If you’re wondering why you’re not increasing your sales or site traffic, then we’re about to solve your problem.

Does your brand or company have a personality?

Why should you care about WHAT your brand says or sounds like? You just want to sell your products, right?

Nope. It’s not that simple anymore, and it hasn’t been for quite some time.

In 2017, it’s not JUST about selling your product or service. It’s about convincing people – real, living, thinking humans – to purchase from you. And as the Internet and consumers mature, just having a product to sell isn’t good enough.

You’re not the only one selling t-shirts or fixing people’s plumbing. Unless it’s in a brand new or super-niche industry, no one company rules over a market without worry of opposition or getting overthrown.

So how do you build your brand so that people will automatically think of you when they face a problem, or that people will refer their friends to, or whose website blows up with traffic without them needing to spend thousands on advertising?

The most important reason your brands needs a personality

Think of your favourite brands and companies. Think about why you love them so much, and why you keep going back to them. Now, think about the brands you follow online, the ones that make you laugh or smile, or nod in agreement and then click the Like or Share button.

Are they the same ones you buy from?

The answer is most likely “yes”.

This is because we naturally gravitate towards things we identify with, things we feel a connection to, and things we can understand.

This works even for the brands that you don’t purchase from, because we guarantee that you follow at least one company because you love their content. We also believe that the next time you’re in need of products or services from that company’s industry, they’ll be at the top of your mind.

The only way to create this connection with your audience is to create content for people to consume. No one will know who you are or what you stand for unless you tell them.

Consumers are more likely to follow and purchase from a brand that says something, rather than a brand that’s a blank slate. Why should they purchase from someone (and yes, someone, because at its core, content marketing is about that human connection) they don’t know?

The key tip to growing your audience with content

The other reason you need content is to increase your site and social media channel traffic. This will allow you to convert more people into customers and keep growing your audience. This larger audience will also share your content and recommend you to their friends.

But it’s not going to come instantly. To build your brand and audience, consistency is key. Google won’t recognise you as #1 in your first month, and it will take time to build the trust of your readers and customers. If you’re not seeing results, don’t immediately quit.

It took this company three years to build up their readers to crazy high numbers, and they emphasise that it’s because they had to build trust with their readers.

The first step to increasing sales and traffic

So you now understand the spark of connection between businesses and consumers. And if you’re thinking “I don’t know what content to create!” then that’s okay.

The easiest way to start is by answering your customers’ questions. Set up a blog, or post your response to the most popular questions on your company’s social media. (We would recommend setting up a blog on your website and linking to each blog post on your social media.)

This way, when people Google the answer to a particular question, your website may be one of the first to pop up for them. The more traffic your website gets, the easier it will be to climb those Google rankings.

Click here for a great guide on landing on the first page of Google results.

So what do you post after you’ve answered all the FAQs?

Any content you develop should be created with this one thought in mind: How will this add value to my customers?

This always needs to be at the core of your content creation process. If you’re creating content just for content’s sake, then it’s not going to work. People – humans – won’t respond to content that isn’t helpful or at the very least interesting.

And make sure that your content isn’t always centred on your brand. Your audience will be visiting your blog for useful information, not shameless self-promotion. It’s okay to post about yourself, but keep it minimal and only when it’s relevant.

A few content examples to get you started

Outside of answering your customer’s FAQs, here are a few ways to create content:

• Create a quiz determining which of your products/services best fits their need
• Create a downloadable checklist e.g. “The 5 things you need to know before purchasing…”
• An infographic with some interesting information about your industry (bonus: infographics are highly shareable!)
• A series of posts guiding people through the basics of your industry, focused on introducing beginners to you and your brand
• A monthly email newsletter with industry tips and tricks, interesting links, and brand news (here’s a guide on how you can get started growing your email list)

Still not sure what content could fit your industry? Click here for some great examples and a guide on the types of content that works for each stage of the customer journey.

What you can do from this moment on

So now you know exactly how to build your brand with content marketing, and we have given you some great links to resources that will help. You may be feeling overwhelmed right now, but as the saying goes, Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Start by focusing on one thing and branch out from there. You can begin with engaging on social media or starting a blog. Once you’ve mastered the basics of your chosen platform, you can begin to build others and grow your content offerings.

Just make sure you keep asking yourself “How will this add value to my customers?”

If you would help in developing some great content, get in touch with us today.