Engage your online community with relevant digital content
According to the Content Marketing Institute, content marketing generates three times as many leads as paid search advertising. It's no longer a question of whether content marketing is effective or not - enough marketers have used it today to prove its positive effects.
On the other hand, creating content that attracts a maximum number of leads from a sea of competitors is not something everyone can boast about. Don't panic, we've got you covered with our tips for becoming the undisputed master of digital content! 🤩
What is digital content?
Definition
Digital content, or digital marketing, refers to the practice of creating value-added content for visitors, prospects or customers. The No. 1 goal is to attract qualified contacts likely to respond favorably to your content, with a final promise to buy adapted to their problematic.
This is also known as inbound marketing, a methodology that involves bringing the customer to you, rather than going to them yourself. With quality content, you're likely to build a loyal community that will look forward to your next content release!
In fact, there are different types of digital content to suit all your needs:
- articles
- podcast,
- photo,
- white paper,
- e-book,
- and much more.
The digital creator
The digital entrepreneur relies on digital tools and implements a marketing strategy to target his or her persona. Contrary to popular belief, you don't have to be Proust to write quality digital content. 🤓❌
Rely on your empathy and originality to touch your readers, showing them why they need you at this very moment by providing the solution to their problems.
What are the benefits?
One of the main advantages that stands out from classic physical marketing is that you can track the evolution of digital content in real time to fine-tune your strategy.
🚀 An increase in your traffic. With the right tone and content that appeals to your audience, you're almost certain to drive more traffic to your website. Equip yourself with a data indicator to track the number of clicks, user data browsing your web page and that of your competition in real time.
📉 Lower financial costs. Creating digital content doesn't require a huge budget, just a good dose of creativity and the ability to capture your audience's attention . Indeed, unlike traditional marketing, sending out flyers or posters requires a certain price for printing, whereas social networks or the web are totally free and just waiting for you!
💸 Lead generation. By keeping track of your performance, you'll be able to assess the number of leads you've generated and the effectiveness of your content. By addressing practical and useful content, your readers are more likely to want to buy your products in addition to remaining loyal to your company and giving you good publicity on social networks or elsewhere.
Steps to seduce your readers!
Step 1: Define your personas
Identifying who your targets are is the most important step in the process. Addressing every possible person to sell X number of products no longer works. Refine your targets, narrowing them down as much as possible, by addressing a unique group of consumers who are looking for exactly what you offer, and who are most likely to consume your products.
Fill in all the information on your personas, such as :
- gender
- age
- their issues,
- consumer habits,
- their hobbies.
These are all elements that will enable you to set up your marketing strategy and adapt your digital content accordingly.
Step 2: an example of a suitable format
Once you've identified your personas, choosing the format for your content will be that much easier. Ask yourself just one question: what type of content will your persona enjoy viewing? 🤷♀️
Here are a few examples:
- Articles. The must-have, easy-to-create content that benefits from good Google referencing (so you can reach more readers);
- White papers. The content won't be referenced, but will be available for download, so that your readers can fill in their contact details (e-mail address), converting your traffic into leads.
- Podcasts. The audio format is all the rage, especially for busy personas who don't necessarily have the time to read an entire article.
- Social networks. All companies now post content on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram and many others. It's the best way to attract users' curiosity quickly, boost your visibility, acquire new prospects, convert customers and conduct competitive intelligence!
Step 3: write clearly and dynamically
Make sure you write content that's easy to understand, covering enough points to give your readers an answer to their problem, without going on for hours about the subject. The editorial line should be chosen in advance according to your persona, so as to reach them directly.
As a general rule, 20-30% of your content goes unread, so it's best to be dynamic and to get straight to the point, so as not to bore your reader. The title is therefore the most important element to work on to ensure that the reader clicks on your content.
Don't forget to proofread and correct your spelling mistakes, which can stain and discredit you.
💡 Please note: add a comment space to engage your readership.
Step No. 4: Focus on the visual
Even if the quality of the content is essential, adding a touch of color is not to be neglected. In marketing, it's a proven fact that the more eye-catching the visual, the more interest you generate. Sight is the sense most in demand, as it is the one most stimulated by our environment. It's up to you to be creative and add enough eye-catching elements to your content, such as diagrams, graphs, drawings, GIFs - the choice is yours!
Just as you consume, your users are attracted to aesthetically pleasing content, so don't miss the opportunity to brighten up their day! Of course, don't overuse images that have nothing to do with your content. An image that illustrates what you're saying is a plus for the reader's understanding.
🛠️ To manage your visuals efficiently, we recommend the use of Digital Asset Management software. Ephoto Dam, for example, allows you to centralize, share and work collaboratively on your media, then publish them easily across all your marketing and communication channels. The various plugins (Adobe suite, Microsoft Office 365, WordPress or Drupal CMS, etc.) save your teams precious time by integrating the tool into your information system.
Step 5: Natural referencing
For even greater visibility on search engines, you can adopt SEO methods!
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the set of methods and techniques that aim to position your website's web pages in the top results of search engines such as Google, Bing, Yahoo and others.
With 1.84 billion websites on the Internet by 2021, your one and only chance of standing out from all the competition is to pay close attention to your SEO content. Even if your site is extremely well crafted with aesthetic, accurate and high-quality content, you'll remain at the bottom of the pile if you don't adopt this method.
There are many tools available, such as the widely used Google Search Console, to :
- determine the right keywords to include in your web article,
- track traffic based on a specific query,
- indicate the level of competition, etc.
Creating digital content is essential today if you want to generate traffic to your website and attract future customers. Keep up to date with the latest trends to adapt your content to the new generation! 🔥
And what's your little secret for seducing your audience?
Article translated from French