Content: Having the Conversation

Now that you know what you're trying to achieve and who you're talking to, it's time to think about content — what you want to say, how you want to say it, and what channels will help you best connect to the personas you worked so hard to identify.

Putting Personas to Use

Personas provide insight into your target audience and let you develop a content strategy that guides your marketing approach. Consider the demographics, pain points, interests, and behaviors you gathered, and tailor your messaging to address them. The idea is to be engaging — talk about what matters most.

For example, I'm back at the gym these days, and looking around I see very different people. Some enjoy the community of group classes. Others are solitary and focused on building the best body possible. The water aerobics class caters to folks recovering from injuries. All of them want to be healthy, but the messaging served to each group should look very different.

Building Your Brand Voice

A great brand has a personality its customers relate to. Your objectives — leads vs brand awareness — should also inform your tone. Are you professional? Funny or playful? Aspirational? Once you've decided, fold that voice into wording, images, blog posts, and more, consistently and tailored to your personas.

Content Types

The success of your campaign will depend on the quality of your content. What you put out needs to be engaging, informative, and add value.

• Blog and social media posts. Blogs build thought leadership; social posts are shorter, more visual, and great as quick hits that point back to longer content.
• Video. 72% of people prefer video over other formats. It's versatile across blogs, social, and email — and short, creative videos perform best.
• Infographics, ebooks, case studies, and white papers. Pick the depth that matches your audience and goal.
• Webinars. Especially valuable in B2B. Live works best, but recordings extend the reach for months afterwards.

Distribution Channels and Content Calendar

Just like sections of a gym, distribution channels are places to present your content. The most obvious is your website — branded, controlled, and prime real estate for SEO. Email lets you push timely content to a known list. Social platforms like LinkedIn and Instagram let you both distribute and interact.

Use analytics to find where your audience already is. Google Analytics and social platform insights will show which content they gravitate toward.

Analyzing Results

Throughout your campaign, monitor engagement and adjust. Most of the time you'll be making small tweaks; occasionally you'll need a bigger pivot — a new audience, a new platform. Conversation is more engaging when you take what you learn about someone and work it into the topics you discuss with them. Your marketing content should be no different.