6 strategies that will make your content more relevant to your audience

In the most obvious newsflash ever, it’s been a hard year for businesses. As consumers, the pandemic has fundamentally changed how we live, affecting how we shop, how we exercise, how we socialize, how we learn, and how we relax.

And by and large the businesses that have thrived — or even just survived — over the last 15 months or so, have been those that have taken a hard look at the way they operate and strived to refine, tweak, or completely alter their products or services in order to stay relevant to changing needs of their customers. For many of them, that has meant a serious move into the online space.

All of which means that, whether you’re publishing a series of blog posts, conducting a new webinar, or creating a gated piece of content, you’re now working in the most competitive content landscape of all time.

Just as your products and services have to keep up with the rapidly-evolving changes in the way your customers want to do business with you, your marketing content must reflect these changes too.

In fact, prioritizing content relevance has never been so important.

So, what are some of the key things to consider?

1. Are you focusing on features and benefits?

If your content is primarily focused on listing your product or service’s features and benefits, potential customers may struggle to understand its relevance — and they’ll keep on scrolling.

However, if you focus on showing them that you understand their challenges and know how to help them overcome them, they’ll know exactly why they should stop what they’re doing and engage with your content.

2. Do you know what their current challenges are?

You probably have a list of your potential customers’ pain points written in a marketing document somewhere — but when was the last time you checked in to see if those pain points are still relevant?

With the turbulent events of the last year, your audience could be facing an entirely different set of challenges that you should be addressing in your current content.

3. Is your content too generic?

Of course you want to reach a large audience, so the temptation is to keep your content fairly generic. But, when you try to relate to everyone, you run the risk of creating content that’s vague, bland…or irrelevant.

Increase the relevancy of your content by getting to know your audience so well that you know exactly how to cater to their specific content needs.

Consider: who are they? What is their current level of expertise on the topic your content centers on? Does your content offer them value and tell them what they need to know?

4. Is your content timely?

Events have moved quickly over the last year — and they’re still moving quickly.

Is the content you created in the early days of the pandemic still relevant to current trends, your customers’ needs, or how your business operates? In fact, is the content you created 3 months ago still relevant to all of those things?!

5. Are your keywords still applicable?

Are you still generating content based on keyword research you conducted pre-2020?

If so, you need to consider whether the keywords you’ve been using are still applicable. What terms are people currently searching for and does your content cover those terms? Does your content address current online queries?

6. Could your old content be damaging your marketing efforts?

If your older or evergreen content still comes up in search results but doesn’t reflect the changes your business has made to how it operates, it’s definitely worth editing it to make sure it won’t confuse or alienate your audience by providing them with outdated information.

If your business has had to evolve due to the events of the last year (and whose business hasn’t?), it’s vital that your content does the same. Because when you create content that demonstrates you not only understand customers’ current challenges, but that you’re ready and able to help them overcome those challenges, you’ll ensure your continued relevance in even the most crowded post-pandemic online marketplace.

Not sure whether your current content makes the grade? The best place to start is with an in-depth content audit that will form the foundation of a strategy that reflects where your business is now and where you want to take it. And if you’d like professional support with your audit, as well as with the creation and implementation of a strategy that really works, we’d love to help. Connect with us to get the ball rolling.