Content marketing: everything you need to know about this (wonderful) strategy
Nowadays, consumers spend more and more time on their laptops, smartphones, tablets, etc. It is crucial for businesses to have an online presence and to attract consumers to the products and services they offer. Today, it is thus essential to put in place a content marketing strategy. It must be regular and offer content that will attract the interest of your prospects. This differs from traditional advertising, which is considered way too invasive by consumers.
In a previous article, we have shared 5 tips for better visibility on social networks. Today, we would like to explain why implementing a content marketing strategy can have a positive impact on your business.
“70% of consumers prefer to discover a brand through original and creative content” (Source: Hubspot.fr)
As several surveys have shown, implementing a content marketing strategy will allow you to increase the number of visitors to your website, improve your online visibility, etc. This is why in this article we are going to explain the fundamentals of content marketing and the reasons why you should adopt it today!
Table of contents
1. What is content marketing?
Content marketing is a long-term strategy based on the creation and the sharing of content. It offers many advantages. First of all, it will help you generate traffic to your website because it increases your visibility on search engines. Developing visitor loyalty and online awareness are also two very interesting aspects provided by content marketing. To be effective, it must be carried out at regular periods and the proposed content must bring added value to your prospects and customers.
The main goal of content marketing is to generate consumer interest in your business by offering content that will attract their attention. This additional visibility will allow you to increase traffic to your website, boost your sales, enhance your brand awareness, etc.
“26% of the marketing budget is allocated to Content Marketing” (Source: youlovewords.com)
Thanks to digital marketing, you can now interact with your consumers in a way that was not possible with traditional marketing. Consumers can select the content they are most interested in. Content marketing will allow you to reach your audience like never before.
Implement a content marketing strategy
In order to carry out a successful content campaign, it is essential that you first identify your target audience. Once this has been determined, it is essential that you identify their expectations. You need to put yourself in their shoes and understand what they are interested in, the problems they are facing, etc. Now that you have identified the sensitive points, you can personalize the content you are going to offer to best meet your audience’s expectations.
Here are some points to keep in mind while determining your content strategy:
- Get to know your audience,
- Find out what she does on social networks,
- Test different content formats to see which ones perform the best,
- Publish content adapted to the social network you use,
- Don’t use excessively precise jargon,
- Create exclusive and interesting content,
- Attract your audience with a catchy title and striking images.
Developing an effective editorial strategy will enable you to create content that adds value for your prospects. As a result, it will foster their commitment and, ultimately, their loyalty. Don’t forget to set yourself realistic objectives so that you can follow the development of your strategy.
2. Segmenting the audience
In order to offer more value to your audience, it is important to personalize your message. To do this, segmentation is an important element to consider when you are implementing your global strategy. It is also an important part of your content marketing strategy.
Segmentation represents the separation, by nature and interests, of your audience into subgroups. It will allow you to identify the needs of your audience and to create content adapted to their expectations. Thanks to segmentation, you will have the opportunity to identify the subgroups most interested in what you offer. In this way, you will be able to reach your target group much more effectively. The advantage is that, once your segmentation has been carried out, it will be much easier for you to create content that will interest them. In a few words, segment as much as possible. The more subgroups you have, the more you can adapt your communication to their expectations. You will thus be able to provide them with customization that will generate greater value.
In order to correctly identify what your target audience is looking for, do not hesitate to use free tools such as “Answer the public” and keyword planning tools. It is also interesting to know that many social media provide information about the geographical area and the behavior of the audience. This allows you, once again, to learn more about your target group and to best meet their expectations.
3. The most popular types of online content
The content offered online can take many different forms. Each format has its advantages to motivate, teach or entertain your consumers and enhance your expertise in your sector. Remember that, once again, the main goal of content marketing is to reach your audience. Once they are reached, they will be interested, learn, share and, in the best-case scenario, even become part of your customer base. The type of content you will use is a crucial element in the effectiveness of your communication. In fact, the choice of content will depend on your objectives, your targets and the type of information you wish to convey.
Let’s now take a look at the most frequently observed formats. There are many of them, but here we will focus on the most popular ones. Publications on social networks such as Facebook, Linkedin, Instagram, etc. will help you have direct interaction with your target. Articles published on your blog will support your expertise in the sector in which you operate. You will have the opportunity to offer tutorials, etc. that will bring value to your potential customers. The creation of a newsletter will give you the opportunity to get in direct contact with, once again, your prospects. You will inform them of your news, the publication of your articles on the blog, … Finally, videos represent content that is very easily consumable by users. However, there are still many formats such as webinars that allow you to demonstrate your expertise live, podcasts that are still relatively unused and competitions, …
4. The creation of the content
There is no “magic” recipe for the content you will offer your customers. The right methodology to adopt depends on the audience you have in front of you. However, here are a few tips for creating content that will interest your audience.
First of all, start by creating a teaser that will directly interest the consumer and make him or her want to learn more about what you offer. These days, we are all bombarded with information on the internet. It is thus essential to attract the attention of the people you are targeting. When you are writing, always keep in mind your target audience and what you want to offer them. Always remember that you want to interest your audience, not bombard them with advertising messages.
It is essential to include call-to-action in your messages. These can be for example “subscribe to our newsletter today”, “subscribe to XXX”, ” Follow us on Instagram “, etc. Call-to-actions are short sentences that are intended to invite the consumer to carry out an action. Try to be as creative and persuasive as possible, all the while not forgetting your strategy.
Constantly developing content and not running out of inspiration is a task that can scare many people off. First of all, it can be interesting to be inspired by the topics your competitors are talking about. When doing your research, don’t hesitate to make a list of the different topics that inspire you the most. Another option would be to use tools such as “Answer the public”. This allows you to insert a keyword and get the most frequently used searches with these words. Once you have this list, you can create content that really interests consumers. The keyword planning tool allows you to see how many people are searching for a specific keyword.
“27 million pieces of content are shared around the world every day” (Source: e-marketing.fr)
Lastly, determine a consistent writing style that you want your consumers to associate directly with your brand. Don’t hesitate to highlight your qualities and enthusiasm in your communication.
5. Promotion of the content
The main goal when you create content on your networks is for it to be seen and understood by as many people as possible. An essential element before you start promoting your content is understanding your target audience. This will help you define an effective strategy. In addition, you need to identify the channels that are most frequently used. These can be classified into the following 3 categories:
- Private channels: these are the channels you manage yourself. For example, we can find your social networks, your blog, your newsletter, … Promoting your content on your private channels is a cost-effective solution.
- Public channels: these are channels managed by a third party. For example, we can find the sharing of your content on another company’s blog. This type of channel allows you to increase the reach and credibility of your content.
- Paid channels: these are the channels you have to pay for. They allow you, depending on your budget and your objectives, to target a specific audience.
In order to always have a precise idea of the content you are going to publish online, it is important to draw up an editorial calendar. It will ensure you a clear and regular production of content. It should contain information such as what content is to be posted online and when it is to be published. There are many online planning tools that will allow you to automate some steps. The creation of this editorial calendar will provide your entire team with a clear and structured overview of your publication schedule. To make it efficient, edit a realistic schedule. It must be possible to meet the objectives within an acceptable timeframe. Do not hesitate to highlight important dates. Major events or public holidays are days that should not be missed. And don’t neglect any channels. Keep in mind that there are synergies between them. For example, when you publish a blog article, don’t hesitate to promote it on your social network.
6. Analyse the results of your campaign
Last but not least, analyse your results! Don’t forget to check your objectives regularly. By keeping an eye on them, you will have the opportunity to distinguish the elements that work best in your campaigns. This step will allow you to be much more effective. Check, for each of your objectives, whether you can measure or monitor them. Here is an example of objectives that can be tracked: “increase the number of visitors to the website by 15%”, “increase the number of subscribers to Instagram by 20%”, etc. Once these have been clearly stated, it will be easier for you to analyse them.
“61% of marketers believe their #1 priority is to better measure and analyse their web marketing efforts” (Source: youlovewords.com)
Analysing statistics through tools such as Google Analytics will also allow you to learn more about your target group. You will have the opportunity to analyse the location, gender and age of your visitors. You will also have access to information such as the time they spend on your page and the keywords they entered to find you. This data analysis will allow you to determine the content that best suits the profile of your target audience. Some interesting KPIs to analyse are:
- The number of pages viewed: this indicator allows you to know the most popular pages of your website.
- The time spent by the prospect on the page: this indicator will enable you to determine whether the page is read in its entirety by the prospect.
- The bounce rate: this indicator will tell you whether or not visitors travel to your website.
In conclusion, as you have certainly understood throughout this article, the implementation of a content marketing strategy is essential for your company. The various tips you will have encountered in this article such as segmenting your audience, identifying the types of content most appropriate for your sector, the different tools for creating content, ways to promote your creations and finally analysing your results will allow you to attract new prospects to your channels and increase your popularity. Once again, don’t forget to identify the elements that are most successful and those that are least successful with your customers. It is only through this analysis phase that you will be able to evolve and become more and more successful. So, don’t wait any longer and launch yourself now into the wonderful world of content marketing!
Feel free to comment if you’ve heard of content marketing before! Have you ever realised that you are constantly confronted with it when you are on the internet? We look forward to hearing from you!
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