When we think of content, several definitions pop to mind. Author, Avinash Kaushik defines it as, ‘Content is anything that adds value to the reader’s life. It can add value by making them smarter, making them laugh, making them do their job better, rush to share the video, make a contribution to a charity.’For many businesses, content is one area of marketing that doesn’t require a hard sell. It can be an area of marketing where they can share a story or take their customers on a journey.
A 3-Steps Process
- Fuel your content: Having a thorough strategic plan will allow a business to a build a story and share with their consumers its history – making the brand more personable.
- Ignite interest: If a brands content is relevant and interesting, they are more likely to capture their consumer. Content must be compelling in order to ignite curiosity.
- Accelerate: Creating content takes time and resources. Content should be produced at speed but not overshared, which could overwhelm the consumer.
How to choose the right content
Deciding which content should be marketed is entirely dependent on your audience. Understanding your target market and which channel they like to receive content from is key. Once your audience and channels are established there are many ways to make your content stand out:
- Adding links to your content will add credibility to your work and provide more options for your consumer to ‘dwell’ on the page for longer.
- Content can be words, images, audio, and video. Recent trends are leaning towards video, but this is dependent on your product or service.
- Although content isn’t necessarily seen as a hard-sell opportunity, it needs to be persuasive. It should be presented in a way that allows the user experience to be seamless and easily shared.
Planning and defining your content plan or calendar will aid in responding to macro moments. Business as usual content will be present but celebrating or acknowledging key moments such as, seasonal events, festivals, or the Olympics for e.g., is key to making your brand personable. Marketing content that your audience can relate to encourages them to share, like, comment and engage. Your Call To Action (CTA) can assist in encouraging engagement.
Getting started to create your first content writing
Content requires time and resource. Brands can look outside their team at crowdsourcing platforms, online communities such as Answer The Public, or collaborating with consumers.
Collaborating with partners or your very own consumer base can encourage brand loyalty and increase credibility. If your potential target market see that your brand is being endorsed by someone outside of the firm, they are more likely to trust an external opinion that has no ties to the brand.
Takeaway
Overall, the benefits of content marketing will help brands to increase organic search traffic, build trust, expand awareness, and close the gap in the conversion funnel. Providing more opportunities for the consumer to engage, learn and get inspired will make the difference of converting and retaining a new and existing consumer.
