01. June 2023
Content Marketing: The Audience
- Your content should focus on your audience, not yourself.
- Differentiate between your content audience and your buying audience.
- Define your audience before starting any content program.
1. Why Audience Personas are helpful:
- Audience personas provide context for your content marketing plan.
- Create a persona for each group you create content for.
- Start with one or two personas if you're new to content marketing.
2. Gather Information for Audience Personas:
- Who is your audience?
- How do they live their average day?
- What are their informational needs and pain points?
- Why would they care about your content?
3. Common Mistakes:
- Making up information about your buyers.
- Conduct interviews with recent buyers to uncover specific insights.
- Focusing on irrelevant trivia.
- Focus on priority initiatives, success factors, perceived barriers, buying process, and decision criteria.
- Too many buyer personas.
- Consolidate personas based on shared insights.
- Using scripted question-and-answer interviews.
- Conduct unscripted conversations to gather detailed insights.
4. Setting Up "Listening Posts":
Listening posts are avenues for your audience to give you feedback on where your content is going right or wrong
- Establish listening posts to understand your audience's needs.
- One-on-one conversations with customers.
- Search for keywords using tools like Google Trends and Google Alerts.
- Analyze web analytics to identify engaging content.
- Monitor social media conversations and customer surveys.
5. Let's try it out!
- Identify a target audience
- I would like to find out more about people with ADHD.
- Check out Social Media Conversations:
Task: Discover social media platform where your target audience is active.
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Use relevant hashtags or keywords to track conversations related to your industry or niche.
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Observe the discussions and identify common pain points or topics of interest.
Showcasing Learning:
- Compile a report summarizing the key themes and trends observed in social media conversations.
- Discuss how this information will shape your content strategy and help address your audience's needs effectively.
- Perform Keyword Research:
- Use tools like Google Trends and Google Alerts.
- Identify relevant keywords related to your target audience's interests or challenges.
- Analyze the search volume and trends for these keywords.
Showcasing Learning:
- Create a list of relevant keywords and their search volumes.
- Explain how this information will guide your content creation process, ensuring alignment with your audience's interests.
By following these activities, you will gain practical experience in identifying your target audience and develop a deeper understanding of their needs and preferences. These insights will enable you to create content that resonates with your audience and drives successful content marketing campaigns.