Digital content is one of the strongest ways a business can increase engagement with their audience and eventually turn them into leads. Not just any content will do though. Your marketing pieces should all help you accomplish your business goals which will determine what kind of content you create, who you’re writing for, and where you will post it. Follow the steps below to craft compelling digital content that will attract the right kind of leads and help grow your business.
Create a Plan
Before you begin writing digital content, you must develop a content marketing plan. This plan should include your business goals – are you looking to increase customer sales, increase brand awareness, or something else? Whatever your business goals are, set marketing goals that will help make them a reality. These could include generating more leads, ranking higher on Google, or growing your social media following. Defining these goals will give you a clear picture of what you want to accomplish and how to do it.
Identify Your Target Audience
Just like how your marketing plan helps determine what kind of digital content you need, so does your target audience. It’s likely that you have a wide range of potential customers, but creating unique content each one of them can identify with will wear down your resources. Instead, research your current audience and create a buyer persona for the most profitable potential customers. This will tell you what topics you should write about and where to post content to get the most engagement.
Conduct SEO Research
Search engine optimization (SEO) is incredibly important to any business looking to utilize digital marketing. Use tools like Google Keyword Planner or SE Ranking to research keywords related to your business. This will reveal what your target audience is searching for and how easily you could rank as a top result. Combine this research with your marketing goals and target audience to brainstorm digital content ideas that are sure to resonate with potential customers and be easily found by search engines.
Determine Which Type of Content Will Work for You
Your research into your goals, target audience, and keywords should provide you with a good list of topics you can write digital content for and which platforms they should be posted on. No matter what kind of content you create, make sure it relates to your target audience and maintains your brand’s voice and identity. Having this consistent messaging across all platforms conveys professionalism and reliability to customers, further encouraging them to interact with you.
There are many different forms of digital content and even with all the research you’ve done it can be difficult to know which ones are right for your goals. Below we’ll discuss some of the most popular content types and how they can help your marketing efforts in different ways.
Social Media
Social media is a great place to promote your business using all sorts of digital content. There is a platform out there for every kind of business and every kind of customer. Social media also offers a space to post all types of content from short-form educational pieces to advertising contests or giveaways to team-ups with other companies. These platforms also allow you to share content which can help build your reputation and get more eyes on your own business. Make sure what you share is relevant to your business, like industry news, user-generated content, or testimonials from customers.
Blogs
According to Demand Metric, businesses with active blogs generate 67% more leads per month than businesses that don’t have blogs. This type of digital content is so versatile it’s no wonder they attract potential leads to your website. Blogs should be optimized with key phrases and provide helpful information to the chosen keyword’s topic, but other than that their format is up to you.
Blogs can answer a question, compare and contrast solutions to a problem, teach readers something useful, and more. So long as the topic is relevant to your business and connects to your target audience, this form of digital content works extremely well to bring leads directly to your website. If you’re interested in writing compelling blogs, check out our blog post checklist to help you get started.
Email Campaigns
You don’t have to wait for leads to find your content, you can send it straight to them. Email marketing is a great way to reach out to leads or existing customers to engage them in your brand. Newsletters with valuable information can draw readers in by teaching them something new while also alerting them to ways your business can help. Deal notifications can advertise products and services at lower prices and attract potential customers who may have been on the edge of purchasing. Whatever type of emails you decide to send, make sure readers get something out of it to help build trust in your brand.
When it comes to email marketing, be aware that you can send too many emails. Potential and current customers want to hear about deals and ways you can help them, but not every single day. Sending too many emails can land you in people’s spam folder and cost you more business. Weekly emails tend to do much better, consistently reminding people about what you offer without bombarding them.
Infographics
Maybe longer forms of written digital content don’t appeal to your audience. Infographics could be a good way to inform your audience in a clear and creative way. These visual designs should be direct and eye-catching. You want your audience to notice it but also be able to easily understand what it’s trying to explain. Try to use visual storytelling to connect with your audience emotionally and show them how their life could change for the better with your business. For example, before and after infographics and images can be a great way to show your audience how their problem could be solved and how their lives could change in a fun and eye-catching way.
Lead Magnets
Digital content should encourage lead generation, but it can also be a lead magnet itself. According to Forbes Advisor, 74% of companies view content marketing as a major factor in increasing lead generation. These two marketing strategies are so interconnected it’s easy for any business to use them both to gain more customers. Turn your digital content into lead magnets by offering templates, whitepapers, worksheets, or reports visitors can download for free. If you want to guarantee new leads with this content, ask visitors to create an account with their email address to access the informative content.
Continuously Monitor Your Content
Creating and posting digital content isn’t enough to optimize your marketing plan. Analyze your content metrics like page views, organic traffic, bounce rate, conversion rates, and engagement rates. Tools like Google Analytics can help gather and track this information for you.
Be aware that content marketing takes time and consistent posting to make an impact, so don’t scrap your content plan if you don’t see positive results right away. If you start seeing a decline in metrics, review what you’re doing in your marketing plan and see if it’s time to update it. This way your digital content is constantly being optimized and working to get more eyes on your business.
Start Creating Strong Digital Content Today!
People engage with digital content every day, which often leads them to interacting with the businesses who created that content. If you want your business to attract leads through content you must have a strong marketing plan, understanding of your target audience, and strong SEO research. These will help you know what to write about, where to post it, and what kind of format it should come in.
Creating effective digital content is an investment, requiring time to research and the effort to post consistently. Strategy can take this stress away and help boost your business by creating effective content aimed at meeting your goals. Schedule a free consultation to start crafting lead generating content today!
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