Content: it’s rapidly becoming the marketing tool of choice, and with good reason. Brands that invest in content marketing see nearly eight times more traffic than those that don’t. With 60% of all marketers creating at least one piece of content every day, it’s no wonder everyone has content on the brain.

Marketers are investing heavily in content. We know content is the way of the future, and yet, only a quarter of all CMOs are able to quantify returns on content efforts. In an industry where you sink or swim based on ROI alone, that’s a little scary.

While there’s something to be said for getting more brand exposure through blogs, social media, and your website, marketers need to drive conversion from their content. Reach and exposure isn’t enough.

It can be tough to measure the precise impact of your content efforts, but it’s far from impossible. There are many ways to maximize your content ROI. Let’s take a look at how you can drive consumers into your purchase funnel and nurture them over time.

Driving engagement with content

The key to creating effective content for engagement is simple: it’s all about strategy. However, every brand’s strategy will differ depending on your audience, needs, and niche. Use these tactics to build a strategy that will make your consumers beg for more amazing content.

Your goal with content is to get consumers into your online network and nurture them to engagement. But ‘knowing’ your audience isn’t as simple as demographic or interest-based targeting. Only 59% of all mobile online campaigns are delivered to their intended audience, which means most advertisers get their audience all wrong.

Instead of looking at demographic data, look at behavior. Amazon and Netflix are wonderful at using this data to get the right content to their audience.  There’s no better way to engage with your consumers than to understand how your audience already uses your site and interacts with your content.

You can use analytics tools or True Anthem to find out what audiences engage with your first party content. This will help you identify your core audience for targeting, while informing content strategy.

Acquire

As more consumers ignore traditional media and banner ads, there’s no better way to acquire new consumers and get them to your site than using content. According to Hubspot, the average clickthrough rate for a search ad is 1.91% and 0.35% for a display ad.

At True Anthem, we drive an average CTR of 8.01% for native content ads on social media, a whopping four times better than the average for search and 23 times better than the average for display. If you want to grow your network, your silver bullet is relevant content delivered to the right consumer.

Engage

Driving traffic to your website is one thing, but real engagement is what you should prioritize. Content marketers see their content as products now. Many are using eCommerce strategies, like upsell and cross sell, to personalize content for their target consumers.

You can acquire the right audiences by building a relationship, constantly refining your content, and targeting the right audience.

If you don’t have a content marketing strategy or you’d like us to do an audit for you, contact True Anthem.

Give value, no matter what

You can have an amazing content strategy, but if the content itself is too salesy, all of your hard work will go down the drain. Your consumers want valuable content, not a sales pitch. If you come out of the gate asking them to buy, it’s likely to turn them away from your brand.

All content needs to be relevant and valuable. Of course, the end game with your content is to make a sale, but you can’t make that the overarching focus of the content itself. Give value to your audience and, in turn, they’ll reward you with their trust and purchase in time.

Try giving value to your consumers with these content ideas:

Interactive content: Blogs are great, but everyone’s writing blogs. Get your head out of the word processor and send your users exciting, interactive content. Try sending them polls or personality tests to get more engagement. Look no further than content giant Buzzfeed to see examples of interactive content done right.

Long form content: Have you ever watched a TV show that was so, so good, but it was way too short? That’s how consumers feel when their favorite brands write a 200-word blog. For middle and bottom funnel focused content, invest the time and resources into writing long form content. But don’t plump up the word count just for the sake of adding more words. Write in depth how-to guides, a step by step manual, or a review to give value for your audience’s time.

Make it emotional: Emotions and stories reign supreme in content marketing. Tie your products or services with an emotion, whether through a national movement, charity, or a customer’s personal story.

The bottom line

‘Conversion’ doesn’t have to be a four-letter word for marketers. Conversions are completely attainable when you approach content marketing with focus. Use these tips to generate more bang for your buck to see returns on your content investment.

If you don’t already have the resources to measure your content’s effectiveness, you’re in luck. True Anthem offers AI-powered tools to boost your conversions at every stage of the funnel. Reach out to learn more about growing your content ROI.