Learn how to start building your brand through content
As more and more businesses adopt content-led marketing, target audiences are becoming increasingly discerning. Salary surveys, which for so long were the signature piece of content for an agency, are becoming passé, especially when websites such as Glassdoor are reshaping the market, with real-time, up-to-date, accurate information. So, what should you do to adapt and how should you approach your content strategy to create engagement and ROI?
First, think about what question you are looking to address. How relevant is that question to the audience you are seeking to engage with? How much other content is there around the same theme? If there is already a lot, what is going to make yours stand out?
Secondly, how are you going to answer that question? What unique data do you have which can be used to create insight? If in the first instance you don’t have unique data, is it possible to create some by conducting market research amongst your client pool? Tools such as Survey Monkey enable free market research to be carried out amongst small data-sets.
Also, who is going to write the analysis and how much writing do they do? Will anyone be responsible for challenging their analysis internally before it is produced? Is the content going to be visibly authored by them, or are they writing it for someone else? Are you looking to build the brand around the business or the individual writing?
Is this content a one-off or to be a part of a campaign? If it is a one-off, why has that decision been made? What would the implications be for the business to look to have a guaranteed frequency, e.g. producing content monthly?
Can you partner with anyone when looking to produce the content? For example, by combining data you have along with a partner, you can not only have a report showcasing more data than you normally would be able to have, but also have the benefit of both businesses marketing the report to a wider audience.
Once the content has been written, what next? Does your business have a newsletter channel it can distribute through? If so, who is responsible for managing your newsletter data? Have they looked to implement new GDPR requirements for data protection? How are you looking to expand your mailing list? Are you doing AB testing to assess how best to improve open and click rates? Are you attending trade shows or going to events? Can you then create printable versions to take with you and give out?
What is your reach on social media? Within your business is there anyone responsible for centrally managing your digital campaigns across LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and other channels? What are you doing to extend your reach as a business? Are you using tools to allow for scheduling content, if so how much are you publishing, and what engagement is that generating?
With your website, can you create a page to allow people to get the report directly? How well designed is your site for SEO? Is your site integrated with Google analytics, can you see where your traffic is coming from?
Finally, if you feel you have unique insight on a key issue, what about contacting journalists, or a PR agency with the right connections? Whilst the trade press are usually happy to have a look at anything sent to them directly, national broadsheets can be somewhat more discerning, and getting exposure with them by using the right PR firm could catapult your brand exposure and significantly increase the ROI you generate.
