Developing Content Also Means Developing an Audience

If great content is created, will there always be an audience to see it? Developing a community for your brand is just as important as managing the content you want them to see.

As more companies invest in content, they have to realize content is merely a means to an end, says Ben Elowitz of Paid Content. That end, and a company’s biggest asset, is its audience.

The first step is to stop thinking of the Internet as “the Internet” and instead as multiple channels to reach your audience.

“Digital distribution, when done right, can have a multiplicative effect: a great piece of content delivered to the right person at the right time in the right package is worth 10x that same content paired with the wrong (or non-existent) distribution strategy,” writes Elbowitz.

It’s not just about understanding the need to distribute across multiple channels, but also how you package each piece of content.

Effective content marketing means thinking about how users engage with each platform and which medium would work best.

For instance, images can enhance content distributed through social channels. When publishing reports and large quantities of data, bring it to life with data visualization. For an audience with short attention spans, use video content to share a message or build online buzz.

Above all else, know your audience and share content they would be interested in. Lifestyle brands Thrillist and DailyCandy have been successful by focusing on the same target for years.

As content marketers rush to begin creating content that highlights a company’s best attributes, the critical first step is to examine the current audience, determine the best method to reach them, and create content that suits their needs.

Image courtesy of left hand/flickr