Data Driven Approaches to Content Marketing

The best marketing depends on data. Whether it’s the customer data that drives better targeting and segmentation, or the use of predictive analytics to understand buyer behavior, companies that use data are finding new ways to reach consumers and increase sales. In this post we will take a look at various approaches to marketing with data.

Search engine data is a great first step to understanding your audience and their content needs

Search engine data is a great first step to understanding your audience and their content needs. When you begin by searching for keywords related to your field of expertise, it's easy to see what questions people are asking about your topic—especially since many of those questions will be posed in the form of a search query. As you research the terms that potential customers are using when they're searching for answers, pay attention not only to what they're looking for but also how they're phrasing their queries (i.e., do they use targeted terms or more general ones?). This data can help you become a more relevant result on certain searches that your customers may be doing, which helps them discover more information about you without having to go through any extra effort than simply typing in their question into Google or Bing.

The key to using search engine data is to understand how, when and why people search for content

Understanding how people search for content is one of the first steps in understanding your audience on a deeper level. As a marketer, you should be able to answer the following questions when it comes to understanding your audience’s needs:

• What information are they looking for?
• What content do they want to consume?
• How does this lead them to an eventual purchase decision?

Use the data to make informed decisions about your marketing content

You can use this type of research to explore your internal content and see which articles may be worth updating or rewriting, if an article needs to be taken down or if you can expand on another existing piece in a helpful and meaningful way.

You're probably wondering, "But how?" In order to know what's working and what isn't working, you need data. Data driven marketing means using real information and insights from your audience during the planning process — not just relying on gut instinct.

You must also understand your audience and how they consume content

Content marketers must also understand their audience and how they consume content. This is crucial to understanding what motivates them, where they are getting their information, what they are looking for and how to get in front of them when they are ready to buy. As a content marketer, you should know:

• What they want to know
• Where they like reading
• What types of content resonate with your target audience

This means knowing their goals, questions, knowledge gaps and opportunities for improvement

• Know your customer's goals. This is the first step towards developing a successful content strategy. Without knowing what they're trying to accomplish and how you can help them, it's impossible to craft an effective plan.
• Understand their challenges. Is there a specific pain point they're facing? How does that pain point impact their business? What are the top three challenges keeping them from moving forward with their project at this time? These questions need answers before you can craft content that will solve these issues for them—or even identify if it does have potential for doing so!
• Discover what their knowledge gaps are. If you know what people don't know about something (and also don't want them knowing), then maybe now's not really the best time for creating new information about it!

When writing, speak in the language of your audience

The most important thing to remember when writing copy is that your audience will react more favorably to content that is easy to understand. You should write in a way that engages readers with simple language and a conversational tone, using analogies and metaphors, examples and quotes from authorities who have credibility in the field.

To do this you need to know what motivates them

You can only really be successful if you know what motivates your target audience. You need to know their needs, wants, goals and how they want to achieve them. There is a lot of information out there about the customer journey and it’s worth taking some time to research this so you can understand how different people in your target audience behave online. You should also consider how they like to communicate with brands - are they more likely to respond well to an email or do they prefer social media? This will help you tailor your approach so that it has the best chance of reaching out successfully.

Know whether they are looking for a solution, seeking information or looking for entertainment.

Each of these audiences have very different needs and will respond differently to your content. For example, if someone is looking for a solution then you need to be providing them with useful information on how best to fix the problem. On the other hand, if they are looking for entertainment or have time on their hands then you could provide them with some fun facts about what your business does rather than focusing on any one issue in particular (but still being helpful). Your business can be positioned as a guide and partner to help people achieve their goals by providing them with relevant information when they want it.

By understanding your audience and how they use your content you will be more successful at creating interesting data driven content that motivates them to act on your recommendations

For example, let’s say that a company has a loyal following of customers who are interested in purchasing products related to their health and wellness. If we look at the behavioral data for this audience, we can see which topics they have engaged with recently. This data gives us insight into what types of content they are most likely to engage with in the future (e.g., recipes for healthy living).

Brentwood Visual helps our clients optimize their content marketing

Getting the full picture of how to connect with your target audience can be a daunting task. That's why many businesses choose to partner with Brentwood Visual. We do all of the heavy lifting to identify strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities on our client's behalf. Our marketing strategies are data-driven, using information from search engines, competitive analysis, and audience research as well as your own insights to craft a custom marketing approach for your company.

Of course, having the data is of no use if it's not implemented correctly. That's why we execute these campaigns on our customers behalf. Our team at Brentwood Visual can handle all of the research, strategy, writing, publication, and promotion of content for your business.

Good content will:

• Create visibility for your business in front of your target audience
• Position your company as a thought leader in your category
• Create brand authority and trust as you demonstrate your expertise
• Convert that trust to business through thoughtfully developed and strategically integrated calls to action

Conclusion

We hope that this article has given you a better understanding of how data can be used to market your business. It is crucial for business owners and marketers to understand how their audience uses search engines as well as their own internal content so that they can create meaningfully engaging marketing campaigns.

If you'd like to discuss how to leverage data like this to grow your own business, the marketing team at Brentwood Visual Digital Marketing is ready to help! We're happy to offer a free consultation to discuss your business goals and identify the opportunities that are right for you!