When you hear “content marketing,” you probably think of blogs, social media, and viral videos....
As you’re already aware, content marketing is an essential part of attracting and keeping customers. By bridging the gap between storytelling and sales, content marketing engages customers and gives them the information they want while giving you a way to get your message across – a win-win. When you share valuable information with your target audience, you can create profitable relationships. Rather than selling directly, content marketing is all about building trust, which naturally leads to customer loyalty. You can increase the effectiveness of your content marketing by following the tips below.
1. Tell a story
At its core, content marketing is about storytelling. Sometimes, it even uses classic story-writing elements like character development and plot to engage its audience. Stories draw people in and entice them to come back for more. You can use storytelling to create brand awareness, entertain your audience, and drive website traffic. Take advantage of evolving social media formats and the ample opportunities they provide to tell stories. The new Stories formats on websites like Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat are a perfect way to reach your customers where they already are.
2. Focus on the customer – not what you want to say
It seems counterintuitive, but the focus of your content marketing can’t be your business. Instead, your content must be tailored to your customer, offering helpful insights, tips, or information. Content marketing is not about you – it’s about them. If you want your customers to engage with your content, then it must provide them with something valuable that they want. What they don’t want is to sit down and start reading about what you do and how you do it without knowing anything else about your brand. That’s promotional marketing, and it’s not nearly as effective as proper content marketing. Always keep your audience in mind and content marketing will become much simpler – and much more effective.
3. Solve problems
All of your customers – all of them – have problems they’re trying to solve, and this is where your content comes in. When people search for specific topics online, they’re trying to address needs they already have. Help your readers understand how your products or services can fulfill those needs in ways the customer couldn’t on their own. Help them visualize their success with your products or services and how not acting would mean loss (but not with overbearing scare tactics). Simply show them what your brand can help them achieve, and they’ll be rightly interested.
4. Be consistent
Consistency is another important key to an effective strategy, both in branding and frequency of posting. How often you publish content, your messaging style, and your voice should be consistent across all channels. You want your readers to be able to recognize your brand’s style even if your name and logo are hidden. Furthermore, a steady supply of original content is essential, not only for audience interest but also for search engine rankings. You’ll get better results posting one good blog a week, for example, than posting four in one week and then none for the next month.
Above all, your content marketing must offer your audience something valuable. Make it useful to them ¬– not just you – and you may very well see your success skyrocket.
