Build trust and customer relationships with quality content
There is no such thing as a captive audience in the digital world. Both consumer and business decision-makers have almost endless options for consuming content, so why would they choose your website, blog or social media feed over hundreds of others?
If you have attracted visitors and followers, the good news is that people are looking for information that you can provide. Now, the trick is to deliver that information to keep them engaged.
Here are a few tips to get you started:
Do your research
Find out what your target audience is seeking when they visit your website or follow your social media. There are a variety of techniques for gathering this information, but it is simplest to start with your existing customers. Mine your customer data and look for patterns in buying behavior, demographics and more. When a customer calls, use that opportunity to ask a few key questions about their needs and preferences to get a better idea of how you can create content that solves their pain points.
Know what’s working and what isn’t
Audit your website, blog and social media reports to get an idea of the content that has engaged your audience in the past. Look at length of time spent reading a page or blog, click-throughs and shares for clues about the topics that resonate most with your audience. Build your future content strategy around these engaging topics.
Fill in the gaps
Use your research to add content topics that meet specific needs identified by your customers and potential buyers. Deliver content that solves specific pain points or challenges identified by different types of buyers.
Dig deeper
When you have the opportunity, provide in-depth analysis and insight in your content. White papers, e-books and longer blog features can be a great way to go beyond the basics on a topic and show off your company’s expertise on a subject area. Statistics show that longer content (1,500 words) is shared more often. This type of deeper content can help you establish a relationship with that customer, who will come back to you as a trusted source on that topic.
Share; don’t sell
Potential buyers are coming to you for industry information and solutions to their problems, so give them content they can use. Of course you want them to eventually buy your product, but your content is the first step in establishing your company as the right solution to their pain points. In a nutshell, save the sales pitch for another time and keep your content marketing channels full of useful information for readers.
To learn more about crafting an effective integrated marketing strategy, contact Campfire Digital today.