Leveraging Content Marketing for Brand Success

Leveraging Content Marketing for Brand Success (Updated)

[Updated 11/24/2022]

In today’s world, setting up a company is not as easy as putting some money into an idea. It involves a ton of processes and back-breaking work. It is also no longer a matter of putting up a physical store or office. It needs a whole lot of serious decision-making like going for a sole proprietorship, a partnership, a corporation, or a limited liability company.

Once you have settled on the business structure type ideal for your venture, the next step to take is to establish your brand. And, one excellent way to keep it alive and thriving is to stick behind a solid marketing strategy. Success comes with people knowing enough about your brand to do business with it.

Marketing started in traditional forms, from press releases to word of mouth. Nowadays, digital marketing, including content marketing, has become the norm, especially as people spend more time online. 

Content Marketing at a Glance

Content marketing is a form of digital marketing that focuses on creating various types of online material to attract one’s target audience. 

It does not explicitly promote your brand like a regular ad. Still, it helps stir up interest by appealing to your audience’s knowledge or interests. It’s also an excellent way to get possible customers’ contact information so you can connect with them in other ways.

Blog posts, e-books, videos, and online courses are among the most common content formats used for this type of marketing.

Ways to Improve Your Content Marketing Strategy

Eighty-two percent of marketers used content marketing to promote their businesses in 2021. If you’re currently crafting a content marketing strategy for your brand, consider the following tips:

Stay in the Know

Creating relevant content requires thorough knowledge and understanding of industry happenings and online content trends. Your research will guide you in knowing what topics or approaches work best in your industry or niche.

This is also an excellent time to find out what your competitors are doing, which will help you learn from their best practices or shortcomings. However, you have to remember to stay original.

Know Your Audience

Aside from industry and competitor research, it’s also essential to know your audience and create personas for them. If you’re on social media, your analytics page will be helpful in this step. 

Knowing your audience demographics, such as their gender, age, location, or interests, will enable you to create better content. Aligning your brand content with your audience’s values and goals will attract loyal and like-minded audiences to boost your brand’s popularity.

Researching your competitors is a great way to better understand your target audience if you don’t have data of your own. SE Rankings’s competitor website traffic research is one of the best tools to do that:

Choose Appropriate Formats

“Content” is an umbrella term covering mediums and formats that deliver information and entertainment differently. These formats include blog posts and other articles, infographics, videos, instructional material, etc.

Using your research, choose content marketing formats appropriate for your audience and the platform you plan to post on. 

Suppose your brand focuses more on fashion, art, or something visual. This calls for you to explore graphics, photography, or video. If your brand centers on data or consulting, your audience might appreciate webinars, e-books, or instructional articles.

It’s safe to utilize conventional content formats, but don’t be afraid to explore. It might be the best way to set you apart from the competition when done right.

Utilize Multiple Channels

Your brand’s website is essential to your content marketing strategy. It serves as the base and headquarters for your online presence. But don’t limit your marketing strategies to your website alone. If you do, you won’t be as effective in attracting new people who may not know about your brand yet.

News websites, social media, other blogs, and partner organizations are great channels to publish your content. Social media, in particular, is a very effective content marketing channel, with it being the top choice for many marketers last year.

Quality Content is King

No matter your industry or niche, the quality of your content should be of top priority. Audiences will appreciate content that adds value to their lives.

This is regardless of whether it addresses a need, answers a question, or provides entertainment. Quality content makes you a memorable online presence, helping you grow your audience and brand.

Image source: Content marketing ebook

Ann Smarty
Ann Smarty is the brand and community manager at Internet Marketing Ninjas, founder of MyBlogU.com and manager at ViralContentBee. You can learn more about Ann here.