Suzanne Reyes
By: Suzanne Reyes – Bayshore Solutions Content Manager
We have all heard that content is king, but what does that really mean and how does that effect your business? Since the dawn of time, human beings have been sharing stories with each other. It’s how we connect and relate to one another. Storytelling is a natural part of our lives. It’s in our conversations, music, movies, and online.
The Internet is swarming with content, in fact, it’s a bit overwhelming. According to an infographic created by Chartbeat.org, over 92,000 articles are posted online every day. So, how can you possibly stand out from the rest? How do you become the king of that mountain? Well, I won’t say that it’s an easy or, for that matter, quick process, but there are some things that you can do to develop content that people will actually read.
Identify your audience personality
First, start with identifying your audience. And I don’t just mean age, gender, education, and income level. I mean really get to know them. Besides your products or services, what do your audiences like to do for fun? What are their hobbies? Where do they go on vacation? Are the cat people or dog people?
So what’s the point of knowing all of this information? Well, for one, knowing your audience inside and out is never a bad thing. For example, isn’t it nice when Amazon.com can recommend a good book for us to read or …, albeit a little creepy. But don’t we love it anyway?
Develop a content strategy
Once you’ve identified your audiences, develop a content strategy that will address each one of your audiences with relevant topics and ideal times that they will respond to. At Bayshore Solutions, our methodology allows us to identify your goals, key audiences, and timelines so that we can develop a truly engaging content plan.
Create relevant content
The other reasons for learning more about your audiences is because you can start combining their other interests within your content. For instance, say you’re a real estate company and you are trying to rent or sell more homes in a metropolitan area. Wouldn’t it be beneficial to your readers if you offered them a bit of information about city besides the property value of the neighborhoods? What if one of your audience members happened to be an avid runner and the aforementioned city offered great running trails and several running clubs to join. Now that potential home buyer is more than likely to read your article and trust you as a source.
Post content that will keep them coming back for more. This type of content may not get them to buy immediately, but if they love what they read and it relates to them on several levels then they’ll remember you when it’s time to make a purchase.
Let them see your personality
Not only does your audience love it when you know about their likes and dislikes they also like to know more about the personality of your company.
Post funny memes, present thought-provoking data, or share the charities that your company or employees are involved with. Your audience should not only know that you are a thought-leader in your industry, but that you have a soul too. The more of a connection you have with your audience, the stronger the bond will be for your brand.
Measure your effort
At Bayshore Solutions, not only do we develop custom stories for your audiences but we’re the best at measuring our results. We can identify which pieces of content have resonated the most with your audience by evaluating how many visitors viewed that content, how long they stayed on the page, how many shared it with others and more.
Evaluating your content helps identify what types of content you should continue producing that your audiences will enjoy.
If you’re ready to start a rockstar content marketing plan and want to be the king of the mountain, reach out to us here at Bayshore Solutions. We would be more than happy to help you develop your story.
Suzanne Reyes is a Content Manager at Bayshore Solutions—a Web Design, Web Development, and Digital Marketing Company.