When it comes to content, marketing professionals are guilty of writing long, complex copy and focusing on keyword-heavy content. While that is great for search engine optimization, it is not what users are looking for, and sometimes, high-volume content creation does not match high-quality content expectations.
We have summarised 5 ways to reach and impress your target audience through personalized content for higher views, engagement, and conversions.
Think About Search Intent. This concept is often misunderstood and neglected. While we think about the keywords our audience is using, we forget to consider what they might be trying to find. That is why content should be targeted at the searched keywords, and it should also provide information that speaks to what the user is looking for – their specific search intent.
Profiling Customers. Having a target audience of “business entrepreneurs” or “fitness enthusiasts” is not nearly enough. These answers show a particular group, but they don’t tell us what these people are searching for, their problems, and what solutions they need. Conducting market research and digging into your target audience can help create detailed customer profiles, enabling you to personalize your content efficiently. For example, you can easily create and distribute online survey forms, either anonymous or not, and ask questions regarding their struggles with a given product/service or what questions they have for a given topic. Anything and everything that will help you get to know your customers and target their concerns accordingly. Looking into a Google Analytics Behaviour Flow report or another User Behaviour analytics tool can also help with profiling. It gives you a good idea of your audience’s behavior and engagement with specific pages of your site.
Utilize Artificial Intelligence (AI) Technology. You can tailor and offer product recommendations through AI technology based on what customers are most likely to buy. AI tools can display “like items” related to a user’s initial search or what they’ve bought before.
Dynamic Search. If your website has a search bar, you can enable dynamic search to direct users to content that they will be interested in. Otherwise, users can search for something that you don’t have for hours and get frustrated when they realize in the end that you don’t have what they’re looking for. With dynamic search, you can direct users straight to other alternatives of what they’re looking for, saving them time and encouraging them to remain on the website.
Go Above and Beyond. When applying market research to your content, it is crucial to consider your audience’s “pain points” and how to solve them. However, your audience may not necessarily know what their pain points are. You will have to start from the bottom and write content that answers some of their questions, and in the meantime, let them discover what their struggles are and where you can help them.
When content is personalized, your audience can easily relate and see the value you provide. And instead of going for hard-sell techniques, guide your audience in the right direction, where they will be able to decide for themselves what they need and how you can help them.