More and more content is being produced but that doesn’t mean even more people are engaging with it. The people consuming content has plateaued while content creation keeps rising.
So what does these mean for your content strategy?
It’s time for you to evolve and check in on your content’s performance. It has become more important than ever to create content marketing with intent. Therefore content marketing can’t be successful without data. It’s time build data-driven content.
Where To Start
You first have to think of why you have content. Is it too…
- Add value
- Make your audience better at their job
- Provide proof
- Explain how to use your product
- Announce product updates and upgrades
Hopefully, it’s a little bit of everything listed above with the main objective of making your audience the hero- giving them the tools they need to do their job better.
Then you have to think about how you measure that.
- Google Analytics: Learn how traffic behaves on your website
- Social Listening: Are there conversations happening that you can become a part of by creating a blog post
- Automation Platforms: Use these to send emails and newsletters to see what people are clicking on (or not) and when.
- Social Analytics: What content is getting shared? And commented on? You would want something more than a Like.
When you have the right tools in place, and all these tools work together you can pull in leads from your automation platforms that are tied to a CRM and link back to your blog post performance. Identifying data is just half the work, using it to pull data and share metrics to showcase strength and opportunity in your content performance is where it matters. When all your systems are working together you can start identifying what content is relating to your audience.
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Your Audience Has Changed
First and foremost you have to understand your audience.
When you first created your content you might have done so in hopes of growing an audience by creating credibility and value through your blog, emails, and newsletter. But when is the last time you took the time to understand who these people are now? Just like you, they have changed and you want to gain an understanding of how, why, and when they are consuming your content.
Data can provide useful answers to questions like these:
- Who is currently reading your content?
- How are the reading it?
- Are they sharing the content after they read it?
- When are they unsubscribing and why (if sending in an email)
- When are they reading it? Opening the email?
- How are they finding the content? Via direct link? Facebook Post? Retweet?
- How long are they staying on the page? Are they reading everything?
Things like their demographics, job title and employer may not have changed but when and how they are consuming your content might have and this the data you need to pay attention to. When you look into these questions it will help guide where you need to take your content which is how you turn insight into action.
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It’s Not Always What You Say
Sometimes more important than what you are talking about in your content is when, where and why you are saying it. Technology not only allows marketers to create messages that resonate with their audience but ensures they get it when they need it the most.
For example, more and more retailers are adopting technology that allows them to send notifications when their customers are entering the store and even when they are in a certain aisle. Let’s say you’re walking down the skincare aisle and you get a message from their app about a 20% off coupon for a specific product or $5 gift card if you spend $20 or more in that department. That could alter just what and how much you buy, not to mention keep your consumer from forgetting their coupons and therefore not making a purchase altogether.
That is content the customer wants and it’s delivered when they need to know it. Understanding what is relevant content is just half the equation, knowing when to send it is what can make the purchase happen. Data makes this possible and is why it’s important to not only use it but stay aware of new trends and technology that enable you to take content marketing and personalization to the next level.
Wrap It Up
Now it’s time for your content team to act! What is one area you need to spend more time in?
Put these three steps into place and set up monthly meetings to determine whats working and what needs to change. A data-driven strategy will push your content and brand in the right direction.
