Maximising how-to learning content to help grow your brand

Tue, 20/02/2018 - 16:13

From hilarious cat videos to home recorded baby-eating-lemon videos, digital content has gone from being entertaining to being value-adding. Gone are the days where people had time to sit and watch lengthy videos without a purpose. Consumers want content that is educational and thought-provoking. 

Maximising how-to learning content to help grow your brand

Google’s Micro Moments has a massive role to play in how content is expected to be delivered. Businesses have tried (and many have failed) to implement how-to content that really captures the attention of their audiences. And, in such a crowded marketplace, there are very few brands that have hit the mark.

Take the cosmetics industry, for example, they’re excelling in creating how-to content that is both popular and useful. Brands have taken advantage of their audiences by seamlessly merging their marketing efforts and product tutorials into one – in the form of a video. These simple content visualisations have recreated the modern-day brand experience that customers expect to receive. Other examples of how-to content are GIFs and infographics, commonly used for motion-based tutorials. These moving images work wonders when you’re trying to explain a multi-step process or are looking to break-up technical facts. 

Not every business is qualified to give useful advice, but if you try and incorporate these important factors into your content strategy, you could take your business to new heights:  

Start by understanding the value you’re adding 

There might be hundreds of companies producing the exact same product as you are, but every business has their own story. As Elizabeth Gilbert suggests in her book Big Magic: “Don’t worry about being original. Just be authentic.” Bear in mind that there is absolutely no idea that hasn’t been tested. It’s your job to take that idea and transform it, through creativity, in ways that are different and unique from any other. It’s about discovering your ‘why’ and taking that reasoning to execute your ‘how’. For every piece of content that you want to publish, set aside some time to do a quick competition audit to help you reach your goals. For example, if you’re looking for organic traffic, do a search engine results page (SERP) analysis. 

Be authentic about your content format 

The format that you use to portray your content will influence whether or not users will share and like your content. Before you begin to create any content, do an in-depth analysis of your audience. Dig into specifics and buying personas, as the content you post will need to be directly aligned with your findings. Be it videos, infographics or listicles, create your content around what your readers would enjoy and respond to most. And, ultimately, create content according to your business objectives and goals. 

Focus on your user intent 

Put simply, a user intent is what a user is looking for when they type a specific word or phrase into Google. This word or phrase will affect the SEO or CRO (Conversion Rate Optimisation) of your digital marketing. It’s important for you to monitor your competitor’s user intent, to help you when optimising your own keywords. Some SEO responses will be more specific to the word, whereas others will be more drawn out. Knowing this before setting up your keyword strategy will help you to better define your target audience. 


Set your content length according to response rate 

Many articles have suggested that you should monitor your word count, but do not stick to a specific amount. Depending on the topic, your word count should represent how long it takes to get your point across. Do not fluff up a post just to meet a specific requirement. As for ad videos, this article suggests that videos should be five to six seconds to be effective for millennials, and Hubspot suggests that YouTube videos should be no longer than two minutes. Once you’ve found your happy medium, you can beef up your content by adding relatable content that goes hand-in-hand with your topic. For example, if you are doing a makeup tutorial, try and incorporate skincare tips. Remember not to dumb down your content. If your readers click on your post, the chances are they already know the basics of your topic.   

Leverage your audience

In order to be a successful digital brand, you need to position yourself in the market. Follow your customer’s journey, and understand their needs, wants and interests. Their response to your content is integral to your growth as a company. Do your research, test the market and listen to your audience. 
 

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