Follow these guidelines on the path to audience engagement success
It may be hard to wait when opportunity comes a-knocking. But it can really pay off to double (and triple) check that your content marketing plan is in good shape before launching it to the world. Not sure you’re quite ready to go just yet? Wondering whether or not your marketing campaign will really connect with your audience? Follow these 5 basic principles before (and right after) your launch:
1. Being relatable 101
Connecting with users, readers, prospects, and just regular ol’ people is the whole point of your online marketing plan. So, when creating your content, it’s important to make sure it’s real and relatable. No one wants to read content written by robotic authors who produce dry pieces in hopes of catching the eye of search engines. No, readers crave the real deal. Straight up interesting copy with useful, informative content. People want something they can relate to, keep in their back pocket, and pull out later in conversation.
2. Know who your audience is
It’s impossible to be relatable if you don’t know who you’re writing for. Just like any relationship, it’s tough to connect with a person if you know nothing about them. As the old saying in content marketing goes, if you write for everyone, you’re actually writing for a whole lot of no ones. So, reel it in with content that is tailored especially for your audience—in the size, shape, and style they’re after.
3. Engage with them based on interests
It goes without saying that you want to connect with your audience based on their various preferences. But here’s the hard part: you need to remember that they’re individuals. People with opinions, dreams, and interests. There’s great importance in knowing what those interests look like so that you can begin to represent your brand as one of those interests.
Once you figure out who they are and what they like, it’s time to give the people what they want: something that speaks to them. Your content — whether videos, blogs, or social media — should address that audience directly by highlighting their concerns, interests, irritations, or sense of humor.
The work isn’t done once you think you’ve figured out how to address your audience. You’ve still got to keep learning and allowing your content to evolve with time. See how the audience responds and produce work that will continue to appeal to them. Keep in mind, however, that this will probably change with time as technology and social trends continue to progress. You’ll need to keep tabs on what’s working and what stops working after time.
4. Connect with them on social media
Let’s be honest here. There’s a 97 percent chance your audience is on social media (and a 100 percent chance we made that percentage up, but you get the point). Unless you’re selling a product designed for 100-year-old patients, you’ve got potential on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Snapchat, and Instagram. You just need to figure out how to captivate your audience on any (or all) of these mediums. Respond to them. Because social media opens up a whole new can of worms with your public image (and with instant communication), it’s important to have customer service happiness heroes logged on constantly to address any concerns or issues customers have.
Remember, your social media accounts shouldn’t be purely promotional. You’re there to truly connect with your fans in a way that was once impossible.
5. Once you launch, measure your engagement results
The key to knowing whether or not something is successful usually needs some good data and numbers to back it up. (And that means a lot coming from content people. We wordsmiths don’t always like numbers). But they matter! Why beat a dead horse by posting the same style of content and social media without measuring engagement or tracking your growth? Both are at the heart of content marketing, so they’re nothing to skimp on.
If you’re not sure online marketing is quite for you, it’s not biggie. We’ve got your back.
In the digital world, your content might be exactly what you need to succeed. It helps break down barriers while building a bridge between the brand and the customer. But it takes work — and it’s not always the easiest project to tackle.
Sometimes, it’s easier to leave it up to the content pros at Content Bacon. We work directly with you to form a custom, tasty content strategy and get your blog, social media, or other content off the ground in no time. Contact us today to get started!
