Content marketing fails whenever a company or its spokesperson neglects the imperative to keep the customers’ needs and desires in focus. You may find it difficult to adopt another’s perspective, but you must find this vision if you hope to create marketing messages that will resonate with your ideal customer.
Content Marketing Should Ignore Your Preferences
The temptation when building a social media campaign lies in believing that everyone should like what you like and all you have to do is expose them to the artwork, music or layout you enjoy so they can like it too. Some use their blogs and social media streams as an outlet for telling the world more about themselves. Unless you are your target demographic, any part of your content marketing campaign you particularly like should be suspect because it may not resonate with those you hope to reach. It is not about you; it is about reaching your ideal customer. Every decision you make in your campaign should be based on that target’s preferences.
Content Marketing Fails When You Start Guessing
Once you have an ideal customer in mind, you need to survey this demographic to get an accurate picture of pain points and desires. As hard as it can be to stop seeing the world through your own eyes, you are only halfway there if you think you know what another wants without actually asking. Surveys are critical to connecting with your ideal customer and learning about preferences, needs and frustrations. When you receive negative feedback from your data, take the time to dig deep and find out why. When you receive negative feedback from your ideal customers, use it make your campaigns stronger.
Aim Your Content Marketing Early in the Buyer’s Journey
Another way online marketers can miss the mark is when they focus so much on the buying end of the funnel that they miss opportunities to connect with potential customers early in the journey. Your surveys should help you hone in on the kinds of questions prospects ask before they know they need your company’s solution. For example, a company offering sales training for car dealerships could create a lot of content around its solutions, but this content will only reach those who already know they want a trainer to provide a solution and may sound too promotional. A better approach could target bigger picture questions like “How can I increase profits for my dealership?” and “How can dealerships stay afloat in this crisis?” This content marketing strategy would allow the company to become an adviser earlier in the process, leading more dealerships to learn about its solutions over time and building trust that will lead to sales.
Content Marketing Requires Frequent Testing
We live in a rapidly changing world. The words and pop culture references that are spot on one year, sound retro the next. Social media networks and search engine algorithms evolve. If your content marketing strategy does not evolve to keep up with a changing world, you are not benefiting from the best possible return on your investment. Surveys will only take you so far; you need regular testing across all of your campaigns to tweak and perfect your social media streams and stay on top of the content needs of your audience. Most of all, you need to learn how to get out of your own head and into that of your ideal customer.
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