For a content creator, no matter how many pieces you’ve created, it is always important to keep in mind to think about your target audience before even drafting your next piece of content.
It is not uncommon for a content creator to, slowly but surely, stop talking to their audience and start talking to themselves. The caveat to this is that creating killer content for yourself will only do as much good as talking to yourself.
Quality content is incredibly essential for any website, regardless of industry. To grow your brand, you have to exhaust all means to connect with your audience on a deeper, and in some instances, more personal level.
When someone comes to your site, they better be reached with superb, quality content, otherwise, you risk that they may not take you seriously as an expert in your field and move on.
When you deliver killer content, the results will be better. To create killer content, pay attention, take notes, and pick up on what you can learn here.
What is killer content?
Every single day, we are inundated with content. It has become an essential element in any marketing strategy as brands try to separate themselves from their competition and resonate with their target audience.
Creating killer content comes in various forms, types of media, and sizes. On a website, it can be a clear and concise description of the business on the homepage. Or it can be an incredibly inspirational photo on Pinterest. Or perhaps an information-rich blog that educates your readers.
At its centre, killer content is anything that you create, one that is well executed, relevant, and keeps your audiences engaged. If you happen to have that killer content of yours optimised, then your business is way ahead of the pack.
5 tips for creating killer content
Businesses love posting on social media platforms since it is mostly free, the majority of their audience can be found there, and it is extremely effective from a marketing perspective.
But if you want to employ social media to get more business, it won’t be enough to simply post a random picture or video every once in a while. You would need a well-researched social media strategy where you need to invest time and resources for social media marketing. Consider the following:
1. Think about and know your audience.
At the beginning of this piece, we said that it is important to think of your target audience even before creating your content, and rightly so.
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- The first step of content creation is to identify and understand your target audience. Having this information helps you strategise your content based on your viewership.
Enticing your audience on your website and through social media with engaging content is how you can effectively capture more eyeballs for a longer period. Your target audience is at the core of your brand identity, therefore, everything you create should be done with your audience in mind – no exceptions.
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- Build detailed target audience profiles by gathering who requires your service or product the most, and how you can reach them. Gather pertinent information such as their age, location, language, and their interest, most especially those of your most loyal customers.
Keep in mind:
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- What do they care about?
- What are their pain points?
- Do they have other questions?
- Do you want them to take appropriate action after viewing your content?
The more clarity you have on who your ideal customer is, the better you can create content that would be meaningful and helpful for them.
NOTE: Don’t assume you know your audience’s pain. Do the research, ask questions and learn from them. Few things will turn someone off quicker than being left out while you jump to conclusions.
2. Use relevant keywords.
Users online use keywords when they type words or phrases into search engines. If you publish articles or videos for your brand should use relevant keywords in developing effective content for your target audience.
Keywords help in drilling down the purpose of each piece of content you create and keep you focused on that purpose. There is no need for you to forcibly use certain terms or phrases in the description or body of your articles.
NOTE: Keyword stuffing is a surefire way of getting your site dinged by Google.
To discover what users are searching for, use a research tool such as Google Keyword Planner. Another method is to look at Google Trends to see if a specific keyword is trending up or down, and how it trended in the past.
It would be advantageous to use multiple tools to sharpen your research for keywords. Several free keyword tools can get you started.
3. Write compelling headlines.
Oftentimes overlooked, the simple act of writing headlines contributes to attracting more readers and search engines. Compelling headlines may even lead to your content being shared on social media.
A compelling headline should accomplish the following:
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- Get and capture the readers’ attention and pique their interest.
- Give a picture and explain the purpose of the content and what solutions it delivers.
For search engine optimisation (SEO) purposes, it would also be beneficial to include keywords in your titles. This elevates your results with search engines.
4. Keep your content simple, but also aim to make it look good.
Avoid trying to make your audience think too much. Using clever or cryptic wording or abstract imagery that requires deep deciphering is a surefire way of turning audiences off. On the other hand, if your audience is, in fact, specialists in your industry, then it would be foolish to dumb it down either.
You have to be empathic and consider your audience and their needs first before attempting to come up with your content. There should never be a need to overcomplicate things or any aspect of the business.
NOTE: If you focus on writing, keep it clear, concise and compelling. One thing we’ve learned in writing copy is to give readers what they want, or else, they’ll go away.
It is also important to make your content look good on the page. Keep formatting that would be advantageous in your choice of social media platform, yet keep it recognisable and aligned with your brand.
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- Consistently include your company logo, images, and colours
- Make it easy for followers what you want them to do such as to download something, get in touch, read another piece of content, or sign up for a webinar, etc.
- Create more opportunities to build authentic relationships and help to guide them through their buyer journey.
5. Publish different types of content.
Users like variety. They like to consume and share information in different formats. Offering multiple content types will enable you to reach a wider audience.
Content can be anything from:
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- A blog
- Infographic
- A case study
- White paper
- A webinar, or
- An e-publication.
Publishing various types of content also helps establish your brand as an authority and as a member of your industry’s online community. Another plus is that search engines do offer multimedia results, so users can choose the preferred format they want to consume, including video, audio, or image.
With a variety of content available, it provides search engines with a larger pool of your published materials to pull from.
NOTE: Create a content planner that spans several months. This will be your guide or a road map for content creation and delivery.
Conclusion
Having a killer content strategy for social media helps heaps in getting you more engagement on various social platforms, ultimately helping in growing your business.
No need to panic if you don’t have an in-house social media content marketing team. You can always rely on us at Accentuate Web Design and Marketing to handle your Social Media Marketing and Management Services needs. Our team of experts is at your disposal in reaching your customers online to get your message across.
