In today's digital landscape, where attention spans are fleeting, and competition for engagement is fierce, mastering the art of creating engaging content is essential for businesses striving to stand out. As a content creator or marketer, you're constantly challenged with the task of not just producing content but ensuring it captivates your audience, drives traffic, and ultimately converts leads into customers. So, how do you make content that achieves these goals? Let's explore the strategies and techniques that can elevate your content game and drive meaningful engagement.

The Power of Lists

Ever wondered why articles like "Top 10 Ways to Boost Your Productivity" or "5 Tips for a Healthier Lifestyle" are so popular? It's because they tap into the psychological phenomenon known as the 'top 10 effect.' According to research by Mathew S. Isaac and Robert M. Schindler, approximately 30% of blog posts use lists, and for good reason. Lists are not only easy to consume but also promise quick, actionable insights.

Tips for Creating Engaging Lists:

Meet Specific Needs: Tailor your list to address the specific pain points or interests of your target audience.

Experiment with Numbers: While "Top 10" lists are common, don't be afraid to experiment with different numbers to stand out.

Ensure Skimmability: Use clear headings, bullet points, and concise language to make your list easily scannable for quick consumption.

Storytelling: The Backbone of Engagement

At the heart of compelling content lies storytelling. Like in the movies, compelling storytelling in content follows a three-act structure: setup, confrontation, and resolution. By narrating stories that resonate with your audience, you can create a powerful emotional connection and drive engagement.

Your user, no matter what you are selling or trying to convey, will appreciate a well-told story. If you’re not sure how to do this, then study from those who have done it the best. A pro tip is to take stories that are well written or well told on video and see if you make notes and try to tell your own version of that story for practice. That kind of deliberate practice is something that will help you be better at your craft. 

Your ability to share stories and convey real emotion could differentiate between a casual website or social media visitors and loyal, long-term customers. 

We were working with a client once who was resistant to reviews. They knew they could help on Google Ads but weren't open to putting them on the website. They felt "hokey" they said to us. We convinced them to give them a shot. What we got in return was huge engagement. Just using good stories about our clients resulting in huge wins in revenue for the client. Needless to say they were converted.

Tips for Creating Engaging Stories:

Include Failures and Successes: Authentic storytelling involves showcasing both the highs and lows of the journey. This adds depth and relatability to your content.

Focus on the Customer Journey: Make your audience the protagonist of your stories. Highlight their challenges, aspirations, and how your product or service helps them overcome obstacles.

Use Case Studies: Real-life examples and case studies provide concrete evidence of your product or service's effectiveness. Share stories of satisfied customers to build credibility.

Utilizing How-To Guides

How-to guides are invaluable for providing practical solutions to your audience's problems. Structured step-by-step, these guides offer actionable insights and establish your authority in your niche.

This is, of course, important for specific niches, but for those ones it works for, it can be the ultimate value add. Go out with the mindset that you are going to lead by providing value for free, and you’ll be amazed at the response and positivity you get in return. 

Tips for Creating Engaging How-To Guides:

Address Specific Pain Points: Identify common challenges or questions your audience faces and tailor your guide to provide solutions.

Visual Appeal: Incorporate images, infographics, or videos to enhance the visual appeal and make your guide more engaging.

Simplify Complex Concepts: Break down complex processes into easy-to-follow steps. Use precise language and avoid jargon to ensure accessibility for all readers.

The Value of Testimonials

Testimonials serve as social proof, building trust and credibility and ultimately driving sales. Authentic testimonials from satisfied customers can significantly influence purchasing decisions.

This goes back to the storytelling aspect. There is something that is incredibly powerful about 

Tips for Collecting and Integrating Testimonials:

Seek Authenticity: Genuine testimonials resonate more with audiences. Encourage customers to share their honest feedback and experiences.

Relevance to Content: Choose relevant testimonials to the specific product or service you're promoting. Highlight how it addressed a particular need or pain point.

Visual Enhancement: Where possible, incorporate visuals such as photos or videos of satisfied customers alongside their testimonials to add credibility and authenticity.

Listing Tools

In the age of AI and automation, comprehensive resource lists of tools are highly valuable to your audience.

Tips for Creating Comprehensive Resource Lists:

Curate Carefully: Research and select tools that are genuinely useful and relevant to your audience's needs.

Provide Descriptions: Briefly describe each tool and its key features to help readers understand its utility.

Update Regularly: Keep your resource list up to date with the latest tools and technologies to maintain its relevance and usefulness.

In conclusion, creating engaging content is not just about producing flashy visuals or catchy headlines; it's about understanding your audience, addressing their needs, and telling stories that resonate. By incorporating strategies like lists, storytelling, how-to guides, testimonials, and resource lists into your content marketing efforts, you can effectively engage your customers and drive more traffic to your business. Remember, the key lies in creating content that adds value, sparks emotions, and fosters meaningful connections with your audience.

Ready to boost your content strategy and drive meaningful engagement? Contact us now to explore how our expertise can boost your online presence!

There is no shortage of blog posts and videos talking about Google ranking signals. Backlinks, internal linking keyword placement, and more. All identified factors matter when it comes to seeing results in search. These are all true, by the way. What you do well in the aggregate matters more than any one signal…except for quality. 

We often overlook the idea of quality when it comes to SEO. People care about primary and secondary keywords. They focus on internal linking or old-school tactics to get high placement. People will guest post on blogs or spend a fortune on backlink companies. They often fail to ask themselves the most important and fundamental question for SEO: is it good? 

It’s the most critical metric when it comes to SEO. We'll show you why and how to use it when creating content. 

SHIFTING FROM KEYWORD-FOCUSED to USER-FOCUSED STRATEGIES 

There was a time when it didn’t matter what you said as long as you said it within the right keyword context. Keywords were the password to open doors to higher rankings. Want to rank for “Best Running Shoes?” You better have that in the title. 

Those days are long gone and while keywords matter to some extent, they aren’t what matters most. Google has gone from relying on keywords to surface the best content to focusing on quality. 

In 2014, Google introduced E-A-T. Expertise. Authority. Trust. This was to combat years of black hat SEO tactics. EAT is the cornerstone of any good piece of content. You’re reading this blog because you think I have some credibility to write about SEO and marketing. You wouldn’t read an article from me on cancer prevention or managing diabetes. Even if I thought I knew something about that, I’m not an expert. I have no expertise authority and shouldn't be trusted by anyone as a source worth consulting. 

Since 2014, Google has only doubled down on those metrics as a cornerstone of their algorithm. Look at the Quality Rater Guidelines (actually released in 2013). It's filled with instructions for spotting quality. Everything from verifying the author to spotting things like misspellings and punctuation problems. There are mentions of things like links, but for the most part, it’s all couched in the conversation of quality. 

Future algorithm updates have furthered the quest for quality. They send SEOs like me into a panic, but their intent is good. 

In 2018, Google released the Medic Update. This meant to address pages in the Your Money, Your Life(YMYL) section. This meant financial and health information would be further scrutinized.

This helped address a few things: 

Sites that claimed to be safe were selling products that could compromise safety. 

Sites that have a negative reputation. 

Sites that had negative reviews or no reviews compared to their competitors. 

Fast forward to 2023, and the “helpful content update” went live. This was another significant impact on the world of quality. The aim was at sites that were writing content to rank in Google. They weren’t addressing users' questions. They weren’t providing an experience on-page that left users satisfied. It’s the kind of site we’ve all seen. You type a question into Google, get a page in return that repeats the question or answers it vaguely. 

The goal was to try and aim users toward sites that put thought and care into their answers. Sites that were credible. Sites that provide you with the right information.

With all updates results are hit or miss on the helpful content. SEO experts continue to see some low-quality sites get high-quality rankings. Google is always progressing. Sometimes that progress is not linear.

SO WHAT IS QUALITY? 

This isn’t an easy answer. Quality can vary from topic to topic. The realm of pro wrestling might be a well-put-together slideshow with some rock-solid opinions. Medical information would need citations, studies, and an author or reviewer with a medical background to check the content. With everything else in SEO, the answer is always: it depends.

Simply put, quality is subject-dependent but not completely unique to each subject. While users can differ on which article they like, most users can spot a low-quality article.

Take an article from a financial institution. It contains solid opinions, an understanding of market trends, and case studies. You wouldn’t go to them for information on cancer screenings and treatment. If the institution attempted to do that, it would be substandard.

THE TRIAD OF GOOD CONTENT 

There are three things to consider when we think about quality. 

1. Relevance. Is the content you are writing relevant for the time you are writing it in? An article that focuses on strategies for overcoming the Panda algorithm change would be outdated. A real estate article touting the interest rates of 2016 would be irrelevant as well. 

Good content contains information that applies to the time and place you're reading it in. This is why updating content is essential, especially for a blog that deals with a topic where information is ever-changing. 

2. Depth. How much information can you supply on a given topic? People misunderstand the idea of depth in content. It’s not about how many words you can write; it’s about answering someone’s query to the fullest. Did you provide a complete and thorough answer to the question? Did you explain everything? If not, then it lacks depth. 

Say you are a real estate professional writing a blog on applying for a loan. You’d expect that article to have some information about credit scores, factors that affect your credit score, job stability, bank statements, and more. They might also include how interest rates affect loan applications, and how job loss or change can affect your ability to get a mortgage. Then, steps you might need to take to ensure that job loss or change doesn’t impact your ability to get approved.

3. Uniqueness. There’s no sense in spending any amount of time pumping out the same exact article that is already at the top of Google. Unless your expertise is world-renowned, it won’t make a difference in the rankings. Your job is to create something that conveys similar information but feels different. 

If you’re walking through a loan application or mortgage underwriting process, there will be similar information. 

But there are things you can do. Pull added information from interviews or other relevant articles. Add a timeline or a checklist that a user might find helpful. Add a glossary or an FAQ. There are a lot of ways to differentiate your content, but it should be better or different to stand out. 

FACTORS THAT AFFECT QUALITY 

There is a litany of factors that affect the quality of your content. We’re going to touch on a few things here. You should keep these in mind when you are putting together content for a page on your website.

GRAMMAR and SPELLING

This seems pretty obvious, but we’ve all been to a page where it’s clear the person did not edit it. The spelling is substandard. The grammar is bad. It’s not hard to use a service like Grammarly Premium. This service costs around $90 a year and will help you fix a lot of the mistakes you might encounter. 

We would also recommend the Hemingway Editor. The editor costs $10 a month, and you might be able to buy it outright. It helps deal with long, confusing sentences and lets you know the grade level you are writing at. Your goal is to say less with more and make it simple for any audience to understand.

Editing can be time-consuming. What’s the point of writing content that won’t surface in search because you failed to edit it? 

Feel free to experiment with AI as an editing tool but be mindful. Sometimes A.I. doesn’t understand the nuance and style of human language. Make sure you reread what it edited and save an original version so you can return to it.

STRUCTURE 

Layout is so important. It’s not about subsections and making sure you have H2’s labeled. It’s about the organization of information. If you’ve ever read content that meanders, then you know that it’s so important how we organize information. 

Don’t be afraid to create an outline. Also, this is where AI can be helpful. They can take some context from you and rework it to something that makes more sense for your audience. Some tools help make every aspect of creating compelling content easier. They are all either free or low-cost.

TIPS FOR CREATING HIGH-QUALITY CONTENT

Comprehensive Keyword Research And Analysis- 

This is essential because you have to know who you are talking to. Are you talking to someone on the higher end of your funnel? Are you talking to a person at the lowest point in your funnel? 

How are you reaching them? Are you using a query like “best tips for mortgage” or “mortgage application tips?” 

It might seem so similar that it doesn’t matter. It does. The related keywords, and the type of content that ranks near the top can matter. All these things will play a part in how the content is constructed. So be smart and do in-depth keyword research. We go in-depth on this in another post, so please make sure you check that out. There’s a stiff penalty to pay for not getting the keywords right.

Crafting Engaging and Informative Headlines

Think of this as the packaging when you’re walking through a store. It doesn’t matter if the product is great if the packaging is so bad you become disinterested or don’t notice it at all. 

The headline is your opportunity to grab the attention of your target audience. You can sell them on why a click matters here. You don’t have to resort to insane hyperbole and clickbait, but a vanilla headline isn’t the answer either. Be enticing and honest. Give the reader what they expect but with the most style possible. It’s a difficult needle to thread, but with practice, you will get there.

Update As Needed 

Even the best piece of content can feel outdated after some time. Do yourself a favor and update your articles on a regular basis. The key to providing high-quality content is to make sure you are auditing the information. 

Back to the real estate scenario. Interest rates change. Markets change—the standards for a loan application change. Everything changes. Make sure that content reflects the latest and best information for your audience. 

Is the information changing? 

Are your solutions to help people change? 

Is there more context and information you can add that would improve the experience? 

Are there ways to make the information more digestible? 

Are there new tools available to make your content better?

Our recommendation is to revisit your content every six to twelve months. Give it a read and see if it makes sense to you. Does it hold up? 

Don’t update for the sake of updating. You might take a great piece of content and turn it into a substandard piece of content all in the name of updating. When you feel like your piece can be better, make it better.

HOW TO USE SEO TOOLS AND GOOGLE TO MEASURE QUALITY 

Quality is subjective, but we can use tools to improve our content. SEO tools, search console, and analytics help us understand elements we can improve.

1. Use Google Search Console to check on queries and search traffic over time. Here’s a screenshot. In the “search results” tab on GSC, you can filter by page:
   

Paste the URL of the article you have written after a few weeks and see what it’s ranking for. That should inform changes you can make to your content.

1. Is it ranking for the intended queries? 
2. What query is getting the most clicks? 
3. What is the universal position of those queries? 

If something doesn’t fit then ask yourself why. If your intended query isn’t in there, then ask yourself if you optimized for that keyword. The article you wrote might not meet the intent of the user. 

2. Use Google Analytics to Give You Key Article Metrics. If GA4 you can use the “Engagement” and then  “Landing Page” sections to isolate your URL. Again, give GA4 time to process and gather data on your content. But in time, you can see key metrics such as: 

1. Average engagement time per session. This tells you how long people are engaging with your content. 
2. Conversions. If your page aims to drive signups or purchases, was it successful at doing that? 
3. Bounce rate. What percentage of users bounced off the page? 

Make sure that use the date range to look at these over time. Because there’s definitely data and insights to learn as you look at trends over time. 

• If your engagement rate has fallen in the last three months, why? Did you make changes to your website or the page itself? Was there an algorithm update? Has your site traffic fallen? Is this single-page part of a more significant trend? 

3. Use SEO tools on your website to help you determine if other changes need to be made. Companies like Yoast have all-in-one SEO tools. These tools are good at showing you if you are hitting certain SEO metrics. 

1. They might tell you if you have included your focus keyword enough. 
2. They can tell you if your headline is the right length for search. 
3. It will help you with the right meta-description length as well. 
4. It can tell you if you’ve included your focus keyword in the introduction.

There’s a host of information out there that these plugins can provide. 

Stop asking yourself if you have the right keywords. Or you’re asking yourself if the H2’s are optimized then take a step back and ask “Is it good?” Because that is what makes good marketing. That is what makes good content for SEO. While there are some very helpful tools to give you a leg up in the details, don’t ignore the heart of the matter. 

If you have questions or just need a quick conversation about your marketing strategy you can book a free 15-minute consultation. We’re always here to help.

Let’s paint a picture for you. You’re trying to build your websites SEO. You know that if you can bring customers in the door organically you’ll supercharge sales and lower your customer acquisition cost. This is exactly the right idea. 

You only have one problem? You don’t know how to do that right. You aren’t sure how to pick the right keywords. You aren’t sure how to figure out which keyword is the right keyword to use. 

Please don’t dispair. This happens all the time. Everyone who tells you “SEO is easy” has never had to actually map out an SEO strategy. You make one wrong move and it’s hours of time and money out of your pocket all for a venture with on return on investment. 

We’re going to help you out. Here are strategies you can use to find the right keywords for your business. 

1. Understand Your Buyers Journey - It doesn’t matter if you sell shoes or lifecoaching services. Every customer has a journey. They have something that they google when  they aren’t sure what they need. They have something to google when the need becomes clearer. They have something to google when the choice becomes obvious to them. It’s your job to figure it out and lay it out there.

1. What does someone search for when they want to find your business without knowing who you are? This can be something simple like “life coach New York City” or “Mens running shoes under $100 dollars.” It’s your job to know what those keywords look like. 
2. What does someone search for when they are close to making a decision? What do they search for right before directly searching for your business?  Is it something like “how does a life coach help you?” or “Can a life coach help with my marriage?” It could be “best running shoes that aren’t expensive” or “how much should good running shoes cost?” 
3. What does someone search for when they first start their buying journey? How about when they are beginning the sales cycle? Do they search for “how to find a mentor to help with my career” or “how to recharge your mindset?” Could also be “when do you know you need new running shoes?” or “How to improve your mile time for a 5k?”

The goal here is to understand how to figure out the funnel. That’s what you’re supposed to be doing. That will be the most important part of building a keyword funnel that matters.

1. Understand how your target page fits into the buyers journey. "the value of replacing running shoes" or "the advantages of a life coach" are the middle part of the funnel. So loading it up with keywords like “life coach near me” or “running shoes under $100 dollars” might seem out of place.

Where your page sits tells you the kinds of keywords and the mindset of the user you are targeting. It can also help you do other things such as set goals. A page targeted to the bottom funnel user should convert well. Pages for top-funnel users convert poorly. They might do well for a newsletter or PDF that they can download.

2. Understand how your target page fits into the buyers journey. "the value of replacing running shoes" or "the advantages of a life coach" are the middle part of the funnel. So loading it up with keywords like “life coach near me” or “running shoes under $100 dollars” might seem out of place.

1. If you have a competitor in mind then you can start with their best page that would be like yours. Keep in mind because you like a competitor doesn’t mean they are doing well in search. You should consult a software like SEMRush or Ahrefs before proceeding.
2. The other option is to google the keyword or phrase you think is most relevant and see the results that come up. From there you can take that exact page and run it through the search software to see the relevant keywords.
3. You’ll likely see a lot of keywords. If the page has a large amount of traffic it’s not uncommon to see thousands of keywords. Don't get caught up in every keyword. Instead isolate the 3-5 keywords that would make the most sense to copy and reuse.

3. Use the Keyword gap analysis - This is something that is exclusive to Ahrefs. Rather than walk through step-by-step we can let Ahrefs walk you through it themselves.

4. There’s no shortage of SEO software that does keyword research for you. So let’s dive into what that looks like.

1. You have to know what your general idea is for a keyword. All these software solutions provide very good keyword options. They can’t, however, tell you what keyword is right for your customer. Only you can.
2. You can use the keyword research tool on any SEO software and it’s going to give you key information. Some platforms may differ but look for signs such as:
   1. Keyword difficulty. This might be the most important. If you have a new website or are beginning to craft SEO then look for keywords that have a low difficulty score. You can win on harder keywords in time but the lift to do so will be enormous. Focus on keywords that rank as “easy” by the software metrics.
   2. Keyword volume. Of course the more volume the harder it is to rank. On the flip side the easiest keywords usually have the least amount of volume. You’re looking for something that is easy with a reasonable amount of traffic. Small traffic on bottom-funnel pages could mean sales for your business. 
   3. SERP results. Most keyword programs will show you SERPs. Be weary of keywords that claim decent traffic and “easy” difficulty. Sometimes, the SERPS suggest otherwise. A few things to keep in mind when looking at the SERPs:
      1. Are there lots of ads? If so then even cracking the top 3 search results might not pay off as you would hope. 
      2. Are the domains that rank highest well known? If a keyword is “easy” but your top results are WebMD and Mayo Clinic, for example, good luck. 
      3. Do the high ranking articles have lots of backlinks? Backlinks aren’t a 1:1 correlation of SEO success. What that should tell you,  though, is these articles are widely circulated and that takes time and/or money.
3. Look for "related keywords" and “questions.” These are valuable places to see both the keyword you want and keywords that are often related. Make note of everything. Questions are also good. Sometimes a question is what your page should be about. In any regard write down anything you see that looks interesting.
4. Don't go down the rabbit hole. When you search for a query like “men’s shoes” you’ll get thousands of keywords. Stick to what you know your customer will want. Stick to keywords that sound like something you would use. Stick to keywords you know you can create great content around. You can waste hours, resources and money chasing bad keywords. Kept your interests limited and you’ll be great.

5. Consider Using AI. If AI is the future of marketing then why not put it to work now. We use AI to aid in our keyword research. We find it especially helpful with more complicated search projects. Here’s a quick example we encountered recently.

1. We were working for a Global Publisher in need of SEO help. They wanted to create search articles around topics that mattered to specific regions. So we asked ChatGPT to give us the top 5-10 issues that the country is struggling with right now. We gut checked the issues (sometimes GPT can be wrong) and then we went to work. We asked ChatGPT to give us 10-20 keywords related to each issue. Then 10-20 questions related to those issues. This gave us a treasure trove of interesting content that we could pass along to the client. 
2. You might not be dealing with global issues and in that case AI is even easier to use. Here’s how you should think about it:
   1. Ask ChatGPT to create a list of X related keywords to your primary topic 
   2. Ask ChatGPT to create a list of X topics related to your primary keyword (or each keyword depending on how expansive you want to get)
   3. Ask ChatGPT to put them into a table and write the search intent next to each one.

A word of caution on number 3. ChatGPT will sometimes tell you it can’t give you search volume. It can but you might have to ask it a few times and in a few different ways. Be patient. The functionality exists. You might just need to feel it out.

6. Use SEO tools for on-page analyzer.

1. Tools such as SEOlyze, SEMRush and Ahrefs are helpful aides. They allow you to input a landing page and seeing missing SEO elements. Let’s talk about SEMRush and their “On-Page SEO Checker”
   1. Here you can put in your domain. They add your landing page. For each one they will offer ideas. 
   2. Might be structured data that you need to improve.
   3. Could be keyword cannibalization 
   4. It could tell you when it believes you’ve used a target keyword too often.
   5. It will also let you know when you have keywords you could add the page. 

For instance I put in an article on pool shock and it tells me the following keywords could be added:

1. Ph levels
2. Pool chemical 
3. Chlorine levels
4. Pool surfaces
5. Pool parties 
6. Shocking treatment
7. Heavy pool
8. Chlorine free
9. Organic contaminants 
10. Pool usage

b. One thing to keep in mind on semantic keywords. Just because they are recommended doesn’t always mean they are right for your page. You have to consider everything in the context of your page, your site and then your customer. But at the very least this should give you an opportunity to see what else you can be doing.

These are some of the proven ways that you can pick great keywords for your content. There’s no completely fool proof way to do it. You have to decide and determine what is right for you.

If you need help on an expert level, please let us know. You can fill out this contact form or email me at michael@loupeandblade.com to schedule a free consultation to discuss what strategies might be right for you. 

As you break down the marketing stages, you discover that understanding the buyer's journey funnel is paramount to success. This journey, marked by stages of customer awareness, serves as the guiding path for prospective buyers.

In this article, we will examine the significance of the buyer's journey, the various stages, and how to craft compelling content tailored to each phase, all with the ultimate goal of driving return on investment (ROI).

What’s the Significance of the Buyer’s Journey (Customer Awareness) in Content Marketing?

The buyer’s journey is something to be curious about when trying to reach your target audience. These marketing funnel stages serve as the roadmap for content marketers.

Analyze the content marketing funnel to discover the customer's progression from being unaware of their needs to recognizing a problem, considering solutions, evaluating specific products or services, and ultimately making a purchase decision. This journey is the essence of content marketing, and understanding its nuances can significantly impact your ROI.

The buyer's journey is about moving prospects through the stages of awareness, from unaware to most aware. As we explore each stage, keep in mind that content plays a pivotal role in guiding prospects along this journey, influencing their choices, and ultimately driving profit.

Understanding the Awareness Journey: Guiding Prospects to Informed Decisions

The buyer’s journey is characterized by five distinct stages of customer awareness, which serve as a guide for content creators and marketers alike. Each stage of the awareness funnel, from the initially "unaware" prospects to the fully "most aware" consumers, is vital in speaking to the customer’s intent.

Let's uncover the secrets of how to nurture and guide your audience through these stages of awareness for informed decision-making.

The Awareness Spectrum: From Unaware to Most Aware

1. Unaware: At the outset, potential customers are completely unaware of any problem or need. They have yet to recognize that a solution exists.
2. Problem Aware: As customers progress, they begin to identify and acknowledge a specific issue or need. They recognize that a problem exists but may be unaware of potential solutions.
3. Solution Aware: In this stage, customers actively seek solutions to their identified problems. They are open to exploring various options to address their needs.
4. Product Aware: Customers here are aware of potential solutions and familiar with specific products or services, including yours. They have knowledge of available options. This part of the brand awareness funnel is essential to your marketing plan.
5. Most Aware: At the pinnacle of the stages of awareness marketing, customers deeply understand your product or brand. They are well-informed and ready to make an educated decision.

The connection between these stages and purchase decisions is clear. A customer's progression through these stages often corresponds to their readiness to buy. You can better understand the customer’s intent by utilizing awareness funnel marketing.

Effective content marketing involves crafting content tailored to guide customers from the initial unawareness to becoming the most aware, ultimately influencing their purchase decisions. Understanding this spectrum empowers marketers to create content that resonates with their audience at each step of the journey.

image from growthmarketer.com

Nurturing Unaware Audiences

The beginning of the buying funnel is when prospects are completely "unaware" of any problem or need. So, the key to effective engagement is awakening them to the existence of a problem they might not even realize they have. Here's how to target and engage these unaware prospects:

1. Identify Their Pain Points: Conduct thorough market research to understand the pain points or challenges your product or service addresses. This insight will help you pinpoint the specific issues that your content should address.
2. Create Compelling Content: Craft marketing funnel content that subtly highlights the problem while capturing the audience's attention. Short videos and snackable content formats are particularly effective in this stage. These should be engaging, visually appealing, and concise.
3. Pose Thought-Provoking Questions: Use your content funnel to ask questions that prompt the audience to reflect on their situation. For instance, you might ask, "Are you tired of struggling with [problem]?" These questions create awareness without being overtly sales-focused.
4. Provide Gentle Solutions: While the primary goal is to make them aware of a problem, you can subtly introduce the concept of solutions. For example, you might say, "Many people facing [problem] have found success with [type of solution]."
5. Tell Stories: Narratives that illustrate relatable scenarios and outcomes can be powerful. Share stories of individuals who encountered the same problem and how it affected their lives.
6. Use Visuals: Visual content, such as infographics and images within blog posts, can convey information effectively and capture the audience's attention. Visual learners will remember your brand and embrace this part of the content journey.
7. Leverage Social Media: Promote your content on social media platforms to reach a wider audience. Encourage shares and engagement to extend your content's reach. Consumers who are problem-aware solution-aware will be reminded about your product’s availability.
8. Stay Inquisitive: Continue to monitor audience engagement and gather feedback to refine your approach. Adapt your consumer purchase funnel based on the reactions and questions you receive.

Remember, the goal in this stage is not to immediately sell but to create awareness of a problem. By engaging with your audience in a subtle and empathetic manner, you can lay the foundation for their journey toward becoming informed and eventually making purchase decisions.

Guiding Problem-Aware Prospects

As consumers transition from being completely "unaware" to becoming "problem aware," a growing recognition of a specific issue or need becomes more apparent. During this crucial stage, it's essential to understand their questions and research behaviors, create content that identifies and addresses the problem, and engage with relevant online communities.

Here's how to guide problem-aware prospects effectively through the customer purchase funnel:

1. Recognizing the Problem: Problem-aware prospects begin recognizing that they have a particular problem or need. They may have experienced challenges or discomfort related to this issue.
2. Questions and Research: They seek answers and information about their problem. This includes conducting online searches, reading articles, watching videos, and engaging in discussions on social media or forums.
3. Content Creation: To cater to problem-aware prospects, create content that identifies and focuses on the specific problem they are encountering. Your content should offer valuable insights, solutions, and answers to their questions.
4. Keyword Research: Utilize search listening tools to identify the keywords and phrases that problem-aware prospects are using in their online searches. This research will help you tailor your content to match their queries.
5. Engage with Online Communities: Actively participate in online communities, forums, and social media groups where your target audience discusses their problems. Provide helpful responses, share relevant content, and establish yourself as a knowledgeable resource.
6. Educational Content: Offer comprehensive guides, how-to articles, and tutorials that provide actionable solutions to the identified problem. Address their concerns and offer guidance so they progress through the marketing stages awareness with your brand in mind.

By focusing on the questions and needs of problem-aware prospects, you can position your brand as a valuable source of information and assistance and increase chances of an awareness consideration conversion. Build trust and pave the way for prospects to move further along the awareness journey toward considering your product or service as a solution.

Presenting Solutions to Solution-Aware Prospects

As prospects transition from being "problem aware" to "solution aware," they undergo a shift in their mindset. They actively seek potential fixes at this stage and are open to considering various solutions.

To guide and engage these prospects effectively, it's crucial to understand this shift, provide compelling proof, and offer valuable content. Solution-aware prospects are now actively exploring potential solutions to address their identified problem.

They are keen to learn about available options and evaluate which one best suits their needs. To gain the trust of solution-aware prospects, providing concrete proof of your product or service's effectiveness is essential.

This can be achieved through various means:

• Case Studies: Share real-life examples of how your solution successfully resolved similar issues for other customers.
• Success Stories: Highlight stories of individuals or businesses that benefited from your product or service. Include tangible results and outcomes.
• Testimonials: Gather testimonials from satisfied customers who can vouch for the quality and effectiveness of your solution.
• Influencer Reviews: If applicable, leverage influencer marketing by featuring reviews and endorsements from industry influencers.

Continue to offer educational content that helps solution-aware prospects understand the intricacies of different solutions. Provide in-depth guides, comparisons, and expert insights.

By presenting solid proof and comprehensive information, you can assist solution-aware prospects in making informed decisions. Your content should not only showcase the value of your solution but also demonstrate how it addresses their specific needs and pain points. This approach significantly influences prospects as they move closer to making purchase decisions.

Convincing with Product Awareness

As prospects progress from being "solution aware" to "product aware," they enter a phase where they are aware of available options, including your product, and evaluating which one best suits their needs. To effectively engage and convince these prospects, it's crucial to showcase your product's superiority, highlight how it solves their problem, and provide valuable and engaging content.

Here's how to do it:

1. Understanding the Landscape: In the "product aware" stage, prospects have knowledge of various solutions, including your product. They are actively researching and comparing options to determine which aligns best with their requirements.
2. Showcasing Superiority: Emphasize what sets your product apart from the competition. Highlight its unique features, benefits, and advantages. Use persuasive language to convey why your product is the superior choice.
3. Problem-Solving Focus: Your content should revolve around how your product effectively solves the prospect's specific problem. Showcase real-world scenarios and demonstrate how your product addresses their pain points.
4. Valuable and Engaging Content: Offer content that not only informs but also engages. This can include product demonstrations, interactive content, and comparison landing pages.
5. Customer Testimonials: Share testimonials from satisfied customers who have experienced positive results with your product. Real-life experiences and endorsements carry substantial weight.
6. Interactive Tools: Consider interactive tools or calculators that allow prospects to see the direct benefits of using your product in their specific situation.

By effectively showcasing your product's superiority and its problem-solving capabilities, you can instill confidence in product-aware prospects. Your content should make it clear that choosing your product is not just a decision but a solution to their needs. This approach significantly influences prospects as they move closer to making informed purchase decisions.

Guiding Prospects to Becoming Most Aware

In the "most aware" stage, prospects understand your product or brand in-depth. They are well-acquainted with its features, benefits, and how it addresses their specific needs.

Prospects at this stage are on the verge of making a decision. They have likely narrowed down their choices and are considering your product seriously.

To guide prospects effectively at this stage, reinforce your brand authority and further educate them through advanced content formats. Here’s how to do it:

1. Expert Content: Create advanced content formats that showcase your expertise and authority in your industry. This can include webinars where you provide in-depth insights, expert interviews, and comprehensive guides.
2. Case Studies: Offer detailed case studies that illustrate how your product has solved complex problems for other customers. Showcase quantifiable results and success stories.
3. Thought Leadership: Publish thought leadership pieces that establish your brand as a leader in your niche. Share industry trends, research findings, and expert opinions.
4. Interactive Workshops: Host interactive workshops or online events, allowing prospects to engage directly with your brand. These can be informative sessions that address specific industry challenges.
5. Educational Resources: Continue providing educational resources at an advanced level. Offer in-depth guides, whitepapers, and research reports that further educate prospects.
6. Community Engagement: Encourage prospects to join your brand's online community or forum to interact with other customers and gain insights.

In the "most aware" stage, your aim is to solidify your brand's authority and provide prospects with the information they need to make a confident decision. Advanced content formats reinforce your brand's expertise and demonstrate your commitment to offering valuable solutions.

This strategic approach enhances the prospects' trust in your brand and significantly influences their purchase decisions.

Learn More About the Buyer’s Journey from Loupe & Blade

When you understand each customer’s buyer's journey, you’ll know how to reach them better. Recognizing where your audience stands on this spectrum, you can tailor your content to guide them toward becoming the most aware consumers.

This strategic approach enhances brand loyalty and significantly impacts your ROI. Remember, the buyer's journey is your roadmap to success.

Are you ready to master the art of guiding prospects through the Buyer's Journey? Explore Loupe & Blade’s comprehensive suite of resources and expert insights to elevate your content marketing strategies. Join us in optimizing your brand's awareness, consideration, and conversion tactics.

One significant aspect of digital marketing that businesses overlook is organic growth in business. Organic content, while it may demand initial investments in terms of time and effort, holds the potential to fuel sustainable and long-lasting business growth.

In this article, we’ll talk about the advantages of organic content and explore how it can become a powerful catalyst for the growth of business.

What Is Organic Growth in Business?

Before we dive deeper, let's understand what organic growth in business entails. Organic business growth refers to a business's natural and sustainable expansion through methods that don't involve paid advertising or acquisitions.

Instead, organic growth business relies on creating valuable, engaging, and shareable content to attract, retain, and convert customers.

Benefits of Organic Content vs. Paid Content

The debate of organic vs. inorganic growth in business continues to be a focal point for companies desiring to maximize their online presence and drive growth. While organic traffic vs. paid traffic offers merits on both sides, the benefits of organic content, often stemming from authenticity, long-term value, and customer trust, stand out prominently against the backdrop of paid strategies.

Cost-Effectiveness and Long-Term Value of Organic Content

One of the most compelling advantages of a thorough organic content strategy lies in its cost-effectiveness and long-term value. While it may demand upfront investments in creating high-quality content, the returns can be substantial.

Unlike paid advertising, which requires ongoing financial commitments, organic content with targeted keywords can continue to yield benefits over time. It builds a solid foundation for sustainable growth, positioning businesses for success in the long run.

Building Credibility and Trust with the Audience through Organic Engagement

Organic content plays a pivotal role in establishing trust and credibility among the target audience. Unlike paid content, which can sometimes come across as promotional, organic content focuses on delivering value and solutions to the audience's needs.

This authenticity fosters trust and enhances the audience's perception of your brand.

Establishing a Genuine Connection and Loyalty with Customers

Loyalty is the bedrock of business success, and organic content is a powerful tool for building a loyal customer base. Businesses can forge genuine connections that extend beyond transactional relationships by consistently providing value, addressing customer concerns, and engaging in meaningful conversations.

The Potential for Exponential Growth through Organic Reach and Word-of-Mouth

Organic content has the potential to trigger exponential growth through organic reach and word-of-mouth. When your content resonates with the audience, they become your brand advocates, sharing your content and referring others.

Positive word-of-mouth is a force multiplier, amplifying your brand's reach and impact.

How Organic Content Can Benefit Business Growth

The art of creating valuable, engaging, and shareable content without resorting to paid advertising has become pivotal in attracting and retaining customers. From generating qualified leads and enhancing brand visibility to improving SEO and nurturing customer loyalty, we examine the transformative potential of organic content.

Generating Qualified Leads and Increasing Conversions through Organic Engagement

To leverage organic engagement effectively, businesses should focus on creating content that addresses their target audience's pain points, needs, and interests. By incorporating strong calls to action and lead capture mechanisms, businesses can convert organic engagement into qualified leads and ultimately increase conversions.

Enhancing Brand Visibility and Recognition through Organic Content Distribution

Organic content plays a pivotal role in expanding brand visibility and recognition, ultimately increasing organic traffic to your site. When your content is shareable, discoverable, and aligned with your brand's values, it resonates with your target audience and strengthens your brand's presence in the market.

Improving SEO and Organic Visibility

Organic content is a driving force behind increasing SEO organic traffic and visibility. Businesses can achieve sustainable growth by generating qualified leads through SEO, increasing visibility, and converting those leads.

Leveraging User-Generated Content for Organic Brand Promotion

User-generated content (UGC) is a treasure trove for organic brand promotion. Encourage your customers to share their experiences, reviews, and testimonials.

UGC not only serves as social proof but also engages your community and expands your organic reach. Your target audience already trusts the person sharing their experience, so that part is done for you.

Strategies for Maximizing Organic Engagement

To maximize organic engagement, businesses should consider the following business growth strategies:

Understanding Your Target Audience and Their Preferences

Start by gaining a deep understanding of your target audience and their preferences. Tailor your content to resonate with their needs, interests, and pain points.

Creating High-Quality and Valuable Content

High-quality content is the cornerstone of organic engagement. Create content that delivers real value, addresses customer concerns, and provides actionable solutions.

Optimizing Content for Search Engines

Ensure that your content is optimized for search engines. By following best SEO practices, you can boost your organic visibility and attract a broader audience.

Leveraging Social Media Platforms for Organic Content Distribution

Social networks offer a vast and engaged audience eager to discover valuable content. By crafting compelling posts, sharing insightful articles, and engaging with followers, businesses can organically amplify their reach and foster meaningful connections with their target audience.

Nurturing Organic Engagement for Sustainable Growth

To nurture organic engagement and foster sustainable growth, consider the following strategies:

Building a Loyal Community with Engaging Content

Engage your audience with compelling and interactive content. Foster a sense of community where your customers feel valued and heard.

Establishing Thought Leadership in Your Industry

Position your brand as a thought leader in your industry by sharing valuable insights, industry trends, and expert opinions.

Leveraging Email Marketing for Ongoing Engagement

Email marketing is a potent tool for ongoing engagement. Nurture your leads, share valuable content, and keep your audience informed.

Data-Driven Approach to Optimize Organic Content Strategies

Use data and analytics to optimize your organic content strategies continuously. Identify what works and what doesn't and refine your approach accordingly.

Amplify Your Organic Content Strategy

It’s easy to see that organic content stands as a beacon of authenticity and value. It has the power to drive business growth by generating qualified leads, enhancing brand visibility, improving SEO, and fostering lasting customer relationships.

Embrace the power of organic content to fuel your business's journey toward sustainable growth and success. Our experts at Loupe & Blade can help you get started.

One phrase still rings true: "Content Is King." The one way you can build brand awareness and loyalty is through publishing high-quality, engaging content. With the emergence of AI, some companies may ask how they can save money by using AI for content generation.
We’re here to tell you that it is possible to save money, but you cannot remove the human touch from your content altogether. If you want to continue to build an authentic customer base, you need to learn to use AI as a companion instead of using it to replace human writers altogether.

Who Coined the Phrase "Content Is King"?

Before we dive into the significance of content in your marketing strategy, let's take a moment to acknowledge the origins of this influential phrase. In 1996, Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft, declared that "Content Is King" in an essay he wrote. Gates emphasized the growing importance of high-quality content in capturing and retaining the attention of online audiences. Little did he know that his words would become a guiding principle for marketers around the globe.
If you want to share your origin story to speak to customers who may relate, you share it through content. If you want to communicate a new product or updated features, you publish an article announcing the changes. If you want to hear from customers, you create a social media post or use email marketing to ask for vital feedback on how you can better suit your customers’ needs. All of this is made possible through genuine and compelling content.

Exploring the Meaning of "Content Is King"

At its core, "Content Is King" means that the value and quality of the content you produce play a vital role in attracting and engaging your target audience. It emphasizes the idea that delivering valuable, relevant, and captivating content is essential for building a strong online presence and achieving business success.

Now, let's explore why content continues to reign supreme in 2023. You may think that with the creation of AI, businesses can use bots to create SEO content and drive visitors to the website. However, it’s not that simple. AI creates content that may check all the boxes, but it needs human contribution if you want visitors to stick around and stay engaged.
Reigning Supreme in 2023: Why Content Still Holds the Crown
The truth is that good content is king. Let your content stand out from competitors by including authenticity and brand voice in everything you publish. Let your customers get to know the person behind the brand.

1. Expand Your Reach: Content's Role in Audience Building
   Creating compelling and shareable content opens avenues to expand your reach and attract a wider audience. Whether through blog posts, social media content, videos, or podcasts, high-quality content acts as a magnet, drawing in potential customers and increasing your brand's visibility.
   Use content to insert keywords and build up your website’s rankings on search engines. The more people see your name in search results, the more they will trust your brand.
2. Build Trust: Enhancing Brand Reputation with Content
   Trust is a fundamental factor in building strong relationships with your audience. You establish yourself as an authoritative source in your industry by consistently producing valuable and trustworthy content. This not only strengthens your brand reputation but also fosters trust and credibility among your target audience.
   When you optimize your content, you can ensure an increase in the number of eyes that will visit your website and ultimately gain exposure to your product or service. While your content can perform well by SEO standards, make sure to gain trust by publishing engaging and top-quality content to keep viewers on your site.
3. Understand Your Market: How Content Provides Audience Insights
   Content creation goes hand in hand with understanding your target market. Analyzing audience engagement and feedback allows you to gain valuable insights into their preferences, pain points, and behaviors. This data allows you to effectively tailor your marketing strategies and offerings to meet their specific needs.
   Use data such as how long a user stays on a webpage, how far they scroll down, if they use internal links to visit other areas of the website, and more. Then you can make the necessary changes to improve these metrics to your advantage.
4. Enhance Your Offering: Leveraging Content for Added Value
   Content acts as a vehicle for showcasing the unique value proposition of your products or services. By creating informative and persuasive content, you can highlight the benefits, features, and solutions your offerings bring to your customers. This enhances the perceived value of your brand and can ultimately drive conversions.
   Keep your audience engaged through social media and email marketing to provide updates and get them excited about new offerings. Content is not only the written word. Use videos, charts, and infographics to add variety to your content strategy.
5. Boost Traffic: Content's Impact on SEO and Visitor Numbers
   Well-optimized and search engine-friendly content can significantly improve your website's visibility in search engine results, driving organic traffic to your site. By incorporating sound SEO practices like relevant keywords, creating engaging meta tags, and providing valuable information, your content becomes a powerful tool for attracting visitors and boosting your search engine rankings.
   Each article you publish should include SEO content that could potentially bring in organic customers for years to come.
6. Increase Engagement: Compelling Content for Better User Interaction
   Engaging content has the ability to captivate your audience and encourage meaningful interactions and maximize visibility. Whether through thought-provoking articles, interactive videos, or entertaining social media posts, compelling content sparks conversations, shares, and comments, fostering a sense of community and connection with your audience.
   Post Q&A sessions, tutorials, how-to videos, and polls to keep your audience excited and interactive in your content. When you become a go-to source for industry knowledge and trends, you will increase brand loyalty.
   How Content Improves Your Conversion Rate
   The ultimate goal of any business is to convert potential customers into paying customers. (2) Well-crafted and persuasive content plays a pivotal role in driving conversions. By aligning your content with your target audience's needs and desires, you can create a compelling narrative that convinces them to take the desired action. To delve deeper into this topic, read our blog post on using (1) organic content to skyrocket your conversion rates.
7. Link to Unleashing the Potential: How Organic Content Creation Can Skyrocket Your Conversion Rates”
8. Use natural hyperlinking to link the upcoming blog “The Power of Organic Engagement: How Creating Content Can Drive Business Growth"
   You do not have to come up with a content strategy from scratch. Utilize a number of tools at your disposal, (3) including AI. AI has the capability to analyze your needs and identify missing topics or (4) keywords that could reach a new audience. Use AI as an assistant during your content planning stages and enjoy the results.
9. Use natural hyperlinking to link the upcoming blog “How to Use AI to Effectively Create a Content Strategy”
10. Use natural hyperlinking to link the upcoming blog “How to use AI for Keyword Research”
    Step-by-Step Guide to Optimize Your Content for Maximum Visibility
    Creating content is one thing, but optimizing it for maximum visibility is a whole different ball game. To ensure your content reaches its intended audience, consult our step-by-step guide on optimizing your content effectively. Stay tuned for actionable tips and strategies to elevate your content's visibility and drive business growth.
    Choose Loupe & Blade for Your Trusted SEO Consultant
    In conclusion, content continues to hold the crown. Its ability to expand reach, build trust, provide insights, enhance offerings, boost traffic, increase engagement, and improve conversion rates makes it an indispensable tool for businesses in 2023. By embracing the power of content, companies can truly connect with their audience, establish their brand, and achieve remarkable success.
    Loupe & Blade can help you conduct a content audit and publish optimized content from here on out to increase organic visitors to your site. Chat with our experts to see what we can do to grow your business.

Are you curious about how to leverage the power of AI to supercharge your content strategy? It’s time to unlock the mystery of AI and get familiar with it instead. Explore the advantages of AI in content marketing and how it can revolutionize your content ideation, creation, optimization, and distribution.

Discover the power of AI, such as “How to Use AI for Keyword Research” and other uses. AI is here to stay, and you will remain competitive if you learn to use it to your advantage.

Understanding AI in Content Strategy

AI technologies, such as natural language processing (NLP), where computers can learn to understand and interpret human language. Machine learning and data analytics allow computers to learn from data to improve performance without being programmed to do so.

These AI subsets are game-changers when it comes to content strategy. They bring a wealth of benefits to every stage of the content creation process. From generating ideas you may have never considered to optimizing content for maximum visibility, AI is a tool worth using.

To begin, let's explore some specific AI techniques that are commonly used in content strategy:

Sentiment Analysis

Use AI to analyze the emotions and sentiments of your customer feedback. AI can browse all comments and requests to determine how customers feel about your product or service.

Topic Modeling

AI can help you uncover trends, identify content gaps, and generate fresh ideas by analyzing large pieces of data. It's like having an assistant that helps you stay ahead of the curve. Catch trends early to stay at the forefront of the industry.

Content Recommendation

AI can provide personalized content suggestions to your audience based on their preferences and behaviors. This ensures you deliver the right content to the right people at the right time. These recommendations are generated from data research, all done by the computer.

Automated Content Generation

AI can generate full blog posts, product descriptions, web pages, and more. You can save time by skipping the tedious writing and focusing on editing instead. All content requires a human touch, so using your expertise for the final edit is much more valuable than writing it all from scratch.

Advantages of Using AI in Content Strategy

AI is ready and waiting to be used by your business to increase creativity and efficiency. The benefits of incorporating AI into your content strategy are remarkable. Here are just a few advantages:

Enhanced Content Generation

AI-powered tools can help spark creative ideas, provide data-driven insights, and even generate content drafts. It's like having a brilliant writing partner who brainstorms ideas and brings up topics you would never have considered alone.

Improved Content Personalization

AI analysis allows you to see a full picture of your target audience and what they are asking from you. Consider AI recommendations so that you can put out targeted content that will speak to your consumers. Build brand loyalty by implementing your customer’s ideas and interests into your content.

Increased Efficiency

Spend more time growing your business, knowing your content is well-written and personalized to your potential customers. Platforms like Jasper.ai offer automated content creation, saving you time and resources.

Scalability

AI streamlines content production processes, allowing you to scale your efforts without compromising quality. Write articles in bulk in just a few minutes, then focus your energy on enhancing those articles by adding emotion, personality, and editing to match your brand voice.

Boosting Content Performance

AI can identify why your article performs poorly in the search results. AI can help boost your web page’s SEO results by suggesting keyword changes, backlinks, and format ideas.

AI can provide the insights you need into why your content is or is not working. Create a content strategy that actually works when you implement AI techniques into your content strategy.

Drawbacks and Limitations of AI in Content Strategy

While AI is incredibly powerful, it's essential to acknowledge its limitations and potential drawbacks. Here are a couple of things to keep in mind:

Human Oversight

AI-generated content still needs a human touch. Content writers must exercise human judgment and oversee the AI-generated content. Repetitive phrasing, robotic writing patterns, and uncommon phrases can lose readers before they get a chance to learn about your product.

Quality Control

Perform quality control checks to address run-on sentences, repetitive transitions, and monotonous content. When you combine AI-generated content with human editing, it can result in a high-quality and engaging article.

Content Limitations

While AI can assist content writers, addressing challenges such as maintaining a consistent brand voice, ensuring authenticity and originality, and avoiding the risk of generating generic or low-quality content is crucial. Use your expertise to add to the content before publishing.

Ambiguity

AI-generated content can be too general, writing around a point instead of speaking with authority. Readers will recognize this immediately and lose trust in your business.

Limited Context

When a human writes an article, we know about the business and industry we are writing about. However, AI may collect research and speak out of context, not knowing the background required to speak on the topic accurately.

AI Tools and Platforms for Content Strategy

Now that we've explored the advantages and limitations, let's take a look at some fantastic AI tools and platforms that can supercharge your content strategy:

MarketMuse.com

This platform leverages AI to provide content intelligence, helping you create data-driven strategies and optimize your content for improved performance.

HubSpot.com

HubSpot offers various AI-powered tools and features to streamline content creation, optimization, and distribution, empowering you to drive better results.

Crayon.co

Crayon's AI platform enables you to monitor and analyze your competitors' content strategies, helping you gain insights and stay ahead of the competition.

Acrolinx.com

Acrolinx combines AI and natural language processing to ensure consistency, quality, and compliance in your content across various channels and languages.

AI Is a Valuable Tool for Improving Your Content Strategy

Now that you’ve gained a solid understanding of how AI can transform your content strategy, you can use AI to improve your business. From generating creative ideas to optimizing content for maximum impact, AI is a powerful ally.

Remember to embrace its benefits while exercising human oversight and leveraging AI tools wisely. Explore the possibilities and take your content strategy to new heights with the help of AI. Loupe & Blade is available to support your endeavors and maximize the benefits of using AI.

Marketing plans are a loaded question. In my career I’ve seen the most robust and well thought out marketing plans fail and seen some of the simple, most grass roots marketing strategies pay off huge and push a brand forward. The truth is that while it seems random, it’s not. 

We’re going to get into everything and help you engineer your business to new heights with a content marketing plan that makes sense. 

What is content marketing?

In a word: everything. Content marketing is any information, story or other media you share with your audience. SEO blog post? That’s content marketing. Social media post? That’s content marketing. Podcast about the industry your business is a part of? That’s content marketing. The truth is any time you communicate with your ideal audience that’s content marketing. 

So the first step here is to get out of this mindset that many have. It’s not just written. It’s not just SEO. It spans the spectrum of channels for your audience. 

Why is content marketing important?

How you choose to communicate with your audience/customer is the most important thing. Every interaction you have, every opportunity you get to share information with them is a building block in that relationship. Say something offensive and you destroy those blocks you were building. Say something that resonates with them (even the trivial like pricing) and you’re adding another block back. 

Maybe it’s an e-guide to help them do something better? Maybe it’s a social media post celebrating a win in the company? Maybe it’s an SEO blog that answers a common question they have. Maybe it’s a podcast that discusses the founders journey. All of these things are possible and how you do them is important. The devil, as they say, is in the details. 

What are the elements of a great content marketing plan?

I’ll break them down for you here so pay attention: 

1. Know your audience. Not just where they are online but who they are. What do they care about and what motivates them? Selling a $10 pair of socks and a $5 million dollar house may have very different customers. They may value different things and my expect different from your business.
2. Know the channels that can convey your message to your audience. Is your product visual? If so them maybe you want to focus on IG and TikTok because they allow you to show things more easily than a blog or email. Do you sell a service because maybe an email or LinkedIn post provides more value. 
3. Know your customer through each phase of the journey. What is the persona and mindset of a person who is ready to buy your product or service? What about the person a little bit further away from that step? What about the person who doesn’t even know they want your product or service yet.
   Think about a car dealer. The conversation they have with someone who is in need of a car this week is different than someone who is just mulling the idea of buying something in the next month. How you talk to different people at different stages matters. 

How to create a content marketing strategy

So this is important and useful: 

1. Outline the funnel. Where are your people at Stage 1(furthest away) Stage 2(closer) and Stage 3(closest). Who are they at each stage? 
2. Where are they likely to find you at each stage? If they don’t know you exist then where are they hanging out? If they are Stage 3 it’s likely they have been to your website or are on the email list. Those people can be treated differently and targeted with ads or personalized emails, for instance. 

If you can figure out these things it’s going to help you immensely. I recommend spending 70% of your time on Stage 3 and 20% on Stage 2 and the last 10% on Stage 1. 

How to develop content topics

This is pretty easy. If you know your customer and where they are at each stage you just need to sit down and map out all the questions and the research they are doing. Again, if your product is pretty simple like socks then maybe you don’t need to think as deeply but the more complicated or confusing your service is the more you should think about this.

I had a client once that offered mental health services. At Stage 3 we knew that most of the content they would want to consume was answering questions about therapy. How long does it last? Do you have to do therapy forever? What do you do after therapy? 

We also knew that someone at Stage 2 was probably just coming to grips with the challenges they were having so they had a lot of questions about the diagnosis/disorder in general. 

The point is once we knew that we could easily start moving through topics and developing ideas. 

How to measure success

You have to know your platform and your intent. If you’re looking to get clicks from instagram it’s probably the wrong metric. You should be looking at impressions and comments and overall engagement. Search, on the other hand, you should be able to see more traffic, leads, sales, etc. If you seeing the traffic but not the leads or sales then there may be a problem with the content or with the conversion tools you are using. 

The important thing here is that you want to be patient and know exactly what you are looking for. Also, keep your wins realistic. It would be nice if the next social post you put out went viral and everyone was taking about it with great enthusiasm. The truth is that’s very unlikely. So know what your baseline is for engagement on a social post and aim to see engagement above that. 

We overcomplicate things when it comes to marketing. If you don’t know who your customer is then that should be your marketing plan: find out who they are. If you know then you just need to draw off that. Because speaking to them in the place they are with the mindset they have is so important. That impact goes a long way. 

If you think we can help you with your marketing needs, give us a shout.