Blog Post

4 Easy Steps to Creating Effective Content

Amber Blevins • Jan 21, 2022

Content marketing has become a key factor in getting your brand in front of more consumers and growing your business. These days in fact, some businesses rely more on content marketing than any other marketing strategy.

Technically speaking, content marketing is a form of marketing focused on creating, publishing, and distributing content for a targeted audience online (Wikipedia.) From a practical standpoint, we can think of content marketing as a means of connecting with your current and potential customers by sharing information through your website, blog, and social media platforms.

Though the concept itself is simple, putting it in practice is challenging for a lot of business owners. After all, you’re an expert in your field, not in writing blog posts. But unless your budget runs to hiring a professional content creator, you (or someone else on your staff) will need to master the art of creating engaging, useful content.

Here are the four steps you can follow when you’re ready to create a piece of content, whether it’s a blog post, Facebook update, or email campaign.

1. Identify Your Audience Segment

Many business owners make the mistake of thinking all their content should always appeal to their entire customer base. While your content should generally apply to your entire buyer group, it's a good idea to drill down and target specific segments.

Generic, overarching interaction with your customer base is similar to vanilla ice cream. Most people like it, but few people get excited about it.

Targeting a select set of customers helps you create content that’s highly relevant to that group of people, which means there’s a greater chance they’ll engage with you.

2. Select a Concise Topic

Choosing your topic goes hand-in-hand with the buyer segment you’ve decided to target. And just like carving out a particular slice of your customer base, it’s okay to get specific with your content topic, too.

For example: Your business specializes in home remodeling. Your target customer segment is 20–32-year-old homeowners with young children and growing families.

With this group of customers in mind, you wouldn't write an article about decorating a bachelor pad or downsizing an empty nester’s home. Instead, you’ll select a topic that is directly related to young families, like transforming a basement into a playroom or the best way to remodel a nursey.

Remember, your content should be relevant and helpful for the customer group you’ve selected, not necessarily your entire customer base.

3. Draft Your Content

Now the fun begins—creating the content! How you approach this step will hinge largely on the type of content you’re creating.

Social media posts will be short, punchy, and should contain images and/or links. Blog posts or articles will be naturally longer and include more detailed information, along with images or videos.

In any case, content marketing is all about sharing useful information in an engaging way. Use descriptive words, steer clear of industry-specific jargon, and tell your readers a story. Don’t be afraid to incorporate humor and personal anecdotes. Show off your expertise here.

4. Publish and Share

Once your content is complete (and proofed!) you’re ready to publish and share. You don’t need to keep your content sheltered in one place. In fact, you shouldn’t. Publish your new blog post, then share links to it on Facebook and other social media platforms. Add a new Facebook post and then also share the post on Instagram, and so on.

When appropriate, you can also ask your employees to like and share your blogs and social media posts.

The goal here is to reach people in your target audience, entice them to read your article or comment on your post, and then share it with their own friends and followers.

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