According to Salesforce, 78% of consumers prefer engaging with a brand that prioritizes providing helpful content over aggressive sales tactics.
We often say that good design doesn’t happen by accident, and neither does good content. Shifting your focus from selling to helping can make a significant difference in how your audience perceives your brand.
Understanding Your Audience
The first step in creating helpful content is understanding your audience. Who are they? What are their needs and pain points? Conducting thorough audience research can help you uncover these insights. Creating detailed audience personas will guide your content creation process, ensuring that the content you produce is relevant and valuable to your readers. If you’ve been in business for more than a few years, you should have a pretty good idea of who your clients are.
For us, we create helpful content for individuals who work in marketing at small- to medium-sized businesses and want to grow their business through web design, SEO and marketing. The typical person who reaches out is someone on an internal marketing team, and ranges from content strategist to director of marketing.
Benefits of Helpful Content
Providing valuable information establishes trust and credibility with your audience, and positions you as an authority in your industry. This trust encourages repeat visits. Visitors are more likely to return to your site if there is relevant content, as well as view you positively.
Search engines also prioritize content that delivers real value to users, leading to improved SEO rankings and greater visibility online. Producing helpful content not only fosters a loyal audience, it also improves your brand's visibility.
It’s possible that non-helpful, spammy content will raise your rankings in the short term, but in the long term, it won’t help you a ton.
A few Strategies for Creating Helpful Content
To create content that is genuinely helpful, we recommend:
- Providing Practical Tips and Advice: Your audience should be able to take your advice and apply it immediately.
- Using Clear, Simple Language: Avoid jargon and complex language to ensure your content is accessible. We like to write in a range from 6th through 10th grader reading levels.
- Focusing on Solving Problems: Address common questions and challenges your audience faces.
- Including Real-Life Examples and Case Studies: These can illustrate your points and show real-world applications.
Avoiding Salesy Tactics
To ensure your content doesn't come off as too salesy, keep these tips in mind:
- Limit Self-Promotion: Focus on the reader’s needs rather than pushing your products or services.
- Avoid the Hard-Sell Tactics: Use a softer approach that prioritizes helping over selling.
- Offer Value First: Provide valuable information before introducing your products or services.
- Use Storytelling: Engage your audience with stories that inform and entertain rather than just sell.
Incorporating SEO Best Practices
SEO is essential for getting your content in front of the right people. Here’s how to do it:
- Conduct Keyword Research: Understand what your audience is searching for and incorporate these keywords naturally into your content.
- Optimize Content Structure: Use headings, subheadings, and bullet points to make your content easy to read.
- Include Internal and External Links: These links can provide additional value and improve your content’s credibility.
Creating helpful content is a powerful way to build trust, enhance your brand's reputation, and improve your SEO rankings. By focusing on your audience's needs and providing valuable information, you can create content that stands out without being overly salesy. Start shifting your focus from selling to helping today, and watch as your audience grows more engaged and loyal.
If you need assistance with crafting effective content, SEO strategies, or overall marketing support, reach out to us at Werkbot. We're here to help you grow and succeed.