Are You Creating Necessary Content?

Take a few minutes and do an inventory of the content you send to your customers and prospects.  I’m not talking about the information you create that talks about your products and services.  In this case, look at the type of information you distribute that educates your customers and positions you as an expert resource.

Is it necessary?

When I talk with companies about creating content marketing, I usually talk about valuable, relevant, compelling and consistent content as core to a content marketing program. That, in and of itself, may not be enough. In addition, is the information necessary for your customers’ growth?  Is it truly helpful in resolving their pain points?

In this article, Mr. Magazine discusses the importance of publishers creating truly necessary information for target readers. In this context, Mr. Magazine is focusing on media companies or magazine publishers, but it holds true for brands as well.

So often companies concern themselves with getting out the next post or next newsletter issue without doing the analysis about the significance of the content to their customers. With so many options today for your customers, your content better be needed, it better be the best around, it better solve their challenges…or why do it at all?

How do you create truly necessary content?

1. Listen to your customers. Use simple tools like Google Alerts and Twitter Search to figure out what your customers and prospects are struggling with.  Target important keyword phrases and follow the conversation. Topics should appear that show trends and the need to expand on key issues. If that’s not enough, ask them.  Call them up and talk to them.  Visit them in person.  Use online survey tools. Your customers want to share this information because they, in most cases, want to solve their challenges.  If you can help, that’s great for them.
2. Review those doing it right. In most cases, especially in BtoB markets, trade publications have served this need for years. What are the issues they are focusing on?  What are they not focusing on that they should?  You can be the resource that takes this content to the next level. Good enough is not good enough anymore.  Your content needs to be the best.  Find out what it will take the get there.
3. Recruit help. Even if you have the best experts in the industry, most times you need outside journalistic help to tell your story in a way that positions your information as necessary to their career survival. Partner with an individual or an organization that will help you develop a content factory within your organization.  Those organizations will help you think and act more like a publisher.

Your goal as a company is to generate a profit.  To do that today, you need to have not only the best products and services, but you need to be the provider of the best information. By doing that, you’ll attract and retain customers who, when ready to buy, will think of you.  Why?  Because you are the trusted expert that they rely on.  The information you distribute is necessary to their jobs and their lives.

What other choice do you have?

Image credits: Shutterstock