Give the Gift of Great Content
Content, content, content! That’s the buzzword on everyone’s lips right now, and for good reason. Content has given companies a way to reach people outside of traditional ad techniques to spread information, keep audiences engaged, and even influence buying decisions. Whether you’re using your content to establish your brand as a thought leader or just providing entertainment, high quality content is the gift that keeps on giving. But when we talk about having great content, it’s more than just writing great articles or taking dynamic photos.
Getting the most out of your content requires a well developed content marketing strategy. This strategic marketing approach involves aligning your content with your brand’s business goals to drive audience engagement, sales, increase website traffic, and more. It’s all about reaching the right people at the right time. When crafting your content marketing strategy, it’s important to understand what you bring to the table. Think about what your brand has to say and how it can benefit your audience – then put in a format that will resonate with your audience.
If you have something to say, you can create great content.
Producing content for your brand can happen one of two ways: through in-house produced content or externally produced content.
Content produced in-house includes things like blog posts, ebooks, videos, website copy, social media posts – pretty much anything that comes directly from your brand. Content produced in-house gives you a chance to show the world what you know and gives your audience an inside look at what makes your brand tick. Content that comes directly from your brand will have your brand voice all over it, and you’ll want to pay attention to how people respond. It will also help boost your credibility. Let people know what you know! Giving your audience a chance to hear your voice will give you a more genuine way to connect with your audience, no matter what you’re presenting.
If you want to get your audience in on the action, take the ‘externally produced’ route. This type of content covers user generated content, product testimonials – pretty much anything generated for your brand by your audience. Don’t be fooled – this type of content is equally as important as your in-house content. The main reason? People trust other people more than they trust brands. User generated content helps potential users see that your brand is real and authentic – that what you promise about your product and/or service is true. We spoke a little bit about this in our 5 Marketing Trends to be Thankful For post. User generated content is extremely influential when it comes to establishing genuine relationships with your audience. Testimonials and reviews give your audience a voice to express themselves. Fun user engagement campaigns on social media can help you interact with your audience in a fun way and show a different side of your brand.
No matter which route you decide to take, remember – content is all about authenticity.
Some 77% of companies have already implemented some sort of marketing strategy, so if you haven’t jumped on board yet, now is the time! Creating and implementing a content strategy can really level up your brand. For one, people are paying less and less attention to ads – and ads are just about everywhere. We see them on websites we visit, in our emails, and in the middle of funny YouTube videos we’re watching. And, more often than not, people start to skip over or ignore these ads because they aren’t seen as helpful; they’re just seen as an interruption. People also want to feel like they’re being genuinely spoken to and not always being sold on something. In short, they want a brand who cares about them. So let them know you care!
When you’re putting together your content strategy, really think about what kind of content will resonate with your audience. You’ll also want to think about your customer personas and speak to them in a voice and tone that will relate to them. After all, you wouldn’t talk to a lawyer the same way you’d talk to a TikTok influencer, would you? Audiences are looking for a genuine connection with the brands they love. Producing content that is curated for them will help you build brand loyalty.
Content Marketing is 3x more efficient than traditional outbound marketing.
Now that we’ve talked about why it’s good to have a content marketing strategy, let’s get into the how-to of it all. What tools do you need to get your content marketing strategy going?
Quality Content. We’ve thrown around that phrase in this entire post, but understand the flexibility that you have with this. Your content doesn’t have to be all new all the time. Repurposing and updating your existing content can be just as effective as creating something entirely new. 51% of companies have said that repurposing existing content has proven to be an effective strategy. That means taking some of those existing whitepapers and making them into an eBook for your prospective clients, creating a visual presentation from an old blog post, or creating case studies from internal data. Whether you’re creating something new or repurposing something old, pay close attention to figure out what your audience will relate to so your content is received well.
Analytics. As with everything in marketing, it’s important to measure your strategy’s successes (or setbacks) so you can find the most effective ways to move forward. Analytics that you can find on social media and your website can show you how people are engaging with your content. You can also measure success through people’s responses to testimonials, comments on social media posts, blogs, etc. It will key you into their thoughts and help you, as a brand, make the shifts necessary to better serve your audience.
Time. Giving your audience great content doesn’t stop at producing quality content. It also needs to be consistent as well. Part of showing your audience you care is not leaving them hanging. Producing quality content requires time and commitment. If you’re eager about getting your brand’s content strategy, that’s great! But make sure you’re setting realistic goals for your team. Writing copy, creating videos, and other forms of content take time, so be sure you’re not taking on too much too fast.
Remember, the goal for giving your audience great content is providing valuable, consistent, and relevant resources for your audience. There are so many pieces to developing your perfect content strategy that it can seem daunting. That’s where we come in. If you want to get great content started for your brand but you aren’t sure where to begin, contact our team to get started! Here at Creative Juice, we have great copywriters and content strategists to help you with KPIs and content types to take your brand to the next level. Get in touch with us today and we’ll be happy to work with you to get the creative juices flowing! 🍑
