If you want to build your brand online, there's one thing you absolutely can't do without: content marketing.

Why? Because good content can open the doors to new conversations, as well as boost engagement and awareness.

If you’re not sure how content marketing can help you brand your business, keep reading. In this episode of the Brand Authority Podcast, I share how you can create valuable content that connects with your customer at every stage of the buyer's journey. You’ll turn your audience into leads that convert in no time.

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Highlights from episode 12

1. Know what your audience wants

At the heart of all great content is research. Once you fully understand who your audience is and what they want and need, you can create content that addresses their pain points and how to solve them. Here's a few ways you can gain valuable insight:

Google Analytics

Go to Google Analytics. Click Behavior, then Site content, then Content Drilldown. Sort by unique pageviews.

Look through the list and find your top 10 most popular blog posts that are continuing to bring in traffic. You want to find common themes and topics your audience engages with over and over again.

Google Search Console

Go to Google Search Console. Note what content you're ranking in that top position for, and if it's the one you want to be known for.

Facebook Audience Insights and Twitter Analytics

Browse through at all the content you've previously shared. What type of content got the most engagement?

Your competition

Your job isn't to copy what they're doing, but simply see what their (and possibly your) audience is interacting best with. What do their audience like, share, and comment on every day? You can model success.

"If you want to achieve success, all you need to do is find a way to model those who have already succeeded." - Tony Robbins

BuzzSumo

Another great tool for research is BuzzSumo. You can do a search around a specific topic and see who else has written about it, as well as how popular it is.

Google search

Google search utilizes predictive search. Use it to see what other searches people have looked for around your topic. What are they typing into the search bar?

Remember, your content is the bridge between you and your audience. Another way to get to know your audience is to talk to them directly. You can do this through:

In-person interviews
Hangouts
Skype interviews
Exit surveys
Questions on social media
Email

Once you have that data, you can use your audience’s language and speak in their own words. There's nothing more effective than custom-made content.

2. Use emotionally charged copy

If you think your audience will enjoy reading about your product or service over and over again, you're wrong. They'll get bored and oftentimes will stop looking at your content altogether. People want to be entertained, enlightened, and motivated. The only way you can get them there is by creating emotionally-charged copy... content that elicits some type of strong emotions.

Source: CoSchedule

Even if you're not the sappy or sensitive type, know that your audience could be. Find out what moves them and use that in your social media content. If you're not sure how emotionally charged your copy is, you can use the Advanced Marketing Institute Headline Analyzer. It lets you test the emotional value score (EMV) of your writing. Use it as an initial A/B test to see how it will resonate with your audience on an intellectual, empathetic, and spiritual level.

3. Share captivating stories

Every business has its own story. Your job is to take yours and share it with your audience in a real and relatable way. This is important because most people gravitate towards brands that tell stories that move them and speak to their soul. So, use stories to bring your audience into your world. Make them feel connected. This will create a bond that translates into trust over time. The first step is to write your story and then inject it into your content.

Source: Business 2 Community

4. Create useful and share-worthy content

Your goal should always be to create valuable content your audience will want to share. For that, you'll need three things:

1. Original content. The only way your content will stand out is if it's unique and comes from your own perspective. Make sure you put your own voice and tone into everything you share.

2. Irresistible content. Create content that's so custom-made for your audience that they simply can’t say “no” to it.

3. Empathetic content. Make sure your content is empathetic to the needs of your audience. Show that you understand their current situation and feel their struggle. Use your content to humanize your brand.

Final thoughts

Not every piece of content you share will be a huge success, and that's ok. As long as you have a deep understanding of your audience and keep creating and sharing the type of content they need, you're on the right track.

If you want to know more about using content marketing to build your brand, make sure to listen to the full podcast episode, and come back next week for more brand-building tips!