We’ve all heard it: Content is king. But what does that mean? It rules? OK. Maybe. But not all kings are created equal. Like an effective king, your content needs to be more than a figurehead. A good king understands what the people need, why he should give it to them, how and if it’s making a difference. The same goes for your content.
Don’t get caught up in creating content for the sake of creating content. You’ll just be wasting your time, and I’m sure you don’t have time to waste. Ask yourself a few simple questions before you start creating content, and think hard about the answers.
Why are you creating content?
Hint: Because it’s the latest trend is the wrong answer. To establish yourself as an expert in the field would be an acceptable answer. To bring about brand awareness, to provide answers to your target audience, to showcase product, to bring awareness to a new issue–these are all good reasons to create content.
Make sure the content you create is focused and has purpose. Likewise, think about the end result. What do you want your content to do? What kind of call to action is acceptable based on the content your produce?
What do your customers want?
To understand what your customers want, you need to know who you are trying to reach. Everyone is the wrong answer. You have a niche; your customers are looking for products in that niche, they’re the ones you need to reach. Now, what do they want from you? How can you use your blog, social media, print marketing and videos to give it to them? Think about their pain points and how you can help with those through your content.
What differentiates your brand from the others?
What do you bring to the marketplace that’s different from any other company similar to yours? Take time to really think about what sets you apart from your competition and focus on those differentiators when creating content.
How can your content help you reach your business goals?
Content aside for a minute, think about your business goals. What is your main focus this year? Building revenue? Securing new business? Creating brand awareness? Now, how can you tie the creation of content to these goals?
Outline measurable goals and set guidelines for what you expect as an ROI when it comes to content to assess the success (or failure) of your content strategy as it relates to meeting those goals. Set a strategy before jumping full-force.
When it comes to the ruling power of your content, it’s always an election year. Your customers have a lot of other options, and if you’re not giving them what they want and need, they’ll find it somewhere else. Unlike true kings, your content doesn’t have primogenitor, it doesn’t get to keep ruling just because it was powerful last year or last week.
Answer the above questions and create a content strategy that will work for your business. That way, the time you spend creating content will position your brand at the front of customers’ minds and give you real ruling power!
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