This sounds simple, but sometimes it’s too easy to forget that market research should be the foundation for creating a high quality content marketing strategy. Duh.

Seriously though, investing time and energy into product research, market research, and connecting with people working and living in the area of concern is overlooked time and time again.

Rand Fishkin of Moz SEO, recently posted a great video blog  about the importance of research and analysis periods before starting a content marketing project. In his post, he says, “[People often] put something together that they hope will achieve their goal of reaching a new audience, of getting promoted, but it falls flat mostly because they had the idea before they talked to anyone else. Before they realized whether anyone else was interested, they went and built it…That’s actually kind of a terrible idea.”

Here is 5 ways to create better – more strategy driven content based off of some of the ideas Rand outlines in his recent post.

1. Learn about the industry you plan to work in.

Rand says, “This is going to be dozens of hours of research to understand the niche before you can effectively create content for it. That’s something where it isn’t just an on demand kind of thing.”

2. Learn about the community you plan to work with.

This is going to consist of many hours browsing through topic forums, YouTube channels, blogs, and magazines getting to know the people using and buying certain products or services. The one not so exhausting characteristic about this step is all of the aforementioned resources are easy to find and free or cheap.

3. Before you create any content, know that it would be unique and others would actually share it.

This is where having connections and being able to reach out and shake a hand come into play. Simply asking for an insider’s opinion sounds to easy, but it’s commonly overlooked. Also, if you’ve been doing your research, you should have an idea of what your audience is needing and wanting.

4. Visual and/or interactive content is going to perform a lot better than text.

Images are memorable.

5. Cater to an audience that will help you reach your business goals.

Creating content for the purpose of driving leads and closing deals involves a completely different strategy than creating content that drives traffic and builds brand recognition. The easiest way to explain this is: content that go viral usually don’t end with “sign up today.” Viral content is usually short, simple, universally understood, and instills strong emotions. Content that that drives leads is mostly analytical and logical.

In conclusion, if you’re going to do it, do it right the first time. Investing in research periods may be costly, but a content strategy that falls flat is always a waste.

If you need help developing and implementing a high quality content strategy, contact Clix. We’d be happy to help!

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Content becomes the link connecting businesses to customers. Storytelling sets the tone for their engagement. Blogs, social networks and video-sharing sites inform, entertain and empower your best prospects and clients. – Trond Lyngbø

Content Marketing can address every stage of the sale funnel.

Well planned Content Strategies should have a piece of content for everyone at every stage of the sales cycle. This includes everyone from the general public all the way to yesterdays customers.

First, by creating easily shareable content for the general public or even people just beyond the upper limits of your sales funnel, you can actually help your entire site gain domain authority by attracting more monthly visits, acquiring more backlinks, and increasing activity on social media channels.

Secondly, by raising awareness, answering questions, and addressing concerns Content Marketing can aid prospects through each and every phase of the sales cycle.

Lastly, just because a person has already purchased your product or service doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be addressed in your marketing plans. Content can be produced to keep people coming back again and again. Pieces centered around continuing education, product updates, or even company updates, can help ensure customers will recommend your business to their friends and family.

Content Marketing not only informs people, it can convert prospects.

In reference to my previous point, Content Marketing can help prospects build so much trust and confidence in your business’ product or service, they will be ready to purchase by the time they call in or visit a location.

The idea behind this concept is that your high quality content will qualify a prospect by clearly explaining every reason someone should buy your product or service. The content you’ve produced will in turn, nurture the prospect by addressing all of their concerns and answering their questions. Lastly, prospects will be ready to purchase because they will be well informed, know what they want, know why they want it, and now trust your brand.

Content Marketing helps you find out what is important to your market.

I know it’s a passive approach, but it still has value. Pieces of content can be used to gauge market interest. The more activity an article generates – the more your audience is concerned with that topic.

Be sure to remember, content can always be repurposed. Meaning, if you write an article that sparks a large amount of activity, host a webinar on that topic, create an infographic, or create a video blog. The main goal is to keep the ball rolling, generate even more exposure, and dig deeper into the market.

Content Marketing lets you tell your story.

This is something that Joe Corporate needs to understand. The internet has made finding and sharing sensitive information with the world incredibly easy. Using Content Marketing to inform people about your business, its morals, its agendas, and even its hiring practices can help everyone – including the general public – build trust, create understanding, and develop confidence in your company.

The post Why You Should Be Using Content Marketing appeared first on Clix.