When done right, content marketing delivers benefits like no other. And that’s no surprise, considering how much time people spend consuming online content.

Over the past eight years, people’s online media consumption has consistently exceeded two hours daily. Thus, the easiest way to engage your target audience is to invest in high-quality online content for your brand. 

However, understand that achieving exceptional results isn’t easy. In fact, you must create and publish posts that appeal to your target audience.

Do you want to learn how to craft online marketing content for your brand with the ideal customer in mind? Read on to learn all the tricks for ensuring your blog posts, videos, and podcasts resonate with your audience. And more importantly, they help convert new customers.

Start by defining your ideal customer

The only way to optimize your content to appeal to your ideal customers is to have a crystal-clear vision of who you want to reach. So, as you begin your content marketing journey, you must define your target audience.

When starting a brand

If you’re starting a business, the audience research process is a crucial aspect of your branding strategy. Essentially, the only way to build a successful brand is to know precisely who you want to reach and how you can appeal to them.

When conducting audience research, start with your ideal customer’s pain points. What frustrations do your solutions promise to address?

Then, go further and try to narrow down your target audience. Think about demographic data: 

• Where are your ideal customers from? 
• What’s their age, gender, and family status? 
• Do they work? 
• What’s their income? 
• What are their interests and preferred ways of consuming content? 
• What are their shopping habits?

All these questions may seem excessive. Still, if you want to guarantee your online marketing content resonates, you need answers to all of this and more.

In addition to basic info about your brand’s potential clients, consider your future customers’ values and behaviors. Then, use all this information to create a buyer persona.

When expanding the marketing strategy of an existing business

What about if you’re trying to craft online marketing content for your existing business? In this case, you should know that you’ll have a slightly easier time pinpointing your ideal customers.

Look at the analytical data on your website and social media channels. Then, use the information to form a buyer persona.

Furthermore, consider the benefits of segmenting your target audience. Doing it gives you the unique opportunity to track your prospects’ browsing and buying behavior at every stage of the buyer’s journey. Plus, you can use the data in your digital marketing strategy.

By optimizing your content for each stage of the customer journey, you’ll ensure your posts reach their intended audience. Plus, you’ll guarantee they present followers with the value they seek.

For example, a brand like Moto Machines will want to know more than just the basic information about its target audience. This business needs to understand people’s motivation for customizing their motorcycles. 

That’s why its content team must closely study ‌people’s thought processes when they decide to upgrade their bikes. This is the only way they can produce relevant online marketing content like the Motorcycle Exhaust Essentials guide below.

Source: motomachines.com

Set your goals

Producing and distributing online marketing content may seem straightforward. First, you need to craft a great resource. Then, you have to post it on your website and social media channels or submit it as a guest post.

But here’s the deal: Mindlessly publishing posts may allow you to grow your brand. Yet, to go about your content marketing strategically, you must set clear goals.

Do you want to invest in posts that resonate with your ideal customers? Then, there are three key considerations you have to make when setting your content marketing goals.

Define your desired outcomes

Creating content that will attract new leads is one thing. And publishing a piece to encourage existing customers to re-purchase from your business requires an entirely different approach. 

A piece of content may be able to achieve many goals in mind. For instance, approximately 80% of people have made an impulse purchase at some point. Thus,‌ a first-time visitor who just discovered your solution may end up buying during that first visit.

Still, to develop an effective digital marketing strategy that benefits your business, you must learn to set your goals.

Know what you want to achieve with each piece you publish. For example, if you aim to rapidly grow your following on social media, focus on engaging, shareable content that has the potential of going viral.

Starry did it marvelously on TikTok. It collaborated with singer Ice Spice to create short humorous videos featuring the new lemon-lime soda drink. All the videos centered around the idea that it’s time to “see other sodas.” 

And the content strategy worked. The most-viewed post got 12 million views on TikTok and a couple of hundred thousand likes on Instagram.

Source: tiktok.com

Prioritize online marketing content that supports your value proposition

As you craft online marketing content to attract and engage your target audience, you must ensure your posts support your brand’s value proposition.

The most valuable benefit of content marketing is that it’s an excellent way to attract and retain your prospects’ attention. You can try to get your ideal customers to fall in love with your brand by highlighting your personality. But, the better way to grab customer attention is to address your audience’s frustrations and pain points. Then, you can make them aware of the value of your solutions.

Data shows that 60% of internet users go online to find information. And 49% of people use the web to research how to do things.

So, to craft content that appeals to your audience, explore ways to emphasize the benefits of buying from your business.

For a great example of how you can do this, check out the Rigging Training Course from eTraining. 

This brand understands that its audience has specific needs. Its target customers must learn how to do rig loads for crane operation. They need to adhere to strict standards and pass several national certification programs. 

So, the course description mentions all these pain points and gives prospects a detailed outline of the covered topics. It also supplements the sales copy with testimonials and an informative benefits section.

Instead of static images, eTraining could leverage an AI image generator to create an interactive infographic that walks users through the process of rig loads. This engaging format would not only address their pain points but also provide a valuable learning experience, making the course even more appealing.

Source: etraintoday.com

Produce and distribute posts that reflect your brand’s personality and values

Finally, if you want your online marketing content to appeal to your ideal buyer personas, ensure that everything you post reflects your brand’s personality.

In 2024, people don’t just want to buy the cheapest or most effective product. Research shows that consumers put a lot of thought into what brands they support.

According to a 2022 poll, 82% of consumers want to support brands that share their values. Moreover, 75% of people would stop doing business with a company they disagree with on social, environmental, or governance issues.

Furthermore, don’t just use your content to show your audience you have your heart in the right place. However, many people prefer to buy from brands with memorable personalities.

Look at a business like Rolex, and you’ll realize that the brand built its reputation on personality. It perfectly embodies the values and aspirational characteristics its target audience seeks. And by publishing content that reflects those desired traits, Rolex maintains its position as the number one watch brand in the world. 

Check out how heavily it emphasizes precision craftsmanship and history on its website:

Source: rolex.com

Perform in-depth research on topics and competitors

Creating online marketing content with your ideal customer in mind isn’t just about producing great posts. Doing it requires you to go above and beyond to give your audience valuable content that completely matches their needs.

There’s only one way for your content to stand out, attract new leads, convert customers, and keep existing clients returning for more. It must be unique. And your target audience shouldn’t be able to find it elsewhere.

So, how can you achieve that goal? 

Well, it’s simple. All you have to do is research the topics you want to cover. You can do this by: 

• Looking at your audience’s most common questions to gather new content ideas
• Researching keywords online
• Using social listening

Additionally, do your best to form a strong understanding of what your competitors are doing. That way, you’ll know what it takes to serve your potential buyers with more value. And you’ll be able to steal your competition’s traffic.

Create content for each stage of the buyer’s journey

Creating content for potential customers is about more than presenting prospects with relevant, quality posts that deliver value. To get the most out of your content marketing efforts, you also need to ensure each post finds your audience at the right moment in their buyer’s journey.

As you well know, people don’t just decide to buy a product. They go through four distinct stages of the sales funnel:

1. During the awareness stage, consumers recognize they have a pain point. So, they started searching for potential solutions.
2. In the evaluation phase, people compare products. Here, their goal is to find the ideal solution for themselves. At this point, your product manager should have an effective product management roadmap to ensure development of your product effectively, aligning it with customer needs.
3. During the purchase stage, buyers narrow down their selection. They look at the pros and cons of each option. And they make buying decisions based on provider reputation and promises.
4. Finally, it’s essential to understand that the customer journey doesn’t end once you’ve made the sales. Instead, prospects move into the loyalty stage. At this point, they repeatedly decide to continue investing in your solutions.

Source: hubspot.com

So, what does the sales funnel have to do with crafting online marketing content that resonates with your audience?

 It’s simple. To ensure your posts delight your prospects and nudge them toward the next stage of the buyer’s journey, you must invest in the best types of content for each phase.

Online marketing content types for the awareness stage

To reach and engage people in the top stage of the sales funnel, combine your content marketing strategy with SEO. Then, incorporate a social media marketing strategy to extend your reach.

Several great content formats work for people who are only beginning their buyer’s journey. These include short-form and long-form blog posts and social media posts. 

Alternatively, you can opt for beginner-friendly how-to videos. Or you can lean into the potential of educational content and develop courses, white papers, or kits for your target audience. These are all excellent ways to drive organic traffic to your website. 

For a great example of a brand that publishes exceptional awareness-stage content, check out Evernote. This SaaS business offers a research and note-taking tool for students and writers. To reach this audience, the brand targets specific keywords. These always reflect Evernote’s ideal customers’ common frustrations — like improving their productivity. 

This approach is super effective. It captures the brand’s ideal customers’ attention and introduces them to a solution that could remove those pain points.

Source: evernote.com

Pro Tip: Boost your digital marketing campaigns and increase your conversion rates with paid ads, email marketing, and other outreach tactics. 

Formats to use in the evaluation phase

Once they know what type of product they require to solve a need, consumers start researching the pros and cons of each available option. So, if you want to reach, delight, and convert these consumers, invest in buying guides or product comparisons.

What’s interesting about online marketing content for the evaluation phase is that a growing number of consumers start their buyer’s journey with this type of resource.

According to PWC, 29% of people start their product research on price comparison sites. However, note that more than a third of people still go to Amazon, social media, or retailer websites to research products. This trend shows how many of today’s consumers skip the awareness stage. And it means you must work hard to delight them when they land on your site.

To see how you can do it, check out Breaking Eighty’s Best Golf Rangefinders of 2024 guide. 

You’ll see that the brand goes above and beyond to meet its audience’s needs. It includes in-depth reviews of each listed product. It supplements written content with lots of imagery and video. Plus, it provides product page links for each item. So, it helps readers seamlessly navigate to a page where they can complete their purchase.

Source: breakingeighty.com

Purchase stage content

What happens when consumers are close to converting? Well, they want to ensure they’re making the right decision by choosing your products and services. So, to maximize the chances of turning them into customers, create high-quality content that’ll give them the confidence to click that “Buy” button.

There are a few great ways to go about this. For example, does your target audience prioritize cost? In that case, you can produce and distribute content highlighting the savings they can make by investing in your solutions.

An excellent example of such a post comes from Mint Mobile. On its Instagram page, this brand actively addresses the rising prices for wireless. It also reminds followers that its services only cost $15/month. Thanks to this content marketing approach, the brand wins over users in the purchase stage who want a good product at a reasonable price.

Source: instagram.com

Or, for a slightly different example, check out Le Creuset. 

This brand’s reputation rests on the high quality of its products. The business knows its buyers want the best solution money can buy. That’s why it makes sure to call shoppers’ attention to its no-questions-asked return policy. 

This lowers buyers’ perceived risk when purchasing. Plus, it’s a great way to encourage on-the-fence consumers to shop, knowing they’ll probably love their new cookware.

Source: lecreuset.com

Content types to inspire customer loyalty

Lastly, if you want to craft online marketing content for your ideal customers, remember that the perfect lead isn’t someone who’ll buy once from your brand. Instead, it’s the person who’ll remain loyal to your business. They’ll purchase several times over many years. That’s why you’ll want to invest in online marketing content that inspires customer loyalty.

For example, we know that exceptional customer experience inspires buyers to continue shopping with a business. So, do your best to produce resources to help your customers get that great CX. Think up articles and videos to empower your audience to get more out of their investment.

For example, you can do something similar to Golf Cart Tire Supply. 

This business has an active YouTube channel, but it doesn’t just use the platform to present buyers with different products. More importantly, it uses YouTube to upload educational how-to videos. 

By teaching clients how to install bought parts and maintain their vehicles, Golf Cart Tire Supply boosts ‌customer satisfaction. This increases people’s chances of becoming return customers and maximizes the amount of positive reviews it receives.

How to install Golf Cart Seat Covers – For All Carts!

Source: youtube.com

If you want a more conversion-oriented approach, you could do what Ultimate Meal Plans does. Check out this company’s Favorite Meal Prep Containers article. The UMP marketing team understands subscribers need to cook and store several meals. So, they went through the effort of choosing high-quality meal prep containers. 

The brand doesn’t directly benefit from this. After all, it lists products made by unrelated companies. But the content is valuable. It makes sure customers have the best experience throughout their meal-planning adventure. Plus, it prevents people from canceling their subscriptions due to frustration with low-quality Tupperware.

Source: ultimatemealplans.com

Review and update existing posts

You don’t have to start from scratch when exploring tactics to craft content that appeals to your ideal customers. Chances are, you already have several posts published on your brand’s blog or social media platforms. So why not make the most of these resources?

Review your existing content. Measure the KPIs for your posts. Explore opportunities for improvement. 

After all, you can transform any old blog post into a powerful lead magnet. All you need to do is make some improvements, such as: 

• Do search engine optimization to attract more visitors
• Supplement text with media to boost engagement
• Expand it with a unique value
• Improve ‌readability

Moreover, remember that audiences appreciate up-to-date information. 

For example, new industry trends and products emerge almost daily in the beauty sector. That’s why brands like Cosmopolitan regularly update their product roundup posts to reflect the best items at the moment. Note the “Updated on” label at the top of each article. It’s an excellent way to show readers they’re consuming new and relevant information — something they’ll appreciate.

Source: cosmopolitan.com

Final thoughts

A crucial aspect of crafting online marketing content for your ideal customers is knowing what your target audience wants and expects from your business. So, do your best to implement the tactics from this article. 

They’ll help you present your prospective customers with relevant content. They’ll allow you to position your brand in a positive light. And they’ll provide your audience with value, maximizing visitors’ chances of becoming loyal customers of your business.