Content marketing can be an effective way to position your business as a thought leader and help build a reputation for your product/service. One in three marketers cite content creation as their biggest challenge. Following are insights from content experts:
Focus on Educating Rather Than Selling:
- Ninety percent of top content marketers put their audience’s informational needs ahead of their business’s sales message.
- Share your expertise about topics relevant to your industry, regardless of whether or not your readers buy your product/service.
- Content that is more educational than promotional is an important quality reviewed during the purchase decision-making process.
Be Specific and Honest:
- Content that speaks to specific needs is another quality that decision-makers consider before a purchase.
- Forge a connection by focusing on solutions to obstacles with which you have also faced.
- An honest account of how a business has worked to overcome issues can build trust and can be more compelling than content that reads like marketing copy.
Let the Function Dictate the Format:
- Consider which format best suits who you’re trying to reach and the material you’re presenting; oftentimes, one topic can be presented in multiple ways.
- A blog post that summarizes a webinar is a quick read and more shareable than an hour long recording.
- Information can be condensed even more into an attention-getting infographic that makes a complex subject more accessible.
Businesses are finding that focusing on the needs of their audience is the basis of a strong content strategy. The key is remembering it must be engaging in order to be effective.
Source: Research conducted by Smartbrief and the Content Marketing Institute