As you develop a contentmarketing plan, one of the biggest questions you’re likely to face is, “should content be human or corporate?” The answer isn’t simple, because there are many factors that go into cultivating an effective online marketing strategy. These factors include, but aren’t limited to, audience size, audience demographics, budget, and technology. Ultimately, it comes down to your understanding of your audience, and how you want your brand to be perceived by such an audience, that will determine which content is the best content for you and your prospective readers. To put it simply, the best content for any marketer is content that is targeted to a specific audience in which it adds value, is engaging, and is easy to find. Content marketing is one of the key components to online success, and the best way to drive visitors and increase sales online.
Considerations
We’ve all heard of user personas in marketing, but it’s also important to give your brand a persona. Content is a tool for building trust between your brand and your audience, so establish how you want to be perceived, and build on this by focusing on a few things that you want to be known for, and creating your content around these, in the tone of voice that’s most appropriate for your brand, your content, and your audience.
When it comes to creating new content, it’s important to understand your target audience. What is it they want to read? What kind of content are they looking for? What questions do they need answers to? By understanding what your potential readers want, you can then design your content to give them exactly what they want and not what you think they might want. Your content must be designed around your audience and their needs-it should be specifically tailored to appeal to your potential readers.
Another factor to consider when writing for your brand is tone. Is your content written in a casual or formal tone? Do you use highly personal pronouns such as “I,” “we,” “me,” “my,” or “our?” A lot of this will depend on the audience for whom you are writing, but some of it may also be determined by the marketing that you are doing. For example, if your marketing is geared toward younger audiences who are heavily relying on social media for making buying decisions, tone down the language in order to engage them. If you’re a B2B organisation, your content may need tailoring around offering value. It should be insightful and useful, written a professional tone, as you are targeting corporate decision-makers. If the reader cannot apply the actionable elements of your content to their own work or business, it’s missed the mark (Wordstream). But with B2C content marketing, you can create connections with your audience in other, less formal formats and tones.It can be challenging for B2B brands to combine creative, engaging techniques with informative, insightful content. This takes practice, and most importantly, insight into your target audiences. You may also need to consider your marketing and advertising campaigns.
Often, a particular brand name is marketed in a certain way. If you’re going to follow this route, make sure that tone fits with your brand name and image. Perhaps a subdued tone would work better than a more exuberant one, or vice versa. It’s easy to get caught up in all of the technical things that you have to cover when creating content, especially for B2B brands. While this may be important, it’s also important that the content is entertaining and engaging to keep your readers coming back, and your brand’s messaging and products top-of-mind for customers.
The term ‘offering value’ can be understood in different ways, but recently we’ve seen the meaning of value in marketing evolve. ‘Value’ has somewhat changed from showcasing the significance of your products and services to showcasing the personal values of your brand, your staff and your culture. As issues such as climate change, for example, worsen, the demand for sustainable brands continues to grow, and it’s now essential for organisations to reflect their values in order to attract an audience and generate prospects. This type of value-based content favours the authentic human-forward approach, rather than the corporate.
Final Thoughts
Remember that content is king when it comes to branding. Your customers need to know who you are, what you do, and why they should do business with you. It’s very important that you understand this when you are writing content for your brand, so take the time to do some research on the various forms of content that people will find appealing, and specifically, what your target audience needs to know the answer to, and what’s important to them outside of the business world. By doing this, you will have a better understanding of whether your content should be corporate or human.
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by Listencat
