When a kindly stranger sparks up conversation at a bus stop or a social gathering of some sort and asks the inevitable ‘So what do you do?’ do they usually look as though they wish they’d never asked? Do people stifle a yawn as they feign interest in your really boring job?
Content marketing is important in the business world – figures and success rates have shown that’s an indisputable fact. However, for less glamorous brands that are sometimes perceived as ‘boring’ content marketing is even more important.
Essential products can often be considered dreary and unexciting. Does anyone really want to read a lengthy piece of content about shower enclosures? Or 500 words on weed killer?
In a word, no. However, this miserable state of affairs can be amended: your business can go from mind-numbing to mind-blowing with just one small change – fantastic content.
Interesting content
If you are struggling to reach out to people with your brand, sparkling content is a good way to connect with your audience. The key is to producing fun, interesting content that hooks and maintains interest throughout.
Don’t focus an article entirely on weed killer, even if that’s what your brand is all about. Would you honestly read something entitled ‘The benefits of weed killer’? Content marketing agencies make it their priority to come up with a good range of interesting titles to draw a wider audience towards your content. For instance, ‘Compact garden design ideas’, ‘In suburbia: How to maintain a beautifully manicured lawn’ and ‘Pest control: Top tips on safeguarding your lawn from unwanted wildlife’ are more likely to get clicks from the right type of audience than an article centred exclusively on weed killer.
Inject the fun through the writing style as well as the content idea. How? Don’t be afraid to use humour. Lots of brands shy away from casual and comical writing styles concerned that it might cramp their professional style when, in fact, humour is the best way to engage an audience.
Engaging content
Another way to engage an audience is to seek common issues and offer solutions. That way you will be providing valuable information, giving people the resources they need to educate themselves about everyday problems and equipping them with the knowledge to solve them.
If you produce this kind of content on a consistent basis, you will begin to be seen as the brand that continually provides visitors with practical information and great advice, and the number of clicks, likes, shares and comments will grow by the day.
Remember to keep industry jargon to a minimum and use everyday language to appeal to readers. Jargon doesn’t make you look professional; in fact it often conveys completely the opposite, so stay colloquial for the best results.
Outreach
Once you’ve got a good content strategy – which can also include infographics and videos in addition to news and blog posts – you should be distributing them as widely as possible always bearing your target audience in mind.
For example, weed killer brands could turn to blogger outreach to post content on home and garden blogs rather than simply to their own blog to gain ample exposure.
Read more
From eHarmony to eMarketing: Getting friendly with bloggers
Jenny Maclean
