For a while, the key to content seemed to be quantity over quality. Statistics still show that Google prefers posts of 1,890 words or more. Even so, any marketing professional will tell you that it’s the caliber of your writing that really counts.The marketing landscape has changed dramatically in the past decade. Consumers are looking for a deeper connection with the companies they buy from. Therefore, the content you produce has a huge impact on the buyer and potential conversion.
So, how do you create content that speaks to your target audience and sticks in their minds? Throughout this article, we’ll look at content from an SEO perspective and discuss what steps to take in your content marketing strategy.
Build Brand Awareness with Your Content
Perhaps one of the first and most crucial things your content does is introduce your brand to potential customers. Your content is in every part of your online presence, from lengthy blog entries to 280-character Twitter posts. Everything you publish online tells the story of your brand.
Some businesses rely on their landing page alone, but this could lead to trouble. Statistics show that the average consumer reads 3 to 5 pieces of content before committing to buy. Therefore, every piece of content you develop should be created with the same careful planning.
The Marketing HourglassTM customer journey outlines a marketing process that helps your brand stick in the minds of shoppers, like duct tape. The journey has seven stages, including:
- Marketing (Know, Like, Trust): Building brand awareness with your content fits perfectly into this stage of the buyer’s journey. It’s the first and last impression you leave on a consumer. This is where you earn customer interest, show them who you are, and build brand loyalty.
- Sales (Try, Buy): Once potential buyers know who you are and trust your process, they want to try your products. This is the “try and buy” stage.
- Service (Repeat, Refer): After the customer buys, your content helps convert them from a first-time buyer to a return buyer. It also encourages referrals to new potential customers.
Nurture Leads with Your Content
Consumers perceive content differently at each stage. So, you can nurture leads with different types of content depending on where they are along this journey.
The Marketing Stages: During the Know, Like, and Trust stages, the best content to use is that which grabs attention, builds trust, and forges potential customer loyalty. For example:
- Upbeat blog posts
- An informative landing page
- Infographics
- eBooks
- FAQs
The Sales Stages: Here, content should serve as an incentive to Try and Buy. For this, use:
- Customer review videos
- Product descriptions with free trials
- BOGO campaigns
- eBooks
- Webinars
The Service Stages: Once your customer buys, the content you create needs to persuade them to Repeat or buy again and to Refer others to try and buy. This is best implemented with:
- Promotional offers
- Referral reward information
- Social media posts
- Newsletters
- Exclusive emails
Tips for Crafting Better Content
Now that you know why content is integral to your marketing strategy, here are some tips to consider.
Write to Your Audience: Defining your target audience is Marketing 101. Content that is relevant to your market attracts those who are more likely to buy, and it helps Google rank you more accurately. To better write for your audience, create a buyer persona with a problem your product could solve.
Research Keywords: The keywords you place in blogs and social media posts help consumers find you. Short keyword phrases with 2–3 words have more competition in their niche. Long-tail keywords are more specific and account for 70% of all searches. Keywords should be relevant to your audience and brand.
Be Consistent: Google knows a website is authentic by how active it is. Websites that don’t show regularly published content could be deemed less important than ones that have consistent posts. Similarly, a customer who stumbles upon a website with year-old information might assume that the business isn’t active.