Content Marketing is a great way to relate to your customers and potential customers in this internet infused world. By creating and distributing valuable and consistent streams of relevant information you will attract the customers you’re looking for. However, there’s a lot more to content marketing than just posting on a blog and hoping for the best.
Companies like Portside Marketing in Dallas, Texas are experts at content marketing. They excel at helping their clients get the attention that they desire through content marketing. Now you can learn how to take your content marketing to the next level based upon their success.
Customers and Content Marketing
Taking your content marketing to the next level requires focus, dedication, refinement, and drive. The first thing that you’ll need to do is pay close attention to customer personas. Any marketing strategy focuses on the needs of the customer. By having a clear vision of the customer persona you wish to attract, you can take your content above and beyond what you thought was possible.
Before you can hone in on your ideal customer persona, you need to understand what a customer persona is. Think of it as your imaginary target customer. You can create this persona by identifying key information. First, talk to existing customers. Learn about their decision making process. Find out what brought them to you and what they like about your product or service. You can also study web analytics. Find out how people are finding your website, how long they’re spending on your site, and what links they click. Go to events and have discussions with potential customers that you would like to attract. Events also help you see what your competition is doing and how they’re attracting customers.
Once you figure out your customer persona you’ll have more information about how you can reach them. Remember that your goal is to create great content that will bring value to these customers.
Building a Content Marketing Strategy
When creating your content marketing strategy, incorporate the whole team. Creativity flows better from a group than an individual. Regular meetings can help enhance creativity across the team while building connections. Each member of your team will be able to bring a unique perspective and their own experiences to the table. Having a variety of views is important in creating a better customer base.
As you build your content marketing strategy you’ll want to keep in mind your brand values. Think about what your brand will represent to your target customer. Your content should reflect core brand values and be easily recognizable to your customers. In addition to providing valuable information, you also want to connect with your customers to build loyalty.
Putting Your Content Marketing Strategy into Effect
You’ve got your target customer persona and input from your team for your content marketing strategy. By now you will have a good idea of what content will be valuable to your customers. To put your strategy into action you’ll now need to set a schedule. This is where many companies start to fall behind. You want your customers to be able to expect regular communications from you. This creates a relationship and they will look forward to your new content. This also helps increase engagement which is a big goal of content marketing.
Create a schedule that will work for you without being too demanding. You don’t want to fall behind and struggle with keeping up with your content. If your schedule is too frequent then your content may begin to decrease in quality. You want a predictable schedule that isn’t too demanding on your resources. You can also use scheduling tools to help post the information onto your social media pages. Remember that the better you are about sticking to your schedule, the more engagement you will receive.
Maximizing Your Content Marketing Strategy
Content marketing doesn’t need to be limited to one specific medium. By using different mediums you are strengthening your brand and broadening your spectrum. Different people enjoy seeing information in different formats. Some may prefer reading a blog while others may prefer watching a video. By utilizing more than one type of content you will keep your information fresh for your customers and reach more people.
It’s easy to get sucked into a routine of playing it safe with your strategy. However, sometimes taking risks can be very rewarding. You don’t want to do the same thing that everyone else is doing. If you learn that all of your competitors are only making videos, then try making videos and blogging. If your competitors are using Twitter, try adding Instagram or other social media options. When it comes down to it, what works for everyone else may not necessarily work for you. Keep an open mind as you experiment with options. Monitor what channels provide you with the feedback and interaction that you strive for.
Don’t be afraid to occasionally mix things up for your company either. If videos have been a successful medium for you for several months, don’t get trapped in the idea. Consider other mediums even if your videos are doing well. The internet and your customer persona are constantly changing. By occasionally venturing out and trying different mediums you may find an additional method that works extremely well with your content marketing strategy.