Doing Content Marketing the Right Way

Are you new to content marketing? Believe it or not, you have probably been doing content marketing longer than you realize. Really. If you have a high school diploma and/or college degree, you created content in the form of essays or reports to pass. If you are employed, you created content and marketed yourself, starting with your resumé or CV. The content you created then reflected on you and your aptitude, so you probably put a lot of time and effort into making it look and sound good.

These life experiences benefit those of us who engage in content marketing. We learn early on about the vast difference that exists between creating content just for the sake of it and creating content that resonates with people. Content marketing is about sharing your message and attracting potential clients to your business through your writing, images or videos. If you are going to create content for your business, you need to do it right.

Doing content marketing the right way begins with finding your audience

Your audience, which includes your target market, will have a set of characteristics you should tap into and make your focus. You want a market who is receptive to your products and/or solutions. One way to determine who comprises your ideal client base is through creating personas, which are fictitious depictions of your real-life targets. This allows you to begin understanding the people who will benefit most from your content before you even begin marketing to them.

Doing content marketing the right way involves getting to know your audience

Now that you have found your target market, the next step is learning everything you can about them. Almost like dating, you want to know the full scoop about them so you can continue to impress and entice them. Seek to uncover information such as their pain points, needs and challenges. Having this type of knowledge works to your advantage; you can more easily create and share the content which “wows” them.

Doing content marketing the right way means engaging with your audience

Good content marketing should never, ever involve a post-it-and-forget-it strategy - especially after you find your target market’s sweet spot. When you fail to engage with potential clients, they will find someone else who will. Make sure to respond promptly to anyone who requests more information from you. As well, it is very good practice to respond to blog and/or social media comments, and to thank the people who share your posts.

 

Doing content marketing the right way sounds easy enough, right? I would love to hear your thoughts, too. Please feel free to leave a comment, email me at [email protected] or tweet me @jennghanford anytime.

 

Resources:

Etsy.com: http://www.etsy.com/blog/en/2013/how-to-find-your-target-market/

Image courtesy of  sheelamohan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net