Five Basic Content Marketing Principles You Can’t Afford To Ignore

So you’ve heard that content marketing is great for increasing organic traffic to your website. Perhaps you know that you’re likely to convert more site visitors to quality leads. But how do you go about shifting your marketing focus to content?

Here at Wizeo, we’re pretty adept at rustling up a rock-solid content strategy. But we do more than wave our magic wands to get there – we base all our work on five content marketing principles that you just can’t afford to ignore.

But first… 

What are content marketing principles? 

Put simply, content marketing principles are the pillars that great content strategies are built upon. These principles ensure that your content is accurate, serves search intent, and is comprehensive enough to give readers answers to their queries. Follow these principles, and you’ve got yourself an audience that’s engaged and is likely to come back for more (eventually converting into quality leads).

Four content marketing principles to shore up your digital content strategy

Here are some principles of content marketing that we swear by:

1. Know who you’re writing for

Your audience is smart. They consume loads of information every minute they spend online. They can immediately tell if you’re push-selling or writing for a generic audience. 

Related: 4 Ways Content Marketing Helps to Build Trust With Your Audience

So, how do you fix that?

You become more specific. You talk to them, about them! Understand:

• Who they are
• Why they landed on your page in the first place
• What they’re looking for
• Which demographics are they part of

Let’s assume you’re offering a time-tracking and project management B2B SaaS tool. You’ve decided to invest in a paid marketing campaign and want to create an effective landing page.  

To figure out the best way to write copy for your landing page, try figuring out answers to the questions above. 

Here’s what that could look like:

Question: Who are you writing for? 

Answer: Managers and team leads.

Question: Why did they land on your page? 

Answer: They saw your ad about time tracking with employee surveillance features and it made them curious to learn more. 

What are they looking for? 

Answer: A cost-effective solution suitable for teams of 20+ people

Which demographics are they part of?

Answer: 

• Age –  between 28 and 40 years
• Titles – Manager, team lead, coordinator 
• Company size – Startups and mid-level companies

With that, the most difficult part is done and dusted. Now that you know who you’re targeting, you’ll be able to write landing page copy that flows better and speaks to your customer directly – you know, the kind that can convert them from passive readers to qualified leads. 

2. Address the pain points of your audience

Let’s reverse-engineer this. 

When a prospect lands on your website, they’re probably there for one of two reasons: 

1. They’re either looking to learn something new; or 
2. They’re on the lookout for a product or service similar to yours.

During their research, they must have come across your content and thought, “Hey, this sounds interesting. Let’s peep in to see if they’ve got what I’m looking for.” 

That’s your chance of showing them that you’ve got the best solution to their needs. Take this mindset into your writing, and create something that directly addresses one or more pain points. 

There are a few ways you can do this. You can start by empathizing with the reader so that they feel heard. Remember though, your prospect already knows tons about their pain points. Repeating them in each sentence won’t do much for you. Instead, focus on the benefits and value you bring to the table.

If it fits with your brand, sprinkle in some good ol’ storytelling and you’ve got yourself some great copy. 

Let’s see what that looks like in action. Say you’re trying to write a social media post for a meal delivery service. The target audience for this service is new parents or people who work or run a business full-time. 

You wouldn’t want to write something bland like: “Don’t have time to cook? We know that you’re busy. That’s why we bring fresh food straight to your door! Order today.” 

Instead, try sprucing it up with something like this:

“Never stress about meal prep again! Our meal delivery service brings delicious, chef-prepared meals right to your doorstep. Enjoy nutritious, ready-to-eat dishes without the hassle of grocery shopping or cooking. Reclaim your time and savor every bite.”

Wizeo tip: Highlight how your solution is the best of the lot by offering visitors something they won’t find elsewhere. 

Related: How Often Should You Blog For SEO?

3. Find your voice

Who are you? 

What does your brand stand for? 

Figure out the tone of voice for your brand and make sure it’s one that also resonates with your audience. Then, use that as the baseline for every piece of content you produce. This will enable strong brand positioning, and the next time someone comes across content that’s remotely similar, it’ll immediately trigger your brand’s name in their minds.

With time, your audience will expect to see great content from you consistently so don’t disappoint! Set up a publishing schedule for your blogs and social media content, and hold yourself accountable. Besides, search engines like Google love websites that regularly put out new content –  do this, and you’ll make both your audience and the algorithm fall in love with your brand. 

4. Add value 

There are over 30 billion pages of content on the internet (yup, we checked!). Give your audience a reason to choose you. 

This can only happen if you provide your audience with something they won’t find elsewhere. The value you offer and consistently deliver can be the reason why your audience comes back to you whenever they’re in need of a new service or solution. 

You can deliver value through your content in two simple ways:

1. Taking on a unique angle to the same solution and addressing it in a way no one’s done before
2. Conducting gap analysis to find points no one’s talked about 

Anything your customers find helpful in their buying journey can make your content unique. 

Wizeo tip: Value can be emotional too, so draw on powerful storytelling to generate heartfelt customer connections.

5. Build authority 

Readers want to see content coming from an authority – someone who understands the problem and has the right solution. 

You need to position yourself as that authority! 

Whether you’re creating how-to content for your audience or diving deep into analytics, back your content up with examples, first-hand case studies, and proven methods. This will build your authority over the subject matter, and the next time prospects face a problem, they’ll turn to you for a solution.

Ready to take your content game to the next level?

Writing and curating top-quality content consistently can be challenging, especially when you have other strategic or operational business aspects to focus on. In that case, you can simply hire experts to take care of your content. 

Professional content marketing services can be a cost-effective solution. You’ll outsource the entire department leaving room for other critical work, only pay for content when you need it, and benefit from the experience of expert writers. 

Learn how Wizeo can help. 

Need more content marketing tips?

Well, you’re in luck. 

When we’re not weaving content magic for our clients, we’re here to offer our expert insights, tips, and ideas on making content work for your business. 

Check out our blog!