“Good marketing makes the company look smart. Great marketing makes the customer feel smart.” — Joe Chernov

Making your customers feel smart is much easier than you think. In fact, you can make them feel like geniuses.

Author and entrepreneur Allen Gannett once remarked, “Creating marketing that works should not be rocket science.” Indeed, creating awesome marketing shouldn’t be hard. Great marketing should engage audiences naturally, causing them to feel at ease at all times.

The secret lies in content marketing.

Content marketing is one of the most effective ways you can make your customers feel like geniuses. Content marketing makes people feel smart when it’s useful and actionable. Folks feel they have learned something they can put into practice right away.

When you take content marketing to the next level, people feel smart because they found you. In a way, it’s like finding a needle in a haystack.

In this article, we will discuss six essential elements of a killer marketing campaign. We will also discuss how content marketing can help take your business to the next level. So, stay tuned because there is much more coming your way!

What is content marketing?

According to the Content Marketing Institute:

Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach that focuses on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience – and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.

Woah, hold your horses, here!

There is quite a bit we need to unpack.

Let’s start with content marketing’s aims. First, we see that content marketing looks to “attract and retain a clearly defined audience.” In other words, content marketing aims to bring your brand closer to your target audience while keeping their attention.

Please bear in mind that it’s not enough to get their attention. You must strive to keep it.

Also, the definition above highlights how content must be valuable. Indeed, your content must provide value, something your audience can take to the bank. Otherwise, why would anyone listen to you if you have nothing good to say?

The most valuable content is the kind that solves a problem. Or, at the very least, it gives audiences the tools they need to solve a problem. Think of a how-to guide. The guide itself won’t solve your problems. But it will help you find the solution.

Lastly, great content marketing is consistent. You can’t expect your content marketing to be successful without consistency. You want to ensure that your customers become accustomed to getting your content regularly. It doesn’t matter if it’s daily, weekly, or monthly. You want to ensure that your customers can bet on your content being there on time.

Please remember that the best marketing never sells anything. Killer content marketing is about positioning your brand in consumers’ minds. It’s about building a positive relationship between your brand and your customers. This relationship must be mutually beneficial. It should solve a problem and add to your bottom line.

Why is content marketing better than traditional marketing?

So, what is traditional marketing?

By “traditional,” we understand the type of marketing that pitches products to consumers. In other words, we’re talking about the usual brands that want you to buy their stuff. Well, guess what? That type of advertising seldom works. They’re lost whenever a brand tells their customers to buy something.

You see, customers don’t want to be told what to choose. Customers want to feel smart. They feel smart when they choose the right brands and products for their needs. If you tell them what to buy, you’re taking the decision power away from them.

Why is content marketing better than traditional marketing, then?

Content marketing informs consumers. It gives consumers the information they can use to make their choices. When you inform consumers and allow them to make their choices, you empower them.

Yes, that’s right!

When you empower folks, you position your brand in people’s minds. You allow your brand to build a positive association in people’s minds. You go from telling people to buy your product to building a convincing case as to why they should buy it.

You don’t use gimmicks to compel them into buying. You get them on board by using convincing and compelling arguments.

Top-selling marketing author Marcus Sheridan said, “Great content is the best sales tool in the world.” Indeed, great content is the best sales tool you can utilize. Great content delivers consistent value without actually selling anything.

The Essential Elements of a Killer Content Marketing Campaign

Crafting a killer marketing campaign boils down to focusing your attention on what truly counts. So, here are the six essential elements of a killer content marketing campaign that will take your brand to the next level.

1. Define your target audience.

It seems like everyone says, “define your target audience,” right? But how many marketers actually do that?

Defining your target audience is about building a customer persona. A persona entails describing your intended customers as accurately as possible. In other words, building a customer persona is about putting a name to a face. When you have a visual of who’s consuming your content, it becomes much easier to cater to their interests and needs.

For example, “Mary, 25, young professional, lives in a condo, walks to work, consumes fresh coffee every morning, likes sports, and is single” provides a great visual of who is going to receive the value of your content.

2. Devise clear metrics.

The next step in a successful content marketing campaign is devising clear metrics. Metrics allow you to adequately gauge your content marketing campaign’s effectiveness. These metrics must be objectively measurable.

Consider this example:

The campaign will show a 10% increase in sales.

On the surface, this metric seems clear. It shows an objective metric that is easily trackable. However, it falls short because it doesn’t measure a timeframe or specific means of measuring your content marketing campaign’s success.

So, let’s refine it a bit, shall we?

How’s this:

The campaign will show a 10% increase in sales revenue during the first quarter of the year.

In this example, we can see a clear metric (10% in sales revenue) and a timeframe (first quarter of the year). Having clear metrics ensures that your content marketing campaign meets your expectations. Otherwise, you might become misled by inaccurate results.

3. Focus on content.

Marketing guru Seth Godin offers this insight: “Real content marketing isn’t repurposed advertising. It is making something worth talking about.” Indeed, your content marketing campaign aims to give your customers something to talk about.

How can you focus on content? Think about information such as age, purchasing power, and profession. Consider where they live and their preferred media. These elements must sync with your customers’ personas. For example, younger customers would most likely prefer consuming content through digital media. In contrast, older customers might prefer print materials such as brochures, magazines, or newsletters.

4. Diversify content.

There is an infinite number of topics you could approach within a specific content category. As such, your content must strive to be diverse but without diverging significantly from your content’s core message.

Consider this approach:

A fashion brand offers content focused on product reviews, new releases, relevant industry news, and customer comments. This brand also consistently engages its customers by asking them what topics they would like to know about. By asking customers, the brand has a steady supply of potential topics.

Overall, it’s crucial to keep things fresh. The last thing you want is for your content to run around in circles. Mixing up content will always generate something to talk about.

5. Choose the right platform.

The right platform depends on your customer personas. While most of the world’s marketing endeavors are shifting toward predominantly digital platforms, there is always room for more traditional platforms such as print materials.

So, how can you know which is the right platform?

Ask your customers!

Don’t be afraid to ask your customers what their preferred media is. You might be surprised to find that most customers prefer a mix of digital and print media. Doug Kessler, marketing author and speaker, offers this advice: “Traditional marketing talks at people. Content marketing talks with them.” This is a key insight as your chosen platform should enable a consistent two-way conversation.

6. Promote brand content.

Lastly, it’s essential to promote your brand’s content. After all, what good does killer content do if no one notices it?

Currently, the most effective means of promoting content centers on social media. Building a strong social media presence can help your brand’s content become noticeable. As a result, offering free tidbits on social media platforms ought to entice customers to visit your website. From there, you can boost traffic, drive sales, and get your brand on the map.

How can a ghostwriting agency help your content marketing campaign?

Let’s face it, modern life is quite complex. First of all, running a successful brand is a time-consuming endeavor. You must run your business, manage finances, supervise employees, and serve your customers.

That doesn’t leave much time for creating content, does it?

Employing a trusted ghostwriting agency can give you the boost you need to create a killer content marketing campaign.

A professional ghostwriting agency can handle the heavy lifting in terms of creating content, producing print materials, writing a blog, and consistently updating your brand’s website.

Here are the benefits you can expect when employing a professional ghostwriting agency:

• Saves time and effort. A professional ghostwriting agency works behind the scenes while your brand focuses on what it does best.
• Boosts brand recognition. Producing killer content enables your brand to get noticed. Customers will positively associate your brand with awesome content.
• Impacts your bottom line. As brand recognition increases, so will sales. As a result, you can expect a positive impact on your bottom line.
• Refreshes content consistently. A ghostwriting agency can keep up with your customers’ demands. A ghostwriting agency can help you maintain a consistent publishing schedule.
• Works with your team. A trusted ghostwriting agency works with your team to produce the right type of content for your customer personas.

Bringing in a ghostwriting agency can make the difference between a stalled content marketing campaign and a killer strategy.

One Final Consideration

The most common objection to hiring a ghostwriting agency is cost. Nevertheless, employing a professional ghostwriting agency is more cost-effective than going it alone.

The time and effort it takes to produce amazing content may distract you and your staff from core functions. Consequently, employing a professional ghostwriting firm allows you to do what you do best: build great products and deliver outstanding service.

So, the next time you think about creating a killer content marketing campaign, consider hiring a professional ghostwriting agency. Take the time to interview various agencies. The right fit is the agency that shares your vision, values, and philosophy. Investing time in finding the right ghostwriting firm will pay off in droves down the road.