The world is awash in content coming at us from all angles, increasingly in video, emails and the all-pervasive Tik-Tok-ification. For this deluge of information to be effective requires an absolutely smart, engaged focus on what it’s saying, to whom, and, most importantly, why.
While digital marketing as a whole typically focuses on promotion, performance content has a crystal clear purpose: leaders calibrate it to support specific, measurable business goals.
These goals can look like anything from increasing xx% of sales on Instagram in the fourth quarter to adding xx% high-value contacts to a database in November or securing an additional five appointments through the email newsletter this month versus last.
Content without strategy hits a dead end, but strategy, on the other hand, allows blog and social media posts, emails and ebooks to have a dual purpose. They inform an audience while simultaneously track the work’s effectiveness.
Most people spend under six seconds looking at written content on a site and an average of 54 seconds looking at a page before they bounce. This information can either drive emotion (cue, disappointment) or it can shape strategy which takes those metrics and forms steps to change the outcome.
Published material now becomes ammo for future editorial strategy, and a clear strategy results in a captive audience that makes potential clients.
[Savvy Content + Smart Strategy = 472 Leads in 24 Hours]
Getting started
Producing valuable performance content comes down to getting completely clear on why it’s worth sharing, and what it means to track, adjust and improve it.
To be effective, it also needs to come from a real, core place. Creating from an honest center allows the narrative to spill into anything that’s published and permeate any platform — a consistency that audiences can feel.
Here are some basic ideas for performance content:
Blog posts. Writing provides work samples, demonstrates expertise and motivates readers to learn more about the business can do for them.
- Track it: Tools like Google Analytics can track the progress of blog posts for views and engagement. Analytics sections of email marketing platforms highlight which topics yield the most opens and clicks.
Videos. Video has become an increasingly powerful form of storytelling. Even without professional expertise or equipment, businesses can create videos for social media that vividly engage anaudience. These can look like talking about the product, clips of the product itself, testimonials from people or behind-the-scenes content.
- Track it: Check video performance via Instagram’s professional dashboard, YouTube analytics and newsletter analytics for insights into how many people clicked or viewed.
Social media posts. Between 40 to 70 percent of customers buy products because of a brand that they trust. A social media presence amplifies a business by creating a virtual space that reflects its goals and values. Most importantly, when consistent, it provides a direct connection to the audience.
- Track it: Instagram’s professional dashboard tracks post performance, analyzes audience engagement and easily informs strategy adjustments.
Podcasts and webinars. Diving deeper into specific topics attracts a more intimate community that in turn can create real, and returning, customers. Hosting a podcast or webinar gives a business the chance to build a higher level of trust with their audience. One can also lead to the other!
- Track it: Podcast platform allow users to track viewership over time to see which episodes resonate the most with an audience. This helps businesses understand the effectiveness of their value and plan the strategy for future content.
Infographics. Imagery to support written content or take the place of bulky paragraphs can tell a story by simplifying complex ideas into digestible visuals. These visuals engage viewers quickly and communicate a deep understanding of a topic through the ability to simplify it.
- Track it: Tools like Google Analytics or email marketing platform analytics can measure effectiveness through data such as click-through-rates and page view retention numbers.
Need help growing your content marketing strategy? HageyMedia can help. Reach out today to schedule a free 30-minute consultation call and start seeing real results.