TBE contributor Mark Dye, managing director of Bath and London-based full-service digital and content agency WLM.digital gives us his thoughts on how to position yourself with content marketing.
Before we talk about how content marketing should be used as part of your brand positioning efforts, let’s be clear: fundamentally, positioning is not about marketing communications. Positioning starts with that single idea which defines your company or brand. Once you have this and have tested it to make sure it’s authentic and believable — and only then — is it time to start communicating it. That’s where content marketing is invaluable.
Having identified your brand position, you need to find the audience which will respond to it. As it happens, audience discovery is not the painful and expensive process it used to be in the analogue days of old. A content-marketing agency that knows its business, will be able to help you work with the seed data you have — from your website or your CRM system — to build a clear picture of who your current audience is. Once you know that, you can then begin to work together to understand how your position — and the brand messaging you build around it — speaks to that audience, segment by segment. Once you understand that, you have the core of your content-marketing strategy.
The next step, is to understand what your target audiences are searching for — what they’re interested in — so that you can use this to draw them to your site, aligning with your positioning and your marketing objectives.
For instance, let’s say you’re running a new online e-commerce site selling motor-parts. You know your customers are keen hobbyists and your brand position is value and trustworthiness. Therefore, your content strategy should make concrete your brand position. You might, for example, concentrate on how-to videos and blog posts that help your target audience make popular modifications and repairs to their vehicles, avoiding common pitfalls, and on a budget.
As well as aligning your content with your marketing position and brand values, you’d use your audience research to target the right channels, platforms, and keywords for your target audiences. Your aim is to be the place that your audience comes to for advice and tips on how to find, choose and use the best budget auto parts for their projects.
Do that and you will drive brand interest and more importantly new business leads.
Need an expert to help you position your brand in the market — and then communicate that position to your target audience? WLM.digital can help. Drop me a line at mark@wlm.digital .
