No matter what business you are in, you must have a marketing strategy to get in front of your target audience. Attracting ideal clients and customers on a consistent basis is an art form that can be mastered. Content allows you to show your expertise in a non-invasive marketing way while adding value to your readers or viewers.
Here’s how to get started with content marketing and methods to reach your target audience:
Start with the End in Mind
Most people miss this step. Although content marketing is non-promotional materials, think about the actions you want your readers or viewers to take after they consume your content. Do you want
people to opt-in so you can grow your list? Or do you want people to share your video so you can grow your reach? The choice is yours, but make sure your content naturally leads to that specific action.
Identify Your Target Audience
With so much content available online now, you certainly don’t want to be just another marketer who randomly puts stuff out. Think about the people who are most likely to benefit from your product or service and create content specifically for them. This will allow you to build a target audience of people who will be excited to receive your content and potentially become a customer.
Set Your Value Intentions
Even if you have a call-to-action you want your readers or viewers to take, you will not get any results if they do not find the content valuable. If your goal is to be the go-to source for “new moms wanting to lose their pregnancy weight,” think about how you can solve one of their problems quickly with your content. Your target audience will appreciate the free value you give before you ask for the sale.
Pick Your Content Visibility Strategy
Putting in the work it takes to create useful and shareable content is not enough. You will need a strategy to get as many eyes as possible on your
content. Not just any eyes, but the eyes of the people you serve with your product or service. When identifying who your target audience is, it’s good to find out where they hang out. There are many free (ex.: webinars, document sharing sites), paid (ex.: Facebook ads) and relationship strategies (ex.: colleagues, friends, etc.) to getting your content seen online. But all traffic is not created equal. You can choose and test a mix of content visibility strategies to see which one reaches your target audience the best.Following these steps will help you choose your content’s call-to-action, the people you serve, one problem you can solve quickly, and traffic that reaches your target
audience. Once you start putting out content, pay close attention to the data so you know what your audience likes to receive from you. Take what you’ve learned and implement it now so you can successfully reach your target audience with content marketing.
Angel Coleman is an international speaker and The Communication Artist. She helps women business owners master the art of content marketing to promote and sell their products or services online with ease. Sign up here to instantly receive her free marketing cheat sheet “32 Ways to Reach Your Target Audience.” Learn more about Angel Coleman by visiting her website at www.angelcoleman.com. Follow her on Twitter @angelcoleman101.