It’s that topic that’s difficult to explain and that everyone, from the CEO to the intern of an organization, wants to understand better: digital content.
Everything you create for digital – whether it’s social posts, newsletters, case studies, or blog posts – is considered content. The very best content is crafted and designed to drive prospects to your brand channel organically and increase conversion rates.
That’s easier said than done, however, as digital content is such a broad subject that it’s easily misunderstood. Today, we’ll go through the content process with a tooth comb and ensure no stone is unturned and no opportunity is missed.
What is digital content?
Everything you read, watch, and listen to online is considered content. One day we’ll be able to taste and touch things in the metaverse and they too will be considered digital content. Why is a physical book not considered digital content? Because, as a Pew study summed it up, it’s not “material people contribute to the online world.”
The jump from traditional media to instant online content has come with an evolution in how we consume information. It’s no secret that instant access to information has shortened our attention spans from long-form media like books and magazines to medium-form blog posts and now short-form TikTok videos that dominate Gen X audience consumption.
Digital content creation examples
Written
- Blog Posts
- Ebooks
- Whitepapers
- Case Studies
- Email Newsletters
- Press Releases
Audio & Video
- Videos
- Podcasts
- Webinars
- Online Courses
Visual
- Photography
- Infographics
- Animations and GIFs
- Slide Decks
Interactive
- Social Media Posts
- User-Generated Content
- Surveys, quizzes, polls
- VR & AR Content
Why do we need all this content? Without it, you’d have nothing to show your audience, customers, or prospects. Your social media channels and website would be empty. Enter your company name into Google and no links will appear in your search results. Therefore content acts as essential customer touchpoints, stories that connect the dots to your brand on the buyer journey.
If this all sounds like a lot of work, let’s explore how content enhances your overall marketing strategy and ultimately your bottom line.
How content supports the marketing funnel
The creation of content doesn’t need to be this box-checking exercise. It supports the whole marketing strategy from start to finish, assisting every part of the consumer journey. Every design, word, and post serves a purpose, even if it’s not immediately obvious.
Top of the Funnel: brand visibility and awareness
In the crowded digital marketplace, content is king. Crafting and distributing engaging content across multiple platforms enhances brand visibility. This not only captures attention but also encourages social sharing, amplifying your brand’s reach. The more your content resonates and is discussed, the more exposure your brand gains, attracting new eyes and building a broader audience base.
Middle of the Funnel – targeted audience engagement and building trust
Digital content shines in its ability to connect with specific audience segments through tailored messaging. This targeted engagement not only meets the audience where their interests lie but also significantly boosts interaction rates, essential for nurturing relationships. Moreover, consistently providing valuable insights positions your brand as a thought leader, fostering trust and credibility – key ingredients for customer commitment and conversion.
Bottom of the funnel – customer retention and brand ambassadors
Beyond acquisition, digital content is crucial for retaining customers. Regular updates via newsletters, blogs, and social posts keep your brand top-of-mind, encouraging repeat business and deepening loyalty. Engaging and empowering brand ambassadors through targeted content can amplify your message and foster a community of loyal advocates. Real-time performance analytics allow for agile marketing strategies, optimizing spend, and maximizing impact.
Content used to be about throwing darts at a wall and hoping that something sticks, but the times are changing. Gone are the days of quantity, keyword stuffing, and other divisive content designed to trick search engines and users. Nowadays, Google and platforms like Instagram are rewarding a new type of content creator, one that puts the audience front and center with one simple golden rule.
The golden rule of digital content creation
If there’s one mantra worth repeating over and over again, it’s this:
Every piece of content you create must be useful and relevant to your target audience.
Sounds simple enough, but too often marketers dive into the content creation process without considering their audience at all, spending time working on content that will inevitably garner low engagement.
There are several steps you can take to ensure that your content is useful and relevant before you start work:
Define target audience
Know who you’re talking to – whether they’re young professionals, busy parents, or tech enthusiasts. Create detailed buyer personas, including age, job, interests, and challenges. The more specific you get, the better you can tailor your content to meet their needs.
Conduct audience research
Deepen your understanding by engaging directly with your audience through surveys, interviews, and social media polls. Analyze existing data from your website and social media to see which content performs best. This combination of direct feedback and data analysis will help you understand what your audience likes and needs.
Set clear goals and objectives
Know your “why” – whether it’s increasing brand awareness, generating leads, or engaging customers. Align these goals with your broader business objectives to ensure every piece of content serves a purpose and contributes to your overall strategy.
Perform competitor analysis
Study what your competitors are doing to gain insights into what works in your industry. Identify gaps and opportunities where you can offer something unique or present information in a more engaging way. This will help you differentiate your content and make it more effective.
Focus on quality over quantity
Create high-quality content that provides real value through thorough research, thoughtful insights, and slick presentation. Above all else, original data and unique creativity cannot be replicated making you an authoritative source on the internet. Consistently producing unique and quality content attracts and retains your audience, building trust and credibility.
Choose the right content formats
Some audiences may prefer in-depth blog posts and newsletters, while others prefer quick videos, so try experimenting with different formats. Monitor which content resonates most with your audience and double down on those formats.
Learn how community-centric strategies drive engagement and ROI
Four steps to content mastery
As marketers, we’re busy and our bandwidth is limited. That’s why we create processes for everything we do and content creation is no different. Follow these steps to create content, remove the guesswork, and allow more space for creativity.
Step one: Research
SEO research, also known as keyword research, will show you the search volume of specific keywords or phrases on platforms like Google. This information helps you determine whether creating content around a particular topic or keyword is worthwhile. Perform research on the keywords and phrases relevant to your industry to see if enough people are searching for them to justify building content around them.
A common practice is targeting keywords with a monthly search volume (MSV) and keyword difficulty that corresponds to your domain authority. For example, targeting high-volume (and highly competitive) keywords in the early stages of your blogging efforts likely won’t produce tangible results. Tools like SEMRush or Moz Keyword Explorer can provide a great start in determining the best words or phrases for your brand to target, helping you build traffic and visibility for your content.
Step Two: Creation
Regardless of whether your content creation strength lies in blogging, videos, graphics, podcasts, or another medium, writing quality copy is essential to the creation process. The process follows similar guidelines for each medium:
- Cater to your audience: Write content that addresses your audience’s wants and needs. Use their voice, euphemisms, and sense of humor to construct pieces that resonate with them.
- Be unique: While you don’t need to reinvent the wheel, simply regurgitating existing information won’t help you attain viewership or create value for your audience. Create a unique approach or incorporate new research to make your content stand out.
- Stay true to your voice: Avoid trying to impress your audience with an expansive vocabulary if that’s not how they speak. Such efforts will likely go unnoticed and won’t resonate. Instead, maintain consistency in your brand voice to build trust with your viewers.
- Compel with titles and teasers: Use titles, meta descriptions, and other teasers to entice your audience to read your content. Highlight the benefits of your content right in the title to let them know why they should engage with it.
- Refine through editing: Editing is a subjective process. Some prefer to edit as they create, while others wait a few days to review their work with fresh eyes. Regardless, refine your content by monitoring elements like voice, language, and aesthetics to ensure it aligns with your brand and audience.
Step 3: Publishing
When you’re just starting out, publishing content right away might not significantly affect your audience, as you’re still in the early stages of building it. However, as your audience grows, establishing a consistent publishing schedule becomes crucial. For example, if you commit to delivering a new post every Tuesday, your audience will come to expect and look forward to your content on that day.
A regular publishing schedule builds trust with your audience, as they learn to rely on you for consistent, valuable content. Additionally, analyzing data on your audience’s behavior can help you determine the optimal times to post, increasing engagement and reach. Utilize tools like social media analytics and content management systems to fine-tune your schedule and maximize your content’s impact.
Step 4: Measurement
Researching, creating, and publishing content is only part of the process. To truly succeed, you need to measure the performance of your content. Measurement allows you to understand what resonates with your audience and refine your strategy for maximum impact.
Start by defining key performance indicators (KPIs) that align with your goals. These might include metrics such as page views, engagement rates, conversion rates, and social shares. Use tools like Google Analytics, social media insights, and marketing automation platforms to track these metrics.
Regularly review your data to identify trends and patterns. For example, which types of content are driving the most engagement? Are there certain topics or formats that consistently perform well? Use these insights to inform your future content creation efforts.
Additionally, A/B testing can be a valuable tool. Experiment with different headlines, formats, and posting times to see what works best. Continually optimizing your content based on performance data ensures that you’re always improving and adapting to your audience’s preferences.
Final thoughts
Working as a marketing manager is not an easy gig. There are numerous elements to factor into your efforts and vast amounts of data to analyze when establishing best practices.
Creating digital content forms the foundation of these practices, as it generates the data points and consumer feedback necessary to determine what efforts are effective and which are not. This is arguably what makes content creation so vital to every marketing manager today.
So if you haven’t already implemented a digital content strategy into your brand’s marketing efforts, the time to start is now.
