Are you looking to get higher engagement on your website? Increase the amount of traffic coming to your site? Do you want to increase the number of conversions? Content, well, really a solid content strategy, can help you achieve all of these things!
Many people have the misconception that content marketing cannot help you increase revenue or help you get more sales. In reality, content marketing is considered to be a complete requisite for a brand to survive.
As per the CMO Council, it has been found that the following are the foremost benefits of making use of the information-rich content.
- Increased Responsiveness and Engagement
- On-Time and Pertinent Connections
- Higher Conversions
- Swaying Associations
- Differentiating One Brand from Another
- Improved Brand Recognition
Tailored content matter also boosts reliability, expands brand voice, produces relations with the potential audience and can help customers make an informed buying decision.
Content Strategy
‘How’ is the only catchy factor that you must be familiar with in case of developing flawless content. On the contrary, there is not one single content strategy that works for every business or brand. The type of content strategy your business needs depends on your target audience.
Content marketing is all about developing content that is highly valuable and interesting. Your content must be engaging for your target audience to stay connected. However, engaging topics and copy are not the only things you need to focus on when creating a content strategy that will actually convert leads and lead to sales.
Consider the following techniques:
Remember the 80/20 Rule
Consider the 80/20 Rule when it comes to your content marketing strategy. You must generate 80% of content that is highly valuable and engaging for the users and 20% of content that is brand-oriented. It can also be said that 80% of the subject matter must be for the consumer and the left 20% for the promotion sake of the business.
For example, 80% of your content should be focused on answering questions your potential customers have even if it’s not about your product, service, or the solutions it offers. 20% of your content should be focused on who you are as a company – areas of growth, case studies, blogs about giving back to the community, etc.
Creating the Content
Before you actually prepare the content for your business, it is important to conduct a comprehensive research of the market to find out the major needs of your target audience.
Examine the base of the market structure and determine how your business can create an online presence for itself in a unique and valuable manner. It is important for you as a business to know the various social networks that your potential users tend to prefer.
Here are some great places to start when it comes to conducting marketing research:
- Search for the Present Successful Models – In order to boost sales, it is important for you to find out what current successful programs there are and that similar businesses are using.
- What Other Businesses Are Doing? – How are businesses selling a similar product or service to you marketing their content? What type of content are they producing? How do they distribute and promote their content? You should look for the reasons they are successful. Take a look at their business marketing strategy, the aspects that they follow and the way they team up. Generate
- Content Ideas Based on Consumer Needs – Once you have done your research, it is time to start really planning out your content. Identify types of content (video, blog, podcast, etc.) and content topics based on your target audiences needs.
- Prepare the Content Around What Your Customers Search For – The content you prepare must be highly persuasive and responsive. Your content must answer, ‘why should I buy this product?’ and ‘why should I choose your company?’. These are the major questions that are always on the client’s mind as they try to narrow down which company to give their business to.
Tip: Keep in mind, that when creating content and developing your strategy, you need to consider your SEO and advertising strategies as well. Everything should blend and support each other.
Managing Content
A huge part of a content strategy is managing your content. Ask yourself the following questions to craft a solid plan of execution:
- How many times a week will you publish content?
- Do you have a content calendar put together? Content calendars house all your content ideas and research for those topics in one place.
- How will you distribute your content? Email list, Facebook, Twitter, Quora, Medium, etc.?
Your content marketing strategy needs to be flexible in the sense that you can adapt it to better connect with your target audience; however, it cannot be a shot in the dark. Meaning, you can’t decide what to write about each day you sit down at your computer. Content that is well thought out, researched, and meticulously planned is content that will connect with your target audience, help you convert traffic into leads, and ultimately help you increase your sales.
Final Thoughts
Content is a highly powerful aspect of any business. A content strategy that is well researched and aimed at providing value to your target audience can help you see growth in your company and increase your sales. Remember to keep your strategy flexible. As the market changes, so will your customers. Always be learning and researching how to best connect with your target audience and your content strategy will never suffer.
Featured image credit: Unsplash.com
My name is Leeza Keen, and for the past 8 years, I have been writing content and helping students write content through Assignement Help.
