Aloha, Nick Ponte here! I own a digital marketing agency in Maui, and I offer weekly tips about how to improve various aspects of marketing for local businesses. Lately, we’ve been talking about how to gain an edge on competition by taking web content and SEO to the next level.
If you’ve ever overheard one side of a phone conversation from a stranger in public, you’ll understand why context matters. I recently overheard one of these loud, one-sided conversations in a café. I lacked the context for the comments to make sense, so the result was a really disjointed idea of what the person on the other end of the line might be saying.
Content marketing without a strong sense of direction can end up like this. In fact, a company’s marketer who doesn’t have a good sense of the customer’s wants/needs will likely end up in a one-sided, tone-deaf conversation.
Content marketing is an essential component of your comprehensive monthly SEO strategy. How can you make sure you hit the right notes with the customer every time?
Also Read: 4 Ways Hawaii Businesses Should Build High-Quality Web Content
Context Matters
Content marketing includes everything from website copy and blogs to social media marketing. It’s the primary means of customers finding you through search results, since search engines crawl the language of your content to determine results they show to users. That means it’s essential to have quality content across all of your modes of communicating with your audience.
As a business owner, you need to be familiar with the market, so that you get the right information to the right people with the right timing. It’s about knowing your context and catering to it. The wrong thing at the wrong time is kind of like a poorly-timed joke that falls flat. You won’t connect with your audience, and you may even turn some people off.
But when you do it right… ding-ding-ding! You’ll win more customers and more revenue.
So, what are some strategies you can implement to make sure your content travels with your customers in the right direction?
Also Read: Drive Rankings and Traffic with Content
3 Tips to Apply Context to Content Marketing Strategies
Keep these three ideas in mind when you create content for your media platforms:
- Keep the Buyer’s Journey in Mind
At what point do your buyers receive specific information related to their purchases or their place in the process?
Be specific. Leverage the interests of your audience in your marketing strategy. That may mean telling stories that draw them in, creating leads that attract their interest… Make it personal, targeted, and relevant to your audience.
Sometimes people try to reach a broader audience by keeping content vague. It may sound counterintuitive, but you’ll actually connect better and attract more business with specificity. I do this on my website by giving tips and information relevant to small businesses in Maui. I’m not so worried about achieving global rankings as I am about having the top local ones in my market. This strategy also improves buyer retention, since readers like my content and want to interact with it.
Keep the timing and circumstances in mind. If you offer too much, too soon, you’ll overwhelm your buyer and risk them backing away. Your target needs to include offering them what they need at just the right time.
- Create Specific Offers According to Their Interests
When you give customers information, answer their specific questions and pain points. Pay attention to the medium in which they interact with you, because it could pinpoint the cause of their interest in your company.
Did you draw them in through a social media ad they received because they previously searched for your keywords? Did they sign up for your email list to receive some free content? Do they subscribe to your blog? If you have customers coming to your website through various links to landing pages, create specific offers that appeal to them and persuade them to jump in and purchase. That means you need to present trustworthy information that presents a value they feel they need.
Have they bought products or paid for services from you before? What kind of incentives can you offer them to keep the relationship going and maintain a freshness that benefits their interests?
- Include Strategic CTAs
Appeal to the buyers at the right time. A rightly placed CTA helps your customer know what to do next. They don’t have to question how to get in touch with you or the service you’ll provide to them when they take action.
I run into poorly placed CTAs (or a lack of them) with some of my clients. It creates a problem for their customers because they don’t know what step to take to get in contact with the business. Customer confusion will cost you leads, so don’t make this crucial mistake!
Fortunately, we’ve identified ways to correct this issue with strong strategies catered to each business we work with. Our clients find business dramatically improves over their time working with us. If you want to learn more about what we’ve discussed in this post or want help implementing strategies like this, reach out to us today!
Further Reading: 3 Easy SEO Wins for Hawaii Business Owners to Quickly Increase Their Reach
Photos Courtesy of Logan Easterling, Kalen Emsley, & Claudio Schwarz