Kseniya I. Content Marketing Expert

4 steps to content marketing strategy

People prefer brands that have a positive impact on society. That's why it's not hard to see that if you really want to have a connection with your customers, you need to do it through targeted content marketing.

Let's take a look at the four important steps you need to take in order to identify and use your brand intent to create content that resonates with your customers.

1. The goal matters

Brand goal is the reason why your business exists, which has bigger goals and motivation than profit. If you look at some of the brands that deliver targeted content correctly, you can't help but distinguish them from other companies in the industry

For example, Dove always creates inspiring materials that recognize a woman's self-esteem, emphasizing that a woman's true beauty is her skin. Their awareness campaign revolves heavily around creating a positive body image for women.

Campaigns like these make the brand attractive to women, who are Dove's main target customers. Dove content pairs perfectly with their personal care products, making their campaigns worthwhile and relevant to consumers.

Most importantly, they connect with their clients on an emotional level with a purpose that affects them on a deeper personal level. Women experience a sense of empowerment when they buy Dove products.

This shows that your brand goal can and should be translated into effective selling content. Your consumers can tell if your intentions and sales efforts are bogus. Even supporting a charity can show that a company cares.

In short, targeted content marketing matters because:

Increases brand awareness: If your content is meaningful and useful to your group of target customers, they will start sharing it with their friends. If their friends also share this, then the number of people who agree with the purpose of your brand is growing.

Valuable interactions: When consumers are driven by the same purpose as your company, they will regularly open your social channels, comment, like and participate in discussions.

Increased Loyalty: If people are emotionally connected to your company's purpose, they will feel good about buying from you and becoming loyal customers, which is the ideal company-customer relationship.

2. Find your goal

In addition to your content strategy and tactics, you need to have a clear direction, a goal that drives every aspiration of your content.

The art of focused content strategy is to capture your company's core purpose, develop your strategies, and stay rational and persuasive in the process. A purpose-driven brand can tell powerful stories.

Your brand goal is not your vision or your mission! Your goal is your Why. This idea is much more than making a profit.

Your vision: Where do you want to see your company in the future? For example, "To be the largest auto trading company in Asia by 2030."

The mission of your company is What. This includes the various tactics and product/service development processes you should use to realize your vision.

Your company's values ​​are the How. How will your brand fulfill your vision? This is closely related to the culture of your company and the qualities that your teams have in general.

See what your customers want and what you can offer. Be sincere about your goal, but don't forget the beliefs of your target customers as well. It's all about what inspires you as a team to keep moving forward.

If you haven't figured out your brand's purpose yet, you need to dig deeper into your history, look at the reasons you started your company. See what you're good at and what your passions are as a company. The intersection of these traits will help you define the purpose of your brand.

3. Let purpose guide your content

According to CMI, targeted content marketing is:

“A way for a business or brand to connect with a target audience based on their shared needs and interests, including an interest in supporting a worthy cause. Success in this arena is about developing the right strategy and implementing it with a genuine organization.

To start creating targeted content for your marketing strategy, you need to start by answering the following questions:

- What are my strengths and weaknesses as a brand?

- Why would someone buy from me and not from my competitors?

For example, JetBlue is an airline known for its customer service. The aviation industry is a complex industry and many things can go wrong for both companies in terms of logistics and customers including flight delays, rude staff and so on.

But JetBlue takes customer service and corporate culture to a whole new level. One of the coolest things is their “staff officer” who surprises passengers with awards on flights and airports. This includes giving away free tickets to another destination or taking part in quizzes with passengers.

They create long-term relationships with passengers along the way. Given the competition with flight discounts, providing excellent customer service while improving flight quality is a great way to build loyalty.

Another example of a brand is Toms Shoes. They have a goal of donating one pair of shoes to someone in need every time a customer buys a pair.

This not only attracts more customers who want to contribute towards the goal, but also causes a revolution because Warby Parker has also adopted the business model and runs a similar donation campaign.

These companies know how to communicate the purpose of their brands. Here is how you can do the same:

Support the cause: what is your audience interested in? Donate to and support a non-profit or charitable organization that matters to your clients.

Create partnerships: team up and work together with other brands. Look for partnership opportunities. For example, Uber has partnered with Spotify so passengers can listen to their favorite music while driving.

Create valuable content: in every niche, the audience is hungry for valuable content.

Be timely: one brand stands out during the holiday season it’s Coca Cola! Although Pepsi is also present, especially during sporting events. That's why it's important to be timely and demonstrate that the seasons and important events matter to both your brand and your customers.

Humanize: want to buy from people. Show photos from your team, behind-the-scenes videos, and let team members interact with consumers.

Fun: Google Analytics knows how important conversion rate and page optimization are. Everyone loves to laugh, and humor can be a really powerful tool for brands if implemented at the right time and in a way that immediately puts a smile on consumers' faces.

Volunteering: If you or your employees have volunteered and made a difference, post valuable content about your contribution. Volunteering is always an opportunity to cheer up your employees and enrich your community at the same time.

4. Evaluate your brand impact

The success of your content, including targeted content, may vary. One of the best ways to determine how successful your content is is to set goals and measure important metrics. The most popular goal for targeted content is to increase brand awareness and customer loyalty.

You need to keep track of the number of visitors your site receives and also how many of those visitors become your customers.

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