Content will be at the heart of everything you do on your website and beyond. What’s your core brand message? What do you want to stand for? What do you want to be known for? What do you want to write about, talk about, engage people on? What parts of your personal story are relevant here?
Of course, these questions represent only one side of the coin. The most effective content for you to create will sit in the sweet spot between what you as a brand want to talk about and what your customers are looking for. Publishing relevant and engaging content that meets customer needs will help you to rank highly in Google results and become a go-to resource for your target audience.
To find out what your customers want, you can use tools like Google Keyword Planner to review their search queries, you can find studies online, and sometimes you can simply talk to them! Find ways to answer their questions, solving their problems with your content. Can you write ‘how-to’ articles or step-by-step guides? Can you share your own personal experiences? Is there a ‘behind-the-scenes’ angle that can add interest? Creating different types of content, from broader lifestyle themes down to the detailed product information, will ensure that you have plenty to talk about on your site and on your social networks.
Choosing the best social media channels
It’s easy to be tempted by the newest shiny thing, and to want to be present anywhere, but spreading yourself too thin is a recipe for being completely ineffective. Choose 2-3 key platforms where you will focus your energy and activity.
The platforms you choose will depend on a few things, including your target audience and where they hang out – e.g. you might choose to be on Snapchat and Instagram for a Millennial target – and the type of content you are creating – e.g. if you create a lot of video then YouTube might be a good platform, if you’re confident being spontaneous and articulate on camera you might publish on Facebook live or on Periscope, if your business is in food and you can take a lot of beautiful images you might consider Instagram and Pinterest. If you’re really not sure, then Facebook is usually a good place to start – almost everyone is on Facebook!
Once you’ve chosen your 2-3 networks, you want to first of all set them up beautifully, creating cover images and profile pictures in the correct dimensions, filling in all the information fields, and so on; then you’ll want to create a publishing calendar whereby you stick to a schedule of posting regularly and consistently. Remember that it’s not just about marketing your product, social media is a two-way conversation with your potential or existing customers and you need to engage them on broader content themes with a more general lifestyle approach.