When it’s done right, content marketing can be an incredibly effective driver of business growth. It can generate qualified leads. It can deepen your connection with customers. It can position your brand as a market innovator and attract best-in-class talent to your company.

For the best results, content marketing campaigns should deliver substance, depth, insight, and value through an array of content types that make the most sense for your audience demographics and the goals you want to accomplish. That may mean written pieces, videos, podcasts, infographics, and other forms of media – and various publication platforms, as well.

In a way, content marketing serves a similar function as traditional advertising, but it allows you to provide a greater level of detail, deliver helpful advice, and demonstrate expertise in your market. It’s all about aligning your content with your customers’ biggest needs and sharing it on the right channels.

In this article, we’ll provide an overview of three business objectives that a thoughtful content marketing campaign can help address:

• Generating qualified leads
• Connecting with niche audiences
• Positioning your brand as a competitive leader

Generating qualified leads

The foundation for any effective lead-generation campaign is to establish a deep understanding of your audience. By putting yourself in your customers’ shoes, you can speak to the common issues they face and explain why your brand helps solve them in a unique way.

What challenges are they facing? What are their pain points, and what does the buyer’s journey look like? The more insight you have into their experiences, the more effective you’ll be at creating content that moves prospects closer to a decision. Turning these insights into blog posts, how-to guides, whitepapers, and multimedia resources can help position your brand as a trusted expert and potential partner.

If you’re not entirely sure what your audience is looking for, start by digging into the common questions your sales teams are fielding during customer engagements. Look into what site visitors are searching for on your website, the questions they’re asking your chatbots, the pages they’re spending the most time on, and relevant posts on forums such as Reddit.

Sometimes, you can generate these insights through your own content campaigns. Hosting a webinar is a great way to understand the motivating factors of your customer base while connecting with them directly. You’ll be able to interact directly with your audience, gathering valuable feedback from attendees’ questions, comments, and engagement.

By creating content based on audience feedback, you’re likely to bring in higher quality leads. Unlike cold outreach or ad clicks, the people that respond to in-depth content marketing are typically interested in the topic and are actively exploring solutions.

One example of an effective lead-generation campaign is Airfoil’s work with Quantiphi, an applied AI and data science software and services company. We produced a range of content for the company as part of an integrated campaign, including a long form eGuide promoted on the company’s blog and social posts. By aligning content with the needs of Quantiphi’s target audiences, we were able to generate 300 new leads for the company.

Connecting with niche audiences

Content marketing is also a powerful way to target niche audiences, providing you with the flexibility to deliver in-depth information to specific audiences or a wider array of content to show how your brand provides value across a broad range of industry verticals.

Communicating with niche audiences works best when you’re able to zero in and address highly specific needs within a specialized market. Think of it as launching your own trade publication, precisely geared toward the customers and industries that are most relevant to your brand.

Things like podcasts that dive deep into best practices for specific industries, video interviews with customers, and multimedia case studies will help you talk about the work that you do, how you solve real-world challenges for businesses, and how you provide value.

One example is a podcast we helped launch with our client EOS, a leader in industrial 3D printing. The company’s additive manufacturing technology has a wide array of applications across various industries, and a podcast format allowed them to discuss the value they provide to different types of customers. Each episode provides in-depth storytelling on a specific industry use-case, while the series as a whole shows the sheer versatility of their solutions.

Positioning your brand as a competitive leader

A strong thought-leadership campaign can help establish your brand as an innovator in its market, amplify voices within your organization, and attract like-minded talent to your company. These campaigns help audiences understand what your brand stands for and what sets you apart.

Reporters and editors are always on the lookout for expert commentary, and a consistent thought leadership campaign demonstrates your perspective and expertise. Over time, this can lead to interviews, features, or inclusion in stories on trending topics.

Many publications, including industry trade outlets, feature contributed content programs that publish op-eds from guest authors and executives. These pieces allow you to weigh in on timely topics and demonstrate industry leadership.

LinkedIn is another popular platform for thought-leadership content, thanks to its targeting and analytics capabilities, multimedia support, and opportunities for amplification and engagement. This platform is a great way for executives and experts to engage directly with professional communities, join relevant conversations, and expand their networks in a meaningful way.

Understanding your business goals

The best content marketing strategy for your own brand begins with a clear definition of your business goals – and a deep dive into the data that can drive customer interest. Airfoil has helped brands of all sizes develop content campaigns that generate leads, increase interactions on social channels, and establish executives as leading voices in their industry.

Are you ready to start building momentum for your business through content marketing campaigns and big-picture integrated marketing efforts? We’re here to help you every step of the way. Contact us, and let’s talk about how Airfoil can take your content strategy to the next level.