- To win your audience’s loyalty, focus on more than just grabbing their attention.
- Leverage storytelling techniques to make an emotional impact on your customers.
- Use a strong CTA to guide your reader to take action.
Content marketing is commonly touted as a way to garner traffic to your website. After all, you can’t pitch your products and services without having someone to listen. However, as with many things in business, you should focus on quality, not quantity. Having a long mailing list or huge Instagram following doesn’t matter if you’re not engaging people in a way that makes them want to do business with you. That’s why it’s important to not buy leads or “follow–unfollow” people. Instead, craft your content in such a way that you’ll build a loyal fan base. From there, you can truly grow your business.
To create captivating content, follow the storytelling structure that has been used for generations. Not only should your story have a beginning, middle, and end, but also an emotional arc that resonates with the reader. Here’s what to keep in mind:
Start Strong
Most copywriting formulas start with a focus on attention. Based on the traditional, interruptive advertising model, this approach means that you need to nab people’s attention and distract them from what they’re doing. Perhaps you use a shocking statistic or a witty turn of phrase. Perhaps you blast them with the word “SALE!” and hope that piques their interest. A better idea is to tap into the problem that you know your target audience has. Talk about it in an understanding way, then tease your solution. In a content marketing context, this approach helps you forge a lasting relationship with your audience. It builds trust, rather than temporarily gain people’s interest only to lose it moments later.
Develop the Middle
Ever watched a movie that had a great opening and epic finale, but was full of unfocused ideas and meandering plots? You leave the theater unsatisfied and skeptical about ever seeing another movie from that director. You don’t want your marketing content to be like that. Once you get someone’s attention with a strong opening, it’s time to make your pitch — and that entails more than just repeating yourself. Have a conversation with them. Just because you can’t hear them responding doesn’t mean that you can’t give them something to chew on. Let your reader imagine themselves with your product. Walk them through the solution to their problem. By painting a picture for them, you can encourage their trust in you — and make them more likely to make a purchase.
Finish with a Strong Call-to-Action
The call-to-action (CTA) is the bread-and-butter of any marketing content. It’s the thing that you want your audience to do after they read your content. Left to their own conclusions, people tend to think “huh, that’s interesting” and go on with their day. Don’t let them loose without showing them the next steps! You’ve been weaving them a story, so bring it to a powerful end. Explicitly ask them to make a purchase, book a call, sign up for a webinar — whatever your CTA is for that piece of content. Make sure that you acknowledge their problem that you tapped into, and reiterate that your solution can help them live out the story you just told.
Wrapping Up
Creating captivating content leads to a more sustainable relationship. If you manage to hook people and convince them to make a purchase through traditional advertising, great: that’s a time-honored way of making sales. But if you want a meaningful connection with an audience who eats up everything you have to offer, try the storytelling approach we outlined above. You’ll make a deeper impact on your audience — and that’s good for a lasting business relationship.