In business, content marketing is not something that’s new to our digital, online age. It’s actually as old as the hills, because at its essence it’s nothing more than a way to tell a ‘story’ that is ultimately intended to attract customers and keep them.
Businesses have been telling stories about themselves, and their products and services, for this purpose for a very long time. The better quality content (what they have to tell and how they tell it) the more effective they will have been at achieving their goals.
The only things that have changed are the speed at which you can now disseminate your content, its potential reach, and the way in which audiences engage with your content. And therein lies a major key to success – making sure your content is focused first on meeting the needs of what your readers want.
In our brave new world of social media, content marketing isn’t about selling your product or showcasing your business. It’s about making a real connection with your target market so that they want to engage with you, and keep on engaging by coming back to you for more. If you build a relationship with them that they value, a relationship in which they see you as an authority in your field and someone they can trust, then they will ultimately be willing to buy from you and tell others about you.
Here are three ways to ensure your online content does what it’s meant to do.
Know your audience
If you want to create online content for your target audience, the first steps are obviously to know who they are, where they are and what they want. As soon as you know these things (use social media to find the answers), and the networks your audience are using, you can set about creating online content that you can use to join in on their conversations.
Remember, this is not about creating content that is only aimed at the ultimate sales transaction, such as product and price details. What you’re really after is content that will create an emotional connection with your brand, which will inspire your target market to connect with you and start talking to and about you.
Capture attention
The digital world is a noisy place with an overwhelming amount of information coming at people from a myriad directions. Grabbing the attention of your target market is a hard task, and it’s getting harder by the day. To be successful you will need to cut through all the noise and stand out.
One way is to make certain you interact directly with your followers by always responding to them – doing so is great for creating a personal connection between them and yourself. Another way is to experiment with using new social networks. You could also try doing some video content, or put out content that people might not normally associate with a brand like yours – just make sure it’s quality, accurate stuff that adds value for your followers.
Also, make sure that you put out your content regularly and consistently – there’s nothing worse for switching off your followers (literally) than if they come to your site expecting to find something and there’s nothing there for them.
Focus on quality content
Readers want content that is written well, is easy to read and reveals your personality, and that of your business – after all, it’s about creating a social relationship, and you cannot be social without a personality. They also want original content that is full of useful information of value to them – for example, they want to learn something new or be prompted to think about something in a new way or see something in a new light. Otherwise, why would they bother to read it?
No matter who your target audience is, they’re all busy – and they’re bombarded by heaps of other online content from businesses just like yours, also vying for their attention. So your content needs to not only grab their attention, but also make it easy for them to engage with it. Keep it short and to the point. People don’t just want answers to their questions – they want those answers quickly, so it’s important your content is easy to scan for all the important details. Make it visual, by using pictures, videos or diagrams that add value to your message and help unlock the points you are making.
As you get going, you’ll soon know what sort of content works and what does not. You can keep measuring what’s working by analysing your SEO to see what content receives the highest search traffic. See what formats work the best, e.g. infographics, video, long form articles, short posts and so on. What content are your prospects and customers reading and sharing with others? What sort of content engages them to the point of becoming your customer? The answers to these sorts of questions are gold when it comes to online content.
Quality content will not only engage your target market – it will also boost your content’s SEO ranking, because the search engines, like Google, reward high-quality content, which will help you gain even more traffic and prospects, and have a very positive impact on your business.
Your content reflects you and your brand
Remember, your online content – whether it be your website, your blog or your social media posts – is a reflection of you and your business. How it resonates with your readers is how they will view your brand, your products and services.
Do you need help with your online content and your digital marketing strategy? Simply give the team at digital marketing agency Net Branding a call or visit our Contact Us page on our website to find out how we can help you create online content that engages your target audience and sets your business apart.
