Four critical elements of content marketing

By Microsoft in Business Team

October 27, 2017

Audiences are inundated with countless amounts of content. Consider that there are more than 800 Instagram photos uploaded and 7,775 tweets sent every second.¹ Still, 87% of B2B marketers say they struggle to produce content that truly engages their buyers.²

In fact, 75% of blog posts get fewer than 10 social shares, according to a collaborative study by Moz and BuzzSumo.³ That’s likely because the majority of content doesn’t take into consideration the four elements necessary to achieve stellar results.

How can your brand cut through the clutter and create content that converts? Carefully consider the four most important elements of any content marketing campaign.

What are your brand’s goals?

What does your company want to accomplish? If you can determine exactly what your objectives are, you can better align your content to your goals. Do you want to increase brand awareness among a specific demographic? Be seen as an authority on a specific topic? Drive more traffic to your website? Increase the number of leads your sales department receives each month? Better understand your audience segments? Visualize your audience taking a specific action after reading your content, or getting a specific impression of your brand and you’ll gain a better understanding of your goals. Remember that over time, your brand’s goals will change. Your content should evolve, too, so that it remains fresh and relevant to your audience.

Speaking of audience…

Whether your brand’s core demographic is moms with kids under the age of 16, motorcycle enthusiasts, or men with beards, you can most likely define your target audience in a succinct way. But understanding who those people really are beyond those surface definitions is key to creating content that resonates with each group. Are they highly educated? What’s most important to them? What type of content entertains them? Do they enjoy humor or are they grounded in facts and figures? Are they interested in history or current events? Dig deeper to find out what makes them tick. This way, you can create customer personas that will help to determine the voice, tone, and topics of your messaging. Audiences want content they can relate to; something that entertains as well as it informs. The best way to let them know you understand them is to create content that answers their questions and provides the insights they seek.

Know your strengths

What is your company known for? Having a solid understanding of your strengths — and your weaknesses — will help you narrow your focus and home in on the types of content you should be sharing. Are there certain topics on which your brand is considered an authority? If you’re a university, you’re most likely considered an authority on higher education. If your school is known for its journalism department, current events and reporting might be areas where your brand is considered a thought leader. If you provide mental health services, wellness might be something about which you’d be considered a leading authority. Home cleaning product? Killing germs. Accounting software? Budgeting. Keep in mind that the topics you want to be considered an authority on aren’t necessarily the same topics your customers associate with your brand. How does your audience perceive you? Determine what it is you do well, and leverage that knowledge by sharing content that provides entertaining, informative information on relevant topics.

What’s in it for me?

Above all else, your customers want to know “what’s in it for me?” (WIIFM). You may think you have the world’s best widget, but your prospective customers need to understand how it can benefit them. The unique message you want to convey to your audience is paramount to deciding what type of content to create. A clear, concise call to action tells your audience what you want them to do next. The CTA you choose will depend on where your audience is in the sales funnel. Top of funnel content might ask readers to download an e-book to learn more. Middle of funnel content might lead your audience to case studies, and bottom of funnel content could offer a free trial or purchase discount.

Everything you convey must align to your core message. How will you convey that message in a way that is interesting, relevant, and entertaining? Compelling stats convey a sense of credibility. Quotes from industry thought leaders add authority. Case studies add proof that back up your claims. Your brand’s core message should resonate throughout every piece of content you create.

Content Marketing in action

Microsoft used all four of these elements in the Innovator’s Guide to Modern Note Taking campaign. The goal of this campaign was to show readers how to combine the note taking habits of the past with the technology of the future to be more efficient, creative, and productive. The content appealed to a broad audience of business professionals who tend to take notes with pen and paper, but work on a laptop or desktop computer. It leveraged Microsoft’s knowledge about technology and presented clear messaging that showed how readers could combine the best of traditional and modern note taking methods for the greatest impact.

Every piece of content within the Innovator’s Guide campaign stayed on message while remaining relevant, entertaining and informational. An infographic showing the playful side of doodling notes in side margins earned a 28% CTR — 12% higher than average, while a SlideShare captured the recollections of school children’s note taking habits and tips for increasing productivity with Microsoft Surface tablets. Although the average End Action Rate (EAR) for this type of content is 16%, this campaign earned a 41% EAR.

By 2020, Content Marketing will be a $300+ billion industry, according to a Global Content Marketing Forecast.⁴ Understanding your brand’s goals, audience, strengths, and core message will help you create a content campaign that cuts through the clutter and delivers results. Learn more about how Microsoft approaches Content Marketing in our blog post, The importance of strategy in content marketing.