3 Critical Elements Of An Engaging Content Marketing Strategy

You have heard that a solid content marketing strategy can lead to a high level of customer engagement. But how does that happen, exactly?

If you haven’t developed your content marketing, here’s some motivation: a study by Clutch found that 80% of people made a purchase as a result of consuming business content.

You need a library of content that helps transition your target audience into leads and then into customers. Let’s talk about three elements you’ll need to make that happen:

An Understanding of Your Target Audience

In order to engage your audience, you need to know something about them. Your content won’t be effective if you don’t have a specific audience in mind. Begin by gathering information, such as gender, age, job role and hobbies, getting as detailed as you can in your investigation.

Next, divide your target audience into segments. Maybe there are multiple ways you can divide your audience. You might have different product lines that have their own target audiences.

The final step for advanced marketers is the buyer persona. This is when you develop an imaginary person, even giving them a name, that represents the segments of your target audience. You might be surprised how much easier it is to create content for a person you can see in your head than for a faceless group of people.

Adding Value

Don’t fall into one of the most common mistakes in content marketing. Too many companies see blogs, videos and emails as a way to trumpet their brand and how great they are. It’s like that person you always avoid at parties and family gatherings because they never stop bragging about their job, their kids, their vacations…you get the picture.

Instead, your content should be completely focused on how you can help your audience. It should share tips, answer questions or discuss something important happening in your industry. It’s not that you can’t ever talk about your product or service, but it should be in the context of helping your customers, such as a FAQs or a how-to, discussing little-known uses of your product.

Right Content, Right Time

One of the challenges of content marketing is knowing how to structure your topics. Think about your engagement as a funnel. At the widest part at the top, you have people who are simply gathering information because they are interested in your brand. At the bottom, smallest segment, you have those leads that just need to make a decision to convert.

The content you produce for those two groups should be different. For those at the top of the funnel, you’re simply building trust and providing value in items like an explainer video that discusses some problem-solving tips.

For those in the final decision-making process, you will want to provide content that includes testimonials or reviews.

The middle section of the funnel is where you include webinars, case studies and demonstrations.

Equally important is matching an appropriate call to action (CTA) for each stage of your sales funnel. In the initial interest phase, you’ll want them to subscribe to your emails or follow you on social media. By the end of the decision-making process, you are inviting them to contact a sales rep or visit your product page.

For more information on content marketing, or helpful tips to create more opportunity in your marketing strategy, be sure to check out our podcast on youtube, or follow us on our social networks.