Written by Market My Market’s content team, with contributions from Kelly Quintana, Kianny Jimenez, Brandi Bellingham, Ryan Klein, and Isabel Skormin
Content marketing gets the attention of a company’s audience, and the right content marketing strategies can increase a company’s profit and make them an authority in their field. However, having strong content is more than just crafting together the right headers and subheaders. The content under those headers is crucial to demonstrating your company’s understanding of your industry and your target audience. Having strong content requires careful and detailed research.
Researching is more nuanced than simply typing a question into Google. In fact, there’s an art to conducting proper research that doesn’t just add credibility to your content but establishes you as someone with a deep and thorough understanding of your company’s industry. Below, we will discuss the importance of high-quality research and the best practices to help you conduct your own high-quality research.
Contributed by Kelly Quintana, Content Writer
Why High-Quality Research is Imperative for Successful Content Marketing
Research is an essential part of content creation and marketing. Setting a standard for the content you publish and communicate to your audience is imperative. Whether you’re a storage facility, wedding venue, or prestigious law firm, the commitment to high-quality research within your industry adds credibility to your website.
Keyword optimization and other aspects of an SEO campaign are essential. Still, high-quality research also helps you remain in the know about your customer’s needs, success in your industry, and which strategies work best for your company goals.
Vital elements of high-quality research to consider for your content marketing include the following:
- Consumer behavior
- Search engine optimization
- Web search trends in your industry
- Competitor content
- Content writing styles
- Variety of content
- Company goals
- How to create high-quality content
- Credible information and sources
- How to keep your audience engaged
- How a marketing agency can help
Building a successful content marketing strategy requires more than reviewing the work of local competitors. At MMM, we understand your company has a unique and valuable approach to servicing your local communities. During the research phases of your marketing plans, you should aim for a high content standard. You’ll also want to discover the best practices within your industry. Committing to the growth and development of your clientele base may take your company’s measurables to a new level.
Contributed by Kianny Jimenez, Content Writer
3 Best Practices for Content Marketing Research
Maximizing a content marketing strategy’s effectiveness starts in the research phase. When targeting your audience, it is essential to understand and answer the four W’s:
- Who your audience is,
- What they need,
- Where to find them, and
- Why they would want to work with you
Finding the answers to these questions will require doing a deep dive into your target audience. You can get to know the people you want your company to connect with online by implementing a few research practices. Begin your content marketing research by:
- Eavesdropping on Reddit: The so-called “front page of the internet” is also one of the most effective ways to gather an honest understanding of your target audience’s problems. No matter what field you are in, there is sure to be a subreddit relevant to your industry. Once you find any relevant subreddits, take your time perusing the topics, reading through the conversations, and getting an in-depth look into the issues you may be able to solve for your audience.
- Analyzing Trending Google Searches: As the most popular search engine, Google is an invaluable resource for stepping into the minds of your audience. After searching for your industry on Google, you may notice your results include common inquiries associated with your search. Often, this means discovering trending topics connected to your industry and questions you may not realize your audience is asking.
- Seeing What Questions Are Being Asked on Quora: Another place that can help you take a walk in your audience’s shoes is the question-and-answer website, Quora. Begin by searching your topic, scrolling through the results, and spotting any questions or answers that seem to garner a lot of attention.
Contributed by Brandi Bellingham, Content Writer
A Guide to the Research Process for Effective Content Marketing
When you have a suitable topic verified by either social trends or your tried-and-true SEO tool, there is another step you can take: researching the appropriate approach to execution. Your research can support the “why,” but you’ll still need to take a few steps for the “how.”
For example, your tone and style for a blog vs. page, criminal defense instead of personal injury, long form vs. short form, etc., all come into play to ensure your content not only gets traffic but ends up yielding your next high-quality client. Here are two considerations:
Think About if You Want to Inform, Educate, or Get Someone to Act
The intent of your content piece will dictate how the content will be written. Getting someone to act may include storytelling, providing anecdotes, and explaining to the reader why your firm is the right fit. A blog on a legal topic may spend significantly less time on these areas (or spend no time at all).
Consider the Urgency of Your Practice Area
Is your potential client looking to draft a will in the next year, or do they need a lawyer to urgently protect their driver’s license in the next week? Again, your content will convey urgency and affect the flow and prioritization of your talking points.
Contributed by Ryan Klein, CEO
Contact Market My Market to Secure Well-Researched Content Marketing
Whether you are a business owner or the head of marketing at your company, time is one of the most valuable elements of your day. In order to produce the high-quality content needed to optimize your business online, there is extensive time and effort that should be put into research for effective content marketing.
At Market My Market, our team of digital marketing experts can help give you your time back by performing high-quality research when producing your content marketing plan. Whether we are optimizing your website with SEO or writing top-of-the-line content, we can guarantee the research we do is only the starting point to the quality of service that will harbor better results for your business. Call (866) 918-3924 or complete our online contact form for more information about how we can help convert leads into paying customers with our team of digital marketing professionals.
Contributed by Isabel Skormin, Content Writer
