Content marketing is like a recipe. It’s only successful when you include all the necessary ingredients. Just like you can’t bake delicious bread without flour, you can’t implement a fruitful content marketing plan without client research. Before you can effectively reach your target audience with blogs, videos and social media posts, you must first determine who they are, what they need and how they search for it. This will allow you to create content that deeply resonates with your target audience and generates new business for your company.
Why Client Research is Necessary
When it comes to conducting client research, think of yourself as a football coach getting ready for a pivotal game. You need to know everything there is to know about your opponent. From their offensive and defensive strategies to the key players on their roster, knowing the ins and outs of your rival is the only way to secure that big win.
For effective content marketing, client research is your company’s game plan. Instead of offensive and defensive schemes, your goal is to study those individuals that make up your target audience, the services they want and where they are currently getting those services. With this information, your business can produce content that is tailored to your audience and their needs. Without it, your content might as well be a diary entry.
Tools to Use in Client Research
To the uninitiated, client research may seem like a grueling and overwhelming task, but it’s actually easier than you think. The best way to gain a better understanding of your audience and the questions you need answered is by simply asking them, and there are a number of valuable tools to assist your business in this process.
- SurveyMonkey: The world’s most popular online survey tool, SurveyMonkey gives your firm the ability to draft specific questions and send them directly to your audience through email, social media or on your website.
- Direct interviews: There’s a reason journalists have been conducting interviews for hundreds of years. When someone has information that you need, sometimes it’s best to ask them directly. Talk to your company’s current clients whenever you can to gain a better understanding of their decision-making process and the obstacles they face. These can be done in person or in the comfort of your own home or office through Zoom or another video conferencing platform.
- Social listening: Chances are people are already talking about your industry on various social media platforms, and you need to know what they are saying. Social listening is a two-part process that includes scanning various platforms (Facebook, X, LinkedIn, etc.) for any posts that include your business, competitors and any other related keywords, then studying the results to determine a course of action. Hootsuite, Mention, HubSpot and Sprout Social are just a few of the services available to assist your company in this practice.
- Analyze website data: Your business’s website is the hub for all of your content marketing efforts. It’s the location where you are driving your target audience, and the data on the back end will tell you what they are after. Where on your website are you seeing the most traffic? Where are people staying the longest? This information gives you a better understanding of the needs of your audience and how to reach them.
- Quora: Designed like a version of Reddit for professionals, Quora allows users to ask or answer questions on a wide range of topics. Search the site for questions pertaining to your company’s industry and your target audience, and you may see that others have already shared the information that you seek.
Why Client Research is a Continuous Process
The answers you compile during client research will give you a better understanding of how to shape your content marketing efforts. Just like the football coach who studied film on his opponent to develop a strategy to win, your client research efforts will help you develop a strategy to effectively reach your target audience and their needs, but it doesn’t stop there. Over time, you’ll be able to assess the results of your content marketing efforts and determine whether you successfully reached your audience.
If your business didn’t see an increase in website traffic, engagement or new business, it’s time to roll out another round of client research with new questions. If your company did see positive results, give yourself a pat on the back, then prepare for the next round of client research. Understanding your audience and how to reach them isn’t a one-time act. Things change over time and client research should be done at least once every three months to ensure that you are keeping up with any new ideas or priorities.