Using Content to Connect on a Personal Level

When marketers find a way to connect people to their brands, they’ve hit gold. Making a brand’s messages personal, such as using products to promote a cause or sharing a company’s milestones, can increase popularity and attract attention.

Personal content strategies have the power to engage customers and endear them to a brand, according to Fast Company‘s Crosby Noricks, whose content marketing suggestions can be applied to any campaign.

Telling stories about a company is important, whether it’s in the form of its background or talking about “upcoming milestones from staff members.” He also says to study the web’s trending topics, comments on a brand’s YouTube account, and Twitter feeds to “find out what is inspiring, challenging, or cracking up your customer.”

Integrating a calendar is wise as well. Customers may be interested in your company’s anniversary (Oreo is running a 100th birthday campaign and Free People offered videos on DIY body painting for fans going to the Coachella music festival). Campaigns should reach across all channels of social media.

“Behind-the-scenes shots at a video shoot can be published to Instagram, and money-saver tips used as website copy can be turned into a series of illustrated JPEGs and posted to Pinterest,” Noricks said.

Social media is a great tool to promote content marketing, including spreading campaign messages, he said.

Brands should always care about who their customers are, what they think and value, and what compels them to share content, says blogger Srivinas Rao of {grow}. When a company listens to their customers and responds to their desires, people will be more interested in what the company has to say.

Image courtesy of shutterstock, gualtiero boffi