10 ways to treat your audience

I love Halloween, but as a 20-something adult I must remind myself every year that Halloween is not all about me; it is about the kids. Content marketing is much the same as Halloween; as much as you want it to be about you, it is not. It is about your audience.

Don’t just hand out candy or content that you like. Treat the kids and your audience to the good stuff. The stuff they want. If you are that person who is handing out fruit to the trick-or-treaters, this list is for you.

The following are 10 ways to treat your audience to some quality content:

1. Hold a contest

Seriously, who doesn’t love free stuff? (In fact, check out the Allee Facebook page today…we’re giving out some cool free stuff!)

2. Create a story series

Develop a series of stories and videos about your company, industry, or community to issue weekly or monthly.

3. Partner with a nonprofit

Partnering with a nonprofit is a great way to get not only customers more involved with your business, but employees, too.

4. Share fun pictures

I have a preference for pictures of cats wearing ties, but any fun or inspirational photo will do.

5. Answer a tough or time-sensitive question

Create a blog post or video that addresses customer pain points or a relevant, current issue that involves your industry.

6. Share local news

If you are a small, local business, get involved in the community. Share event news or sale information. Your customers will love the news and local businesses will appreciate, and reciprocate, the promotion.

7. Partner with another business

By partnering with another business you will essentially double the reach of social media posts and cut costs in half. Your audience audience already trusts you and will appreciate you showing them other trustworthy companies.

8. Share helpful information

Did you just read a relevant article or book? Share it with your audience.

9. Write stories, not press releases

This will get the attention of PR professionals who are bored of seeing cookie cutter press releases and can easily be transformed into blog posts and videos for your audience.

10. Conduct unique research

Do the research and write whitepapers, ebooks, blog posts, and create infographics. This will establish your company as an expert in the field.

When you treat your audience the way they expect, they will flock to your web channels like kids run to the house that hands out king-size candy bars.