Content marketing is one of the most effective ways to promote a business. You can create content on your website or social media platforms, and distribute it through methods such as Chat Marketing. Your content will only help your business, however, if it’s valuable.
“Valuable content is information that someone else could utilize to improve an area of their lives,” says Manuel Suarez, CEO at AGM Agency. “We all have valuable content. Sometimes we take it for granted. We talk about it to our friends and family, our neighbors and in casual conversation.”
The goal is to take that valuable content you talk about and translate that into a business tool.
What Is Valuable Content For Your Customer?
Use the following content traits to create valuable content that will speak to your audience, and convert them into lifelong customers.
Relevant Content
Relevant content is directly related to information people are seeking; it’s tailored specifically to your audiences’ wants and needs. As a marketer, you need to understand your customers and know what kind of content would be helpful and interesting to them.
“If you have a car shop, show audiences how to change a spark plug in 5 minutes or less,” Suarez suggests. After all, tips on cars and car maintenance are probably the reason they are visiting your website.
Part of relevancy is also timing. After all, people typically only want recipes for Christmas brunch during December and barbecue tips during the summer months. Chat Marketing is the perfect avenue to deliver relevant content right on time, and right into the hands of the person looking for it.
Authentic Content
Your content should be genuine. Work on making authentic content by brainstorming the pain points of your ideal customer and putting yourself in their shoes, trying to feel true empathy for their issues. You can also help your content feel more genuine by keeping your voice consistent across all channels (for example, emails, your website, and Facebook). To gain your customers’ trust, make sure your brand sounds the same on each one.
Useful Content
This should go without saying, but valuable content needs to provide, well, value. Don’t just produce fluff. Instead, create content that teaches someone how to get things done or offers information that makes them think about a new topic.
“A business that doesn’t solve problems is not a business, it’s a criminal organization,” says Suarez. “If you have a toy business, create content around that! Show parents how to keep their kids entertained without relying on electronics… You know you have this data, so show them! Talk about it. Provide value!”
Valuable content, Suarez explains, is a way of taking responsibility for other people — meaning, your potential customers. Valuable content should also be actionable. It should encourage the reader to take action and make it easy for them to do so, whether that’s doing the task the content explained, sharing the content itself, or both.
Example: Chandler Tools
Chandler tools offer various crafting tools. Instead of just promoting the products, they offer DIY videos to show the targeted customer different craft recipes they can do, how to do it and the tools they need to do the project.
Well-Done Content
You can have a great concept, but if it isn’t executed well, it won’t matter how brilliant the original idea was. As you create content, follow basic best practices such as using a conversational tone, sourcing any facts or statistics, and formatting the content to make it easily readable. Outsource the job if you don’t have enough manpower in-house.
Even using tools such as Writer’s Grammar Checker to check your spelling and grammar can be a huge help in creating a piece of content that looks professional (and in making sure the English majors of the world won’t be distracted by hunting for typos while reading).
Clear Content
Don’t overcomplicate things. Make your content simple to understand. Stay away from industry jargon, using plain language instead. The content itself should be readable and not intimidating; use subheadings to break it up. Keep things concise by focusing on just a few key ideas.
Example: Passion Yoga School
From the start, you know you’re speaking to a bot and understand what Passion Yoga School is delivering. You’re able to choose from training, retreats or online education. They keep the conversation to the point, and very easy to understand.
Personable Content
Don’t be distant; instead, let your brand voice shine through. Use humor if applicable, and try to create a personal connection through storytelling and emotion. A good example of a brand that leverages the power of storytelling is Dick’s Sporting Goods. Dick’s is regularly producing campaigns that tell the stories of athletes around the U.S., from its #HellWeek series produced in 2014 about a New Mexico high school soccer team to a set of “Sports Matter” videos created for social media, highlighting professional athletes. Similarly, you can make powerful campaigns that tell stories and tug on your customers’ heartstrings.
Content for Your Purpose
“Brands need to find their purpose as a business,” Suarez says. “Is it to improve the health of pets with high-quality treats? Talk about that. What are healthy treats? What aren’t? What are most people feeding their pets out there? Talk about studies that have been done. Does the longevity of an animal improve with a healthier diet? Talk about that every day.”
According to Suarez, the same concept applies to any business: We’re all trying to help people solve problems. By evaluating how your business will help people and creating a content strategy that aligns with your brand’s purpose, you’ll be on the path to success.
Turns out, creating valuable content isn’t so difficult after all. As you work on content marketing, make sure your content is relevant and useful, clear and professional. and personal and genuine. By sticking closely to these guidelines, you can create content that’s extremely valuable to the people who need it: your customers. And by consuming that valuable content, they’ll be more and more likely to revisit your business down the road.
