A mainstay of today’s online culture is the smartphone. You cannot go to a public place without seeing people with their eyes glued to phone screens. Take a step back and think about what is it about the smartphone that makes people pay attention? Simply put, the name for what gets our attention on our smartphones is “content,” and it is crucial to making connections with people. 

It’s been a full generation since Bill Gates first wrote the words “content is king” in his capacity as Microsoft founder and chief software architect.  His context was that he expected people would watch and listen to content over the internet just like people do with TV and radio. Content made for broadcasting. More than two and a half decades after making this comparison, we realize Gates was right. 

Content Is King, Queen, and Everything Else

In the world of online marketing, content is everything. Content is so important to online marketing that it pays to adopt a content marketing strategy. In today’s smartphone-dominated culture, content must capture our attention, and it must happen in microseconds or other content will get the attention. In this virtual environment, knowing what content holds your customers’ attention is key to finding new customers. 

Understanding what type of content works best for your customers is what the experts at Web Rocket Media specialize in. They understand that not all customers watch, listen, and read the same types of content. In fact, content can be as varied as customers. Developing a content marketing strategy increases your chances of getting new customers to pay attention to. 

There are a number of things you think about when developing content for your customers. Most involve the potential customer mindset in some part of the customer journey. Remember, this journey has stops that range from first looking for something online through to the final purchase. Content for potential customers should not be the same as existing customer content. Mindset refers to the psychology behind why customers like specific types of content. 

Simply put, a content marketing strategy should influence customer emotions and feelings, meet a desire and/or need, and try to get them into the buy box and through the checkout process. This blog looks at content marketing ideas that turn online visitors into customers.   

Create Content that is Conversational

When your business wants to create custom content that supports your brand, you need it to support some crucial realities. For instance, the content should generate leads and make your business stand out. One way to do this is to create content that people want to talk about, making your content cravable. Content should also educate but not so much like it that it seems like school.

In most cases, the last thing you want to do is lecture your audience with academic information. When you create a content marketing strategy based on conversations related to your brand, you generate buzz or interest. Do this big enough, and content could go viral on a social media feed. This is a great way to learn about what people want and what they expect. 

Present a Safe Place For Question and Answer Conversations 

When you present your audience and potential customers with a safe place to ask questions, you develop trust. Safe means we are free of judgment and stigma. People tend to open up more with peers they trust. Asking questions lets you learn about your customers’ buying habits. Social media is perfect for sharing content that promotes question-and-answer conversations.

Create Content that Shows Empathy

The pandemic has shown all of us the value of compassion and helping others.  We should use emotional intelligence when creating content. When you create content that shows you care about people’s needs, you become relatable on a human level. Sharing the content on a smartphone lets people comment and react in real time. 

Show Authenticity

Content that shows people your values helps people authenticate what you’re content messaging. The content works best as advertising if people share it among friends in their social media platforms. Authentic messaging helps build trust, building social capital around a message. Tie the message to a brand and you’ve got a foot in the door. 

Choose the Right Type of Content

With the internet and technology, just about any type of media can be consumed online. Media is anything that has a message and can be heard, read, watched, or any combination thereof. The most common form of online content is text-based like blogs, webpage copy, newsletters, etc. Videos and images are also popular forms of content. 

Today’s online marketing agencies create some or all three of these media formats for clients. Some agencies go beyond these media types and get creative with content. For example, agencies like Web Rocket Media have the expertise to target and even micro-target, potential customers with custom media enhanced by technology and the internet. 

Conclusion

Basically, technology-enabled media enhances online messaging because our senses react to it. Sound and sight produce emotional reactions. These emotional reactions are what drive viral content.  Consequently, different media influences different audiences. Online marketing agencies like Web Rocket Media understand what influences audiences. They can create custom content for any product or service.

When you develop a content marketing strategy for connecting with customers, you’re giving them a place to share conversations about issues relevant to them. Doing this with your product or service as a sponsor means you’re brand is at the forefront of their thinking. In addition to a judgment-free place for sharing, your brand sponsors authenticity and empathy as your content influences feelings and emotions. Finally, content must match what your audience wants to watch, read, and listen to.