Gone are the days of traditional advertising, meaning that a catchy slogan and ear-burning jingle no longer cut the mustard. Instead, businesses must forge a relationship with consumers, earning their trust subtly and slowly for the most effective, long-lasting results.

‘By golly’ and ‘How do I do that?’ We hear you cry.

All hail content marketing. In other words, showing – not telling – your audience what your business is all about. With people swarmed with information on the Internet, your job is to create a social media soup of fresh, relevant and useful content that demonstrates an understanding for their needs and values.

Here, we share 5 tips from to get you started.

1. Solve a problem
The key is to craft content of genuine use to your target market. While this may feel a little like giving away your precious knowledge for free, it asserts both confidence and expertise, meaning customers will look to you as the top dog when it comes to their all-important purchasing decision. (A how-to video is a brilliant example of this.)

2. People first, search engines second
Yes, SEO is the bee’s knees – it catapults you to the top of the search results, (according to the constant stream of emails I get from so-called gooroos!), and you get to use fancy, in-the-know phrases like ‘long-tail keywords’. However, be aware that writing solely to impress Google will only alienate your readers, ultimately stinging your ranking as search engines get better and better at deciphering between content of use, and keyword-stuffed jargon.

3. Keep it consistent
Up-to-date posts and a clear tone of voice is a sure-fire way to gain loyal followers. By allowing your audience to know who you are and when to look out for you, you begin to establish a two-way relationship, meaning customers are more likely to trust you with their hard earned cash in the long run.

4. Don’t be afraid to share others’ content
Content marketing has turned traditional advertising on its head. Now, in order to assert authority in your field, you need to show that you’re not threatened by the competition – the big boys, if you will. The psychology of sharing your competitors’ posts not only makes you one of them, but also grounds you as the funnel of interesting, useful content.

5. Engage and respond
Don’t ignore the ‘social’ part of social media. Make yourself ever-present and encourage conversation among your readers, injecting personality and keeping in mind that the best, (and most shareable), posts are often those that provoke discussion. Lastly, take note of your analytics, learning and developing from anything that doesn’t seem to be working.

For help in setting up your content marketing strategy, get in touch with Point and Stare today.

 
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