In last week’s post we explained why measuring your content reach is very important for your brand. We continue with a three- part series spanning three more weeks, where we try to explain the steps you need to take in getting there with your content marketing.
Content is set to rule the marketing world for a long time- that’s a fact that need not be repeated. People are consuming content like never before, thanks to the global proliferation of internet services and the increased affordability of smartphones and portable gadgets. Many businesses have taken to content marketing to optimize conversions. Some have succeeded, others have not. So what is it that makes the difference?
Truth be told, there is no definite content marketing formula that can be copy-pasted across businesses. To create an effective content marketing strategy, a business has to understand what kind of content would draw the attention of its audience and benefit them in some way, suitably represent its products or its services, and speak for its brand values.
The first step to create content that clicks with your potential customers is to understand what kind of content works best for your industry and your clients or customers. Let’s take a quick look at a few industries and learn where they find opportunities to create content.
Content Platforms for Different Industries
Content should bring the company and the customers closer. Hence, it can’t be the same for businesses across the industry. You have to identify what works best for your sector based on who are your customers and what is your value proposition.
Software As A Service
As companies realized the benefits of cloud computing, the SAAS industry grew by leaps and bounds. If you are a SAAS provider, remember that your B2B customers stick to you as long as you solve their problems.
Your content should have a problem-solving approach. Since your audience is looking for software services, a sleek website that is easy to navigate and has an impressive interface is essential for giving a strong first impression.
How-to guides, e-books, video tutorials, and informative blogs should be your focus area. Divide your content into small segments, so that visitors can directly see if you address their specific concerns or not. Also, create a comprehensive list of Frequently Asked Questions, and offer swift technical support and advice through chats or mail.
Travel and Hospitality
The travel and hospitality industry relies heavily on the Internet for generating sales. Right from selecting the destination to booking tickets and choosing hotels and resorts, everything is done online.
Visual content weighs more as people want to check out the view that a café offers, or how the bath of a hotel suite looks like. Garnering positive reviews and feedbacks is also vital for effective marketing.
Apparels and Cosmetics
When it comes to the world of fashion, the written words are as important as the photos and videos showcasing beautiful outfits and trendy make-up. That’s because consumers want to know about the fabric and sizing of outfits, the method-of-application of cosmetics, etc.
You can also create blogs about the latest fashion trends, guides about dressing etiquettes for different occasions, videos of make-up tutorials- consumers actually use them for styling purposes!
Home Improvement
When it comes to home improvement, the customer wants value-for-money service, but they are doubtful about the kind of service that they will receive. If you are in such a business, your content has to be explanatory and focus on the features and benefits of your services. You also want to assure your prospective customers than you won’t create chaos in their homes, for which you should focus on collecting testimonials from your customers and featuring it on your front page.
Tailor Content To Suit Your Target Customers
At the end of the day, the content is made for the customers. By knowing who they are, what are they searching for on your website, and how they interact with content- you can create content that’s highly relevant and logical for them.
Content for B2B versus B2C audience
As content consumers, we come across a lot of visuals and texts directed at the B2C audience. B2C content often has a lot of entertainment value. The marketers often try to garner more likes and shares and want viewers to remember their ad campaigns. For instance, they make interesting videos with a compelling storyline or popular faces.
However, if you are a B2B company foraying into content marketing for the first time, understand that you have to create content quite differently. Your content has to be more informative, and direct. Your target audience is searching for definite solutions; straightaway tells them how your products and services solve their problems.
Cultural Challenges
The economy has become more global, and many industries and firms have clients and customers of different geographies and ethnicities. Navigating the maze of different cultures and languages is a challenge for business and content marketers. You would have to make critical decisions; you might have to get the same content translated into different languages or create entirely an entirely new content theme for the audience in another country.
For instance, South Asian and East Asian countries emphasize family values a lot, so Coca-cola had video ads showing families celebrating festivals together while sipping the soft drink!
Cultural preferences matter not just in videos and images, but also blogs and websites. For instance, Scandinavians prefer minimalist, text-rich content, while Eastern countries like colors and pop-up texts! Localizing your content makes it more impactful; hence understanding the cultural nuances could boost your marketing efforts.
Content Preferences of Different Age Groups
It has been observed that younger folks prefer to watch videos, while older people are more interested in reading. So it pays to scrutinize the percentage make up of different age groups in your target audience. Accordingly, you can decide whether you want more focus on videos and pictures, or blogs and e-books.
Conclusion
Content marketing is a dynamic space. Apart from learning what suits your industry, you also have to keep a grip on new trends. But a few things shall always remain the same. One of them is consistency. Release new and meaningful content regularly.
And of course, address the concerns of your customers- that is always the best marketing strategy! Engage with your customer to know their pulse. Answer their questions on your website or social media, and use their feedback to drive your marketing efforts in the right direction.