How to Use Content Marketing to Connect with Your Audience

People love to consume content. And it’s everywhere these days. Most of us are glued to screens from the time we wake up until we fall asleep at night. The internet is where we get our information, get hooked on entertainment, and find things to buy.

As a brand, you need to be online, connecting with your target audience regularly. The best way to do that? Content marketing. It’s an organic way to engage with your audience and meet them where they are. You already know that they’re consuming content, so send them content that you create.

And, just to put some numbers to it, content marketing is one of the most utilized and effective forms of marketing. It generates over 3x as many leads as outbound marketing, costs 62% less, and conversion rates are nearly 6x higher for content marketing.

Why brands need content marketing

Content marketing is the process of creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content. It not only attracts and gains the attention of people interested in your brand, but it helps them engage, want to learn more, and ultimately buy from you. Yes, content can do all of that.

The right content can help people get to know you, like you, and trust you.

When you know who you’re marketing to, you know what kind of topics and information interests them. When you know those details about your audience, it gives you a better idea of what kind of content to create for them.

For instance, if someone wants to know more about incorporating healthy foods into their diet, and you’re a health and wellness expert, you can create content specifically for them. You can start an educational blog that includes easy and nutritious recipes, the best places to grocery shop, and how to start living a well-balanced life.

The best part? Content comes in all different shapes and sizes. That means you can take one piece of content, like a long-form blog post, and break the information down into different bite-size chunks that you can share on social media.

Say you write that blog outlining an easy and nutritious recipe – well, now you can share an image of how it turned out on Instagram or a video of you making it on Youtube. The content options are endless! And that’s the beauty of content marketing. It’s not one size fits all.

Plus, the more consistent you are with creating content, the more engagement you’ll get. You’ll naturally start to build up trust with your audience because they’ll find value in the content you’re providing.

How to come up with content marketing ideas

Are you sold on content marketing? Great. Here are some content marketing ideas to help you start creating content that your target audience is sure to love!

Do your market research

If you don’t have a buyer persona, then create one. If you want to create content that your audience wants to consume, you need to know who they are first!

What articles do they like to read? What social media channels are they on?

If you know who your audience is already and where they’re hanging out online, ask them what kind of content they’d like to see. That’s how you get the best answers!

Repurpose the content you already have

The great thing about creating content is that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel! Just because you write something once doesn’t mean you can’t ever write about it again. You should keep writing about a topic that your audience finds interesting.

If you repurpose a piece of content you have, you can also put it in a new format. It doesn’t have to be another blog post – you can create an infographic or a video!

Optimize your content for what people are searching for

Just like it helps to know who your clients are, it also helps to know what they’re searching for online. Knowing what keywords to target can help you write blog posts and web pages that show up on the first few pages of Google.

Check your website and social media analytics

If you’re already blogging and using social media, you want to check your analytics. Don’t create more content until you see what’s working! When you know what content performs well, you also know what topics your audience likes.

Use social media to your advantage

Social media is a form of content marketing and a great way to connect with your audience. Not only can you create shareable pieces of content, but you can learn more about what kind of content your audience likes to consume.

Try joining online groups and communities where your audience is hanging out and listen to what they’re saying and the topics they’re engaging with the most.

See what the rest of the industry is doing

It doesn’t hurt to follow the trends. Just as much as people love to consume content, they also love to follow trends. That means that it’s essential to stay up-to-date with what’s happening and join in on the conversation when appropriate!

Now, more than ever, it’s important to be relevant. So if there’s an important social issue going on, consider that in your content marketing efforts. Or if you have content scheduled, and something on a worldwide scale happens, press pause. Be present when creating content and taking part in the online conversation.

The different kinds of content you can create

There are plenty of different content types to choose from, but the kind of content you create should match your audience’s wants. Some popular content types include:

• Infographics: visuals are great to share on social media because it’s a fun way for people to consume information and engage with your content.
• Blogs: since blogs live on your website – you own the content you’re creating, which is a plus. Getting people to your website to read a blog post is also smart because it keeps them engaged and on your website.
• Podcasts: some people prefer to listen to content because it allows them to multitask, so a podcast is another great option to create content.
• Videos: Youtube channels are popular, and videos help people engage with your content because they get to see and hear from you.
• Social media: you have plenty of optionThe Importance of SEO in Pittsburghese: Red Flags N’at3 Reasons Why Our Work-Life Balance Directly Affects Your ResultsWordPress Maintenance: the Key to a Successful WebsiteThe Importance of SEO in Pittsburghese: Red Flags N’ats with social media because you get to create brand pages on various platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Youtube. Remember that you want to share content on a channel where your audience is already hanging out.

Content marketing works if you’re looking to connect and engage with your audience.

If you’re a brand interested in building long-term connections and relationships with your audience, then content marketing is the way to go. The right content can start a conversation with someone online.

If you post an entertaining video on social media that catches someone’s attention – that’s your brand forming a connection with them. Who knows? They might find your video so engaging that they decide to check out your Youtube channel. And after watching several videos, they might want to learn more, so they may check out your website. They may read your About page, scroll through your blog, and bookmark your website to go back to when they need your products or services. That’s the power of content marketing – it can help people get to know you, like you, and trust you in an organic way – and online of all places!

Are you interested in content marketing? We’re happy to chat about it with you and even create some content for you!