Creating digital content that entertains and engages is vital to any modern brand, and it starts with choosing the right topics. Writing content isn’t just about what you think is interesting, though you should ideally be interested in whatever you’re writing about. Your content strategy should revolve around what your audience will find most interesting, engaging or educational.
To maximize the impact of your blogging, create content that’s neatly aligned with what your audience wants, needs and expects to hear. This approach can build trust, position your brand as a forward-thinking thought leader, drive engagement and establish your brand as a go-to resource.
Why Are You Blogging?
Let’s first start with a question: Why are you writing this blog? Is your purpose SEO, and are you just looking to drive organic traffic to your website with keyword-focused content? Or is SEO a secondary concern, and your primary interest is simply writing engaging content that resonates and drives engagement with your existing audience? The former could grow your audience, while the latter could boost brand loyalty and drive interest in the audience you already have, so there’s merit to both approaches.
Use Data Analytics
In the age of digital content, data is king. Analytics can provide critical insights into what your audience cares about most. You can use tools like Google Analytics to see which topics perform best on your blog or tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs to look at keywords and topics that generate high interest and engagement.
If you’re writing primarily for SEO, keyword research is a great place to start. Identifying the keywords with the best volume and the lowest competitiveness or keyword difficulty can then inform your choice of blog topic. On the other hand, if you’re writing to engage an existing audience, looking at what’s already popular on your site and which posts perform best might be the ideal starting point.
For instance, if your brand focuses on outdoor activities like tents, kayaks or hiking, and you notice that your blog post “The Best Places to Enjoy the Outdoors in Southern California” consistently ranks as your top performer every month, you could use that as inspiration to write a series of similar posts focusing on the great outdoors in different regions.
Conduct Audience Research
What sets your audience apart from that of your competitors? What sort of people want to purchase your products or services, and what makes them tick? Audience research will help inform your digital content strategy.
Conduct surveys, interviews and feedback sessions to gather information from your readers. Ask them what topics they’re interested in, their challenges and the solutions they’re looking for. You can make this as intricate as a Google Form your followers can fill out or as simple as a poll run in your Instagram stories. These responses can then be collected and analyzed to uncover common themes and interests.
This direct line of communication can guide you on what to write about and give your product development teams some insights into where to take your brand. It can also make your readers feel valued and understood.
Find Your Audience’s Pain Points
To paraphrase what a wise salesman once said, people don’t buy a hammer because they want to hit a nail; they buy a hammer because they want to hang something up. To truly resonate with your audience, you should get to the core of the issue. Why do they even want to buy your products or hire your services in the first place?
What issues are your audience facing that you can use to inform the content that you create? You can use this question to identify topics and answers that aren’t just informative and actionable.
For instance, if you are a technology brand specializing in cybersecurity, you know that human error and a lack of training cause quite a few issues when it comes to security and preventing or allowing cyberattacks. To address this, you could write a blog on five ways to educate employees on best practices. This strategy is effective because it doesn’t just attract new readers looking for solutions but also positions your blog and brand as a helpful resource in your niche.
Consider Different Types of Content
The key to success in digital content is understanding your audience’s preferences, which goes beyond just what they want to read — it includes how they want to read it too. Whether it’s in-depth long-form articles, quick tips or listicles, infographics or blogs with accompanying video tutorials, you should understand the types of style and format that can make your content more appealing and accessible to a user base.
This isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. What works for a fashion brand won’t necessarily work for a brand selling nerdy wall art or a B2B brand that helps secure construction sites. You should consider your ideal audience and how they like consuming content.
Digital Content Can Be a Great Boon – With the Right Work
It feels like every brand has a blog these days, and if you’re assuming you can lazily write something and people will read it, those days are long over. A blog can benefit your company, driving organic content and positioning you and your brand as a thought leader, but you’ll need to work for it.
You’ll need to understand your audience and what drives them, what they care about and how they want to consume the content they enjoy. If you can do all this, you’ll start benefiting from your blog.
However, it takes work. So, why not work with the pros? Brands like InnoVision can identify blog topics and add visual flair that will help your digital content stand out. Work with us to grow your blog, your brand and your business!
