As with many things in life, knowing how to start, or deciding how to start can seem daunting when it comes to content marketing. Marketing has changed and evolved over the years, the old way of attracting new clients has gone the way of the dodo. Having a great product or service isn’t simply enough these days (albeit is a good start!). You need to be an industry expert, thought leader, and authority in your field and you need to be able to demonstrate it. Doing so will make you the go-to source for your industry, grow your audience, and bring prospective clients to you (inbound marketing).
When you look at content marketing, what makes it successful? Successful content marketing must clearly communicate your brand’s voice tailored to your target audience and be highly engaging. When executed well, content marketing will increase brand awareness, grow your audience bringing new customers, drive revenue, and help ensure brand loyalty.
First – Make Content a Priority
I’m both a night owl and an early bird. How does that work? Honestly, I’ve never needed much sleep and friends referred to me as a “sleepless elite,” which is someone who doesn’t need 7 or more hours of sleep.
Or, as ZME Science words it: “For a small group of people, seven or eight hours of sleep per night is an unnecessary luxury; they are the short sleepers, night owls and early birds at the same time. You probably know one or two of them – they pretty much always go to sleep somewhere after 12 and wake up earlier than 7 without an alarm clock (ZME Science).”
I know that I’m a bit off-topic here and you may be asking where I am going with this. To answer your unspoken question, I’m headed towards habits and how we form them.
I tend to fall asleep around 2 or 3 am and wake up around 7 am. That being said, my three kids tend to wake up around 7 am every morning as well. My favorite way to start the day is to wake up around 5 am, grab a cup of coffee, go through emails, schedule a social media post or two, and enjoy a few hours of quiet before the kids wake up. The trouble is, I have a hard time waking up at 5 am every morning. In order to do so, I am working on making it a habit.
How do we form a habit? “The 21/90 rule states that it takes 21 days to make a habit and 90 days to make it a permanent lifestyle change (Activeiron).” More plainly worded, we make it a priority and do it daily to make it a priority.
When it comes to content marketing or anything in business (life) you’d like to see a change (improvement) on, you need to make it a priority and you need to stick with it. Over time, it becomes easier, more fluid, and less painful. You may not see the desired results right away, but if you stick with it, you’ll achieve the results you’re looking for.
Next – Set Your Goals
Or, as I like to word it, set your intentions. “By being intentional you’ll enjoy the journey as much as the destination, and therefore bring more joy to everything you’re doing. Intentions really act as a reminder of how you want to show up in the world and live each day. They give you the purpose to show up to meet your goals(nataliesisson)!”
Knowing your intentions defines where you would like your content marketing to lead? Why does your content exist and what do you want your audience to do with it once they digest it? What value are you expecting your content marketing to bring to your business? Are you looking to increase your brand awareness, grow your audience, gain new customers, and increase sales?
Then – Know your Audience and use Clear Communication that they’ll Understand
We mentioned that successful content marketing uses your brand’s voice tailored to your audience. We know that you think content creation is easy until you try to do it for a week or two. Remember, you’re writing content for people who are not familiar with your industry and do not understand your industry-specific lingo.
Identifying the key characteristics of your ideal customer, target audience, is crucial to any good content marketing campaign. Optimize your keyword for your target audience; they help determine how you will attract, engage, and convert your target audience.
Social media provides ample opportunity to really hone in on your audience. Take advantage of this and use it to its fullest potential. You can identify different characteristics from geographic, demographic, and psychographic variables, even life events (such as starting a new job, newlywed, and more).
Lastly (for now) – Brush Up on you Research Skills
Let’s face it, none of us know it all. You are able to be an expert and still have room to learn and grow. Research different areas of your industry that you may not fully understand, keep an ear to the ground to learn what’s on the horizon, see what your competition is doing. There is virtually a limitless opportunity to learn and grow.
Bonus: Just Post It
I saw a post earlier in regards to a gentleman who went viral on TikTok by skateboarding down the road to work while lip-syncing a Fleetwood Mac song and drinking Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice. Fleetwood Mac acknowledged him and Ocean Spray signed him onto their team. The gentleman mentioned Gary Vee is an inspiration of his and that he once said to just post it. Don’t worry about what others think of the content you create and post, you never know who it may connect with, who may need it.
Content Marketing is deep and rich. The opportunity to create relatable and engaging content for your audience knows no bounds. This article has some tips for kickstarting your content marketing journey. What else would you do to launch your content marketing journey?
I bet you didn’t think we would find a way got wrap in some self-improvement and habit creation into an article on content marketing, did you?
Until next time, keep smiling.
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