The growth of content marketing has changed the way businesses connect to it’s consumers and become more personal than ever. With the old ways of pushing content in front of audiences, it has now become more of an educational approach. Consumers are become smarter and information is easier than ever to access. 

It is important for your marketplace to utilize content marketing to become a leader in your industry and stay ahead of your competition. 

   “80% of consumers forget the majority of information from branded content after only 3 days and the majority (over 50%) can’t recall a single detail.” - Netimperative.com

While that statistic may have you thinking why even do content marketing? It goes much deeper than just than the initial publish or posting. Lots of time and effort will be needed to run an effective content marketing strategy. So how can I do it? Here are 4 steps you must address and answer to help your marketplace.

Understand Your Buyer Persona

Who will be looking and reading my content? You must understand your buyer persona before going into your marketing strategy. Figure out what your typical customer by understanding their demographics, behavior patterns, and even goals. The best place to start is with your existing customers. Conduct a short survey to give you a better understanding and ask why they chose to do business with you. Run an analysis of your incoming leads as well as to help supplement your findings.

Once you have conducted your research, it is time to build your buyer personas. Is it okay to have more than one so don’t be afraid of having “too much information”. Whether you have 1 or 5 different buyer personas, be sure NOT to create a “one-size fits all” strategy. One of the biggest mistakes marketers is making one version to address all their needs. Don’t be that marketplace.

Related: How to Identify Your Target Audience For Your Marketplace

Make It Relevant

Are you solving the problems they are looking for? Whether your strategy is to educate your customers or provide support articles, it must be relevant. It is one thing to write great content but if it is not getting in front of the right eye balls then it becomes irrelevant. As you have built your buyer persona, this will give you the information you need to help your marketing efforts. Get on social media and become vocal. Bring thought leadership and a voice behind your accounts to help attract the right crowds.  

“If consumers are failing to engage with or remember content, then it can’t influence their perceptions or purchasing behaviours.” - Netimperative.com

Entice Your Audience

Why should I remember what I just read or saw? How does it benefit the reader? That is just a few of many questions content marketers must ask themselves when creating content. Millions if not billions of articles are on the internet so what will make readers want to chose or click on yours? Entice your audience by creating a headline that stands out to your readers. Many people have followed the trend of creating “click bait” headlines but that has deep ramifications in the long run. While it may make your numbers look good at first, people will soon lose your trust and not see your marketplace as a reputable source.

A great way to build your online traffic is to run contests and promotions that give out prizes. Whether it is having people share a specific article or even your home link in exchange for a discount code. You will be surprised how many people will do it. This will help increase your brand awareness and spread throughout many networks. Instead of spending thousands of dollars on ad spending, the campaign will be doing all the work itself.

Engage, Engage, Engage!

“Almost half of consumers (48%) said they would be convinced to buy from a particular brand if they felt like they interacted and engaged in a conversation with them.” - Netimperative.com

It’s hard to argue with that number. I can’t even count begin to count how many companies out there have social media accounts that are on autopilot. Whether it’s reaching out or trying to interact with them, I get nothing in response. While each marketplace will have it’s own strength and weaknesses, don’t let this be one of them. Engage with your audience on a daily basis and help build an online community. The more your marketplace is seen as a reliable and reputable source, the higher the chances someone will be doing business with you.