Ask any successful marketer and they’ll tell you that content marketing is essential to creating a marketing strategy in 2022.
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The goal of content marketing is to establish your brand as a trusted resource for your audience by giving them the type of content they’re looking for online. This content can be useful, entertaining, topical, or even funny. But what’s important is that your audience finds value in the content you’re creating.
If you’re just starting out with content marketing it can seem overwhelming. What kind of content do you create? Where do you post it? Who even is your audience?
Don’t worry, with our 6 step guide… we’ve got you covered!
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Knowing your audience is key! The right audience is out there and wants to connect with you. Make it easy by producing content that makes sense for them. The best way to get to know your ideal audience is by talking to the people within your organization who talk to your customers all day. That means sales and service teams. They have the inside scoop on what your customers find important.
When it comes to your audience find out:
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Choosing the right platforms is essential to reaching the right audience. No one wants to be bothered with going out of their way to find answers to their problems. So find out where your audience is and give them those answers on a silver platter.
It’s important to know that different platforms have different audiences based on how they like to consume information.
For example:
Keep in mind, these are all generalities and your audience doesn’t have to stick to just one; they could use multiple platforms. The key here is to understand your audience and how they want to interact with you.
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Once you have a good idea of where your audience is, you can begin to cater to their wants and needs. When you focus your efforts on the right platforms for your audience, you’ll have a much better chance of reaching the people you want.
So you know what platforms you’re going to utilize, now what?
You may be tempted to start posting as your ideas come to you. However, randomly posting is not the answer when it comes to forming a bond with your audience. Results show people like consistency. And the best way to do that is by setting a schedule.
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When it comes to actually delivering on that schedule, technology is your friend. There are tons of resources out there to help create content calendars and scheduled posts.
Here are some of our favorite tools for distributing content automatically without having to take time out of your day to manually post every piece of content you create:
And remember, just because you have your content pre-scheduled doesn’t mean you can’t post when you feel like it. If you have some awesome content that makes sense to your business and your audience but isn’t on the schedule, post it!
But by having a schedule in place, you’ll be sure your audience doesn’t go too long without seeing content from your brand.
After you create your schedule, it’s time to fill it up with content your audience will find valuable!
It can be a little intimidating when you look at a month-long content calendar. You have the ideas, but wonder how you’ll ever get enough content to execute the schedule as planned.
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It doesn’t matter how creative you are, coming up with content on a daily basis is hard! There won’t always be something relevant to post on the days you have scheduled. So instead make enough content at one time that you can parse out.
When batching content, it’s a good idea to create enough to last you at least two weeks to a month. You can schedule and create content that will last longer, but don’t go too far, you may learn new things or want to change direction. And you want to give yourself enough flexibility to do so..png?width=140&name=Untitled%20design%20(35).png)
Even if you decide to change direction, batching content will give you the security of knowing you have something to fill up the schedule you made.
What’s that saying? Ah yes, you have to be a friend to make a friend. It’s called social media for a reason. It’s a conversation not a billboard, so communicate with your audience.
Remember, you’re working on creating lasting relationships with your audience and forming trust between them and your company. Being able to start a conversation with them before they even reach your website can help win them over and establish a great foundation for the kind of relationships you're trying to create.
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It may seem like a lot of work to engage with your audience on a regular basis, but relationships are work. And if you’re building relationships with people who can help grow your business and advance your goals, it’s worth it!
These steps will help you get started, however creating an impact with your audience does take time. By taking an inbound approach you are giving them the chance to find you. Don’t get discouraged when it doesn’t happen overnight. If anything, keep going!
Keep making content calendars, keep making content, keep posting.
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The more you stay on track, the more your audience will gain the trust they need to become a loyal customer.
They say the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago… the second best time is now. So stop wishing you would have started content marketing sooner, do it today and watch your growth!
We get it! Even with the right guidance, content marketing can be overwhelming. At Savage Media we’re experts at content marketing and helping to create relationships between our clients and their customers. If this is something you’d like help with in your business, click here to schedule a meeting with one of our experts.
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