CONTENT IS KING - the title of an essay written by Bill Gates long back in 1996 which resonates stronger than ever today, as people the World over retreated into the safety of their homes and glare of their screens.
Over the past some months (who is counting anymore), we’ve seen the content game skyrocket as everyone from massive lifestyle brands, to monolithic corporate entities, to local restaurants and solopreneurs took to the online sphere seeking connection (and attention) through content.
So what is content marketing, why it might be right for my brand and how do I get it right?
Content marketing is the process of planning, crafting and sharing valuable, relevant online content to attract and retain specific audiences. The marketing technique is largely stemmed in educating and/or delighting potential leads and customers through interesting and relevant content be it via articles, e-books, blog posts, podcasts, webinars, videos, infographics, web pages- just to name a few.
So why might investing in a strong content marketing game benefit your brand? While advertising can be great for the later stages of a typical customer journey, content marketing is a highly cost-efficient and effective marketing technique to raise awareness of your brand by educating potential customers of a product, service or brand they might not have otherwise known of.
How do you start and get content right? Executed correctly, content marketing can be very powerful in attracting customers to consider your brand. Providing valuable and exciting content is at the core of any strong content strategy. We’ve put together some of the basics on how to get started.
#1 Understand Your Audience
You have to at least have an idea of who you’re speaking to in order to know how to captivate them. You have to want to really know them.
Operating in this technology-driven era gives you a chance to get to know your audience and understand them better than ever. Social media platforms are fantastic opportunities to directly engage with target audiences and potential customers to understand their interests, concerns, and passions.
To understand your audience better you could:
interact directly via forums and comments,
ask questions and engage in surveys,
research reactions and comments on competitor pages
#2 It’s Not (all) About You
Plan Valuable and Resonant Content
Compelling content strategies are focused not in explicitly promoting your own brand, but predominantly on stimulating interest in your product or services.
Armed with an understanding of your target audiences’ interests and concerns, build a content plan that delights (by piquing their interests) and educates (by addressing concerns). The customer-first approach makes for content that resonates and adds value for potential leads and customers.
Stay consistent with your approach and offer unique insights to establish your brand as an authority in the industry, build brand recognition, and foster trust amongst your target audience.
#3 What Are Your Goals?
Establish Your Intentions to Determine Delivery
You’ve established whom you are creating content for and what the content will be. Now establish goals and intentions for your content in order to determine how best to deliver a given set of content.
Are you looking to generate leads to whom you may continue delivering valuable content to? Perhaps your aim is to optimise your webpage SEO by attracting affiliate links. Or are you aiming to increase social media reach by way of shareable content?
Pairing the understanding of your target audience with creating resonant content and establishing your intentions will determine how to best deliver the content.
Whether to deliver a highly interactive webinar, an extensive ebook guarded by a landing page, a series of shareable social media posts, a visually appealing video, a LinkedIn article or a photo-blog post perhaps - remember to establish intent (goals) to determine what method(s) of delivery would be best.
#4 And then measure, learn, and do it better.
Wrap Up…
Content isn’t rocket science. Likewise, creating a solid content marketing gameplan shouldn’t be either. Learn about your audience, create authentic content, and deliver consistently with your goals.
Tell us about how your content marketing game is going. We’re always up for a Mad Hat chat.