Generate More Leads with Data-Driven Content Marketing

So, you think you’ve identified a viable target audience for your brand, and you’re creating content that audience should want to consume and share. Now, what? With access to more data and information than ever before, today’s technology offers marketers access to what military leaders call a “target-rich environment.”

Follow these rules of engagement to start converting casual contacts into legitimate leads.

Know your audience.

Who, what, when, where and why? The basic questions still apply. If you aren’t already doing it, step one is to collect internal and external data to create “profiles” of your target audience(s). Understanding as much about them as you can gives you the ability to communicate with them in meaningful ways. Step two is to implement a customer relationship management (CRM) system that enables an organized approach to managing all the communicating to come. These are the basic building blocks of data-driven content marketing.

Use sensing to find opportunities to engage.

My grandmother used to tell me, “If you want to know what people think, just ask them. They’re probably dying to tell you anyway.” Social listening “rooms,” Google Alerts and other online sensing tactics are the modern equivalent of her sage advice. Use them as ways to “eavesdrop” on electronic expressions of opinions and attitudes that resonate with your audience. Then, join in. Remember to follow sources that consistently provide fertile ground for cultivating conversations. Then, farm them over and over to grow the audience for your content.

Don’t sacrifice your story for the sake of SEO.

Sure, data is dynamite and keywords are king. But don’t stop selling with your storytelling. In a sea of SEO and search, it’s easy to miss what really matters. If your content is jammed with jargon at the expense of artful articulation, your readers won’t linger long. If you’re feeling stymied by statisticians selling stale, story-stunted SEO, make a move toward metrics measuring meaningful mingling with your market. Ponder page views, but don’t ignore involvement. After all, it matters little how many unique visitors think your content has clout if none of them consume it before clicking-out.

Cultivate conversations.

Much like a speed-dating participant trying to get a phone number from an attractive stranger, having a tantalizing opening line is just the first step for you. Being an active listener and inviting engagement are the keys to taking the relationship to the next level. Now that you know their “who, what, when, where and why,” it’s time to give joining their tribe a try. Inside jokes and references only your audience (and you) understand can be powerful ways to show you’re “one of them.”

Using these techniques well can create connections where none existed before – but only if you take the trouble to really know your audience. Kiss them where it hurts. Celebrate their quirks. Know what makes them smile and what makes them smirk.

They’ll love you for it.

Ready to take your content marketing to the next level? We can help. Call (305) 350-5700 or visit waxcom.com today.