The key to a good marketing campaign is consistently producing content that your audience can relate to, identify with, and persuade them to take action. But what are some of the best strategies to help you achieve this level of connection?
Market research is often the part of the marketing budget that gets cut first, and the impact of this isn’t seen until the campaign doesn’t connect the way it was meant to. This blog post takes a look at the best ways to put your audience at the center of your content marketing and the benefits of this approach.
The key to a good marketing campaign is consistently producing content that your audience can relate to, identify with, and persuade them to take action. But what are some of the best strategies to help you achieve this level of connection?
Market research is often the part of the marketing budget that gets cut first, and the impact of this isn’t seen until the campaign doesn’t connect the way it was meant to. This blog post and podcast episode takes a look at the best ways to put your audience at the center of your content marketing and the benefits of this approach.
Shifting from FOR to WITH — Creating content for your audience
Traditionally, marketing teams generate content like whitepapers, blog posts or lead magnets based on internal brainstorming sessions, which can sometimes become somewhat detached from the audience’s perspective or reality. This content is assumed to be what the audience wants, rather than truly knowing it’s what they want because it was created collaboratively.
The crucial distinction lies in not just creating content for your audience, but with them.
Rather than relying on guesswork, the most effective strategy can be to directly engage with your audience. By involving them in the content creation process, you empower them to become content creators themselves.
This collaborative approach results in content that aligns with what they need and want from you, ensuring a more impactful connection.
A shift in approach — Ask questions instead of providing answers
Positioning your brand as a knowledge leader doesn’t mean always presenting solutions. Instead, try approaching topics with curiosity, asking questions rather than providing answers. This approach can still establish you as an expert, but one who doesn’t always know the answer. Instead, you’re open to dialogue, collecting information, discovering the answers, and delivering them to your audience in the format they prefer.
TOP TIP:
Audience segmentation is a powerful strategy that can be hugely helpful. By identifying subgroups within the target audience, based on factors such as company size or revenue, you can craft very specific, tailored messaging, building trust and fostering stronger connections.
Best types of content to create with your audience
Podcasts can be an excellent platform for collaborative content creation. By featuring members of your target audience as guests, you not only generate engaging content but also tap into their existing networks when they share repurposed content from the episode (be sure to do this for maximum exposure!)
It doesn’t have to be a podcast. Perhaps you can interview your audience on your webinars, or a video series — the point is that you can interview your audience to create content whatever the anchor content is.
Another method of involving your audience in your content is to run surveys. By posing industry-specific questions, you gather insightful data that can be repurposed into valuable content — like blog posts, social content or infographics for example, that you can share with those that contributed and your wider audience. Additionally, surveys provide multiple touchpoints for brand awareness and open the door to ongoing conversations and relationship building.
In conclusion
Place your audience at the forefront of your content creation process. By shifting from creating content for your audience, to creating it with them — asking questions instead of only providing answers, and leveraging collaborative content types like podcasts and surveys you can establish a genuine connection that resonates with your audience.
The conversation continues on The Content 10x Podcast.
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