The good news about this is that all those hours spent researching are also hours that a consumer will spend getting to know your brand\u2014if you can get and keep their attention. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Enter content marketing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
What is content marketing?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Content marketing is a form of inbound marketing\u2014bringing the consumer to your brand, rather than blanketing the airwaves or internet with advertising and hoping some of it sticks. It’s a way to solidify your brand’s voice, as well as to showcase your industry expertise. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This is true whether you’re writing blog posts for your website, or high-level articles from your CEO on industry trends. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Content Marketing Institute defines content marketing<\/a> as \u201ca strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly-defined audience \u2014 and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n That most important adjective there is \u201cvaluable.\u201d Valuable content is key. With content marketing, you\u2019re promoting your brand\u2019s value<\/em>\u2014not your product or service. When a brand\u2019s value is in the spotlight, selling fades into the background. And that\u2019s what today\u2019s consumer wants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Why should you have a content marketing strategy?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Content marketing helps businesses increase their website traffic<\/a>, grow brand awareness, generate new leads, and so much more. Even a single blog post can reap enormous benefits for your company. Here are just a few. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Content marketing is one of the most effective ways to build your brand and define your voice. Customers want to know you\u2019re credible. Credibility and content go hand in hand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Creating Your Content Strategy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The following steps can help you get started on creating a content marketing strategy to win market share. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Who are you creating content for? What audiences are you trying to reach? <\/p>\n\n\n\n This is where buyer personas<\/a> really come in handy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Using your buyer personas, research what types of content people who fit those personas are consuming. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Browse industry publications, do hashtag searches for relevant topics on social media<\/a>, use a social media listening tool like Hootsuite, and take a look at the content your competitors are posting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And of course, if you can get answers straight from your customers themselves, do it! Send out a survey to your existing customers through a tool like SurveyMonkey asking them about the types of content they\u2019re enjoying from your brand, what they\u2019re not enjoying, and what they\u2019d like to see more of. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You can even add in questions that allow them to submit specific content that they like from other brands, which can help guide your development process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you\u2019ve done your persona research, you should have a good idea of the types of content that your audience is consuming. Then, focus on developing two or three types on a regular basis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n No matter what, one of those types of content should be blog articles, posting a minimum of three per week. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Other types of content that your audience might want include: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Whichever types of content you choose to focus on, having a variety<\/em> of content at your disposal will help you reach and engage your different audiences\u2014not only the people who come to you for different reasons, but who come to you at different stages of the buying journey. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Going back to your buyer personas, focus your attention on their pain points. How can your content help resolve your customer\u2019s pain points? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Conduct surveys<\/a> to find out how your customers found you, what problems they were experiencing before, and how they would recommend your product to a friend. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Pain points will be different depending on your customers and your product or service, of course, but they can be grouped into four broad categories: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you\u2019ve identified the pain point (or points) that your brand can solve for them, you can start creating content that helps guide them to you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s say your brand offers an HR tech<\/a> solution, and many of your current customers found you because they needed a streamlined way to manage hiring and payroll (a process pain point).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n You would then start developing blog posts around that topic. You\u2019ll also want to include keyword research and SEO research in your headline development process, so you ensure that you\u2019re using keywords that will actually bring people to your site. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When you\u2019ve done that keyword research, potential headlines could be things like: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Focus on solving the customer\u2019s problems, and the results will follow. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In other words, why should consumers pick your product or services over competitors? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Use content to differentiate your brand. What makes you the expert? <\/p>\n\n\n\n This is a great place for customer testimonials. Include these on your website, blog posts, and on social media. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Again, always focus on the customer while emphasizing your strengths. Show them how your company will invest in their story and success. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While blogs and social media posts are critical elements of any content strategy, case studies, white papers, infographics, ebooks, and videos should also be in your content marketing arsenal. You\u2019ll know which formats to invest in first from your customer surveys and buyer persona research. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Blogs, like the one you\u2019re reading right now, work best when they\u2019re updated frequently\u2014aim for three times a week. Again, look to your audience for inspiration on what to write about. Write how you speak, clearly and directly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Case studies <\/a>are a great way to show your value by sharing real-life examples of your company helping customers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Publish stories that your ideal customers can relate to. Use an easy to read format\u2014bulleted lists of results, for example, rather than lengthy paragraphs\u2014and be as specific as possible. We recommend dedicating one page on your website to case studies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Infographics are great when you have data to share from a recent report or survey. Videos are most likely to be shared<\/a> on social media above any other type of content. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Think about which channels are most relevant to your target audience. For example, one brand may have more success reaching consumers on Instagram, while another should focus their efforts on LinkedIn. Be selective\u2014don\u2019t worry about being active on every single channel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Or rather, how often can you share quality<\/em> content? <\/p>\n\n\n\n When formulating your content marketing strategy, it\u2019s important to figure out the management side. Determine who is responsible for what content, where it will be published, and when. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You can\u2019t manage content at random; you need a detailed content strategy<\/a>. Work out the titles, dates, content type, content status, authors, and so on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Be sure to keep an inventory of published and posted content, too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Keyword research is the bread and butter of content marketing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s how we figure out which topics are trending, timeless, or to be avoided. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Look at the actual words and phrases people are using when they search for information on the web. You can find this out with Google Keyword Planner<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Then, you can see what keywords customers are searching that lead them to your site using a tool like Google Analytics<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n By leaning on these keywords, you can create content that will show up on search results. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The best social media content is shareable social media content. You want your content to drive audience engagement<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Some examples are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The customer journey doesn\u2019t stop after you\u2019ve made a sale. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s vital to keep the dialogue going. Create content that helps customers best use <\/em>your products and services. Share creative ways your customers are putting your products to work, or what to do when your product has reached the end of its life (maybe you have a return-and-recycle policy). <\/p>\n\n\n\n This helps build trust and customer loyalty. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Content marketing is not immune to the cultural landscape that defines today\u2019s headlines. You can use this to your advantage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Keep your audience and your customers engaged by using contemporary, inclusive, and energizing content. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\u2019t alienate, and find ways to celebrate the energy of progress. We are living in an era of instant and often overwhelming change. Brands that can participate authentically in the important conversations\u2014showing up for their customers to support them, not sell to them\u2014are the ones that will be able to gain greater market share, and hold on to it as time goes on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Evergreen content is not time-sensitive and continues to be relevant long past its publication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This type of content is valuable because it can be shared and built on again and again. You can get lots of mileage out of this type of content because once you create it, it can continue working for you indefinitely. Some of the most valuable evergreen content\u2014in Zen\u2019s case, that\u2019s a blog post answering 60 of the most commonly asked digital marketing questions<\/a>. We first posted it back in 2014, updating regularly as information changes. Throughout the past six years, however, it\u2019s continued to bring people to our site. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The best evergreen content is often in the form of listicles (like that blog post), tips, and how-to content, both written and visual (like videos and infographics). Remember to choose the right keywords, optimize for SEO, and use simple and clear language. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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