to be an original; you only need to be better

It’s not necessary to come up with brand-new ideas for your food and beverage blog. Answer the questions that your target audience has. Don’t worry if you find that someone else has already answered your question in their blog. It’s important to read it thoroughly and create a version that is more informative, in-depth, and easier to understand. Although a truly unique take on a topic that’s been covered many times is something worth striving for, don’t let your search for originality stop you from pursuing content marketing.

Keep up to date with the latest information in your niche by using Google alerts. Also, keep track of the keywords people use to find your website. What can you offer them once they arrive?

2. Write more often but less frequently

Food and drink blogs follow the same rules as any other industry regarding content length: longer is best for SEO, but you will also want to include some shorter pieces to keep up your social media feeds.

Our blog copywriting service creates four blogs per month. The shorter blogs have around 1,000 words, while the longer articles are 2,000+ words.

The articles will be a mix of evergreen and current articles, which will build backlinks over time and improve rankings. You may write a 1,000-word article about Best Cocktails for BBQs‘ (seasonal) and a 2,000-word evergreen article optimized for a search term like ‘Coffee Liqueur Recipes‘, which receives 260 searches per month in the UK.

Aim for four articles per month, and don’t stop refining your old blogs. Your content is an asset that continues to be valuable long after the first publication.

3. Include recipes in your content strategies, but do it the right way

The recipe market has become oversaturated, with the top results of search engine searches dominated by big names. With the right attention, you could compete with BBC Good Food, Simply Recipes, and other top-ranked sites on Google. Here are some tips from our SEO experts…

Keep it readable

Remember when we said that longer content is better for SEO earlier? Recipes are an exception. If you click on a result for a chicken Madras dish and find a 2,000-word tome, people will hit the “back” button faster than you can say “bounce rate”. Keep in mind the different types of readers and be helpful. Use accordion dropdowns for readers who are experienced cooks or return customers. They don’t require the same amount of detail that newcomers do.

Use the space above the fold wisely.

Like the majority of Internet users, recipe-hunters are searching for quick solutions. Above the fold, you can display a short description of the dish and a photo that will make your users want to click. Create a button above the fold that says “jump to recipe” for a better user experience. Your users will love it and return to your website.

Use star ratings

Start collecting star ratings and reviews for your website now. Google will also display star ratings next to your recipe listing on the SERPs. This can increase your organic click-through rate.

Markup your website to communicate with Google

The web is so big on recipes that they, along with location information, have their schema markup. This allows search engines to understand the different components of the recipe and increases your chances of being in ‘position zero’, the information box at the top of search results. You can simplify the process if your website is built using WordPress. You can also hire a developer if you don’t have the necessary skills. Visit schema.org for a complete list of recipe markup schema.

Remember to write for your users and not Google. SEO and UX are becoming one thing as search engines get more sophisticated. Your organic traffic will increase if you put your users first.

4. Repurpose your blog to maximize ROI

Do not just post your blog on your website. Please send them to your mailing list and your social media followers. Upload the article and images to the LinkedIn Publishing Platform if your target audience uses the platform. Consider using hashtags to boost the reach of your post. Here are some ideas to consider.

#food

#foodstartups

#artisan

#foodie

#brewery

#winery

Discover inspiration at all-hashtag.com.

It is easy and quick to convert your blog post or recipe into a video. Upload the video to your YouTube or Vimeo channel, or present it as a Facebook Live Video. Your fans will be thrilled.

What’s next?

We hope we have given you something to think about (sorry!) How to use content marketing for your food or drink business. You can contact us by phone, email or comment below if you want some free advice from someone who knows food and content almost as well. Read more about our copywriting services here.