Content marketing can be an incredibly effective method of delivering relevant messaging to potential customers and clients. Through this channel, brands can demonstrate their grasp on the needs, desires, and inquiries held by their target audiences. Poorly executed content marketing, however, carries the opposite effect; customers view content that misses the mark as an indication of larger issues regarding the company’s ability to understand consumers.
Customer Communications Group (CCG) recently tackled this topic, offering three tips on how to use content marketing to take customer engagement to the next level.
“There may be many ways in which your organization could benefit from a comprehensive content strategy−but that can also make the first step the most difficult,” said Sandra Gudat, president & CEO of Customer Communications Group. “Don’t create and publish a frenzy of content to see how your business will benefit. Instead, identify specific objectives that you hope to achieve through custom content; that’s how success will be measured.”
Rule #1: Content goals must be measurable.
It’s often said that “it’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey,” but measuring the effectiveness of marketing efforts is often an exercise in putting that idiom aside and taking a look at results. What these specific goals may be is up to the brand, but without some sort of measurable benchmark, the entire idea of content marketing becomes little more than blindly throwing darts.
Rule #2: Content goals must be realistic.
Create benchmarks through analysis of competitors, audience, past trends, and industry statistics. From there, companies have a clearer picture of which goals can be attained, and which are out of reach due to any number of factors. Unachievable goals are sometimes worse than having no goals at all; they’re ineffective in steering future content marketing, with the added detriment of lowering company morale.
Rule #3: Content goals must have a timeline.
Like benchmarks, timelines should be attainable based on past trends. Use a time period that’s easily measured (six months, one week, or a significant date), and set clear goals to reach by the end of that period.