Are you confused about what will you do to get additional customers, acquire more sales, and expect more returns? Have you experienced traditional marketing is no longer effective in reaching to your customer? Content marketing is a better option for these problems.
But how can you create content for your company website? We give answers about what is content marketing, what are the different content formats, how to use the content for your business.
How can we explain content marketing to everyone?
Before we discuss content, we define first what content marketing is. According to Content Marketing Institute, "content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly-defined audience – and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action."
As they say, “Content is King!” and we say, “Engaging Content is Queen!” Creating content marketing strategies play an essential role to target the right audience for your content depending on your business goals. You can also choose what content you can publish based on your business goal you want to achieve. We give you some content format you can use to your next content publishing goals.
List of Content Formats
These are the bunch of options you can choose what format to use in your next content as follows:
- In-person events and experiences
- Blogs on your website
- Social Media Content other than blogs
- Online Presentations
- Webpages
- How-to’s
- Apps
- Content Curation
- Case Studies
- Charts/Graphs
- Ebooks
- Email Newsletters/Autresponders
- Cartoons/Illustrations
- Book Summaries
- Tool Reviews
- Webinars/Webcasts
- Guides
- Giveaways
- FAQs
- Q&A Sessions
- Dictionary
- “Day in the Life of” Post
- Infographics
- Interview
- Lists
- Mind Maps
- Online Game
- Helpful Application/Tool
- Opinion Post
- White Papers
- Vlogs
- Videos
- Movies
- Templates
- Surveys
- Slideshare
- Resources
- Quotes
- Quizzes
- Polls
- Podcasts
- Pinboards
- Photo Collage
- Original Research
- Press Releases
- Photos
- Predictions
- User-Generated Content
- Company News
- Timelines
As we mentioned various content formats to choose from, next we discuss content marketing framework you can employ in creating your content to your company website, social media, or on other websites.
Content Marketing Frameworks
Few content models that can guide you in producing good quality content are the 3D Model and AIDA Model.
Let’s describe first the 3D Model. The 3D Model’s purpose is to shift the focus away from the content marketer going to the audience that the content marketer is trying to reach and engage.
The 3D Framework Model has a basic three steps:
Pain Point → Right Content → Buy Cycle
- Mapping to Paint Point. First, map the content to the pain point or the problem the person is going through.
- Mapping Right Content. Then, use the appropriate type of content for that problem.
- Mapping the Buying/Sales Cycle. Lastly, map the content to the buying/sales cycle of the consumers who have that problem.
If the content doesn’t cater to the right audience with the right problem that your product/service solves, then your content marketing efforts are put in vain. Through this model, the content marketer shifts the focus to the company he represents or to himself/herself but to the person that the content marketer is trying to reach and engage with.
The other type of content framework that you can also use to create your content is – the AIDA Model.
The AIDA Model entails the four different stages a consumer needs to go through to become an actual buying customer. These four stages include Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action (AIDA). During these four stages, your content will ideally attract attention to your brand, incite interest in your product or service, stimulate a desire for it, and take action to try or buy it.
Stage 1: Attracting Attention
Identify first your target audience’s problems and passions. Then, create content that solves their problems and the things they passionate about. Your target audience must also be able to find your content through Google, social media, or another website.
To increase brand awareness, the content should be interesting that they want to engage with your product or service. Once the audience is engaged in your content, they will begin to become curious about what your company offers to prospective customers.
Stage 2: Building-Up Interest
Once your target audience is interested in your product or service, they want to learn about your brand, the benefits of your solution, and to become a better fit for their interest.
To sustain their interest in your brand, solution and fit, highlight your mission statement on your website, describe what is all about your homepage, feature the benefits of your solution on your product or service page, offer case studies, or proof of solutions rendered.
Giving your target audience easy access to information provides them a positive future experience they would encounter with the solution you told them.
Stage 3: Stimulating Desire
Now that the prospect is visualizing about what lies ahead in the future with your company – they are satisfied reading or consuming your content and think about the product or service even better in the actual purchase.
You need to make sure that you stimulate their desire to do something or take action. To catch their desire, keep serving them content. Then, keep giving your audience content. Remind them to subscribe to your blog, make them follow your social media post, and download your offers. The more potential buyers engage with your brand, the more they’ll trust you, boosting the possibilities they’ll eventually buy your product or service.
Stage 4: Spurring Action
After stimulating enough desire about your brand, now it’s time to give them an option to act on it. Place “request a demo”, “free trial”, “contact sales”, and “schedule a call” Call-to-Actions (CTAs) to your homepage, pricing page, and product page.
Having a clear step on what to do next is important to make your prospects eventually buy your product or service.
Audience taking action to all your efforts is the most desirable result of creating a good, interesting, and relevant content. Also, read here to know more about content marketing strategies and how you can use these strategies to your social media.
For more business tips, shoot us a message. To understand how we do business in our Virtual Assistant services offered, read our other blogs, and submit your email below.