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#ContentWritingChat Recap: Content Inc.: Strategies on Building Your Audience First with Joe Pulizzi

by | Oct 7, 2016 | ContentWritingChat

#ContentWritingChat Recap: Content Inc.: Strategies on Building Your Audience First with Joe Pulizzi

Did you miss #ContentWritingChat this week? There’s no need to worry because we have a recap that’s jam-packed with amazing tips! Let’s dive right in!

#ContentWritingChat Recap: Content Inc.: Strategies on Building Your Audience First with Joe Pulizzi


Our guest host this week was none other than Joe Pulizzi! Joe is person who coined the term content marketing, and the founder of Content Marketing Institute. He’s also a speaker and an author on content marketing. He shared some amazing tips during our chat all about building your audience online.

Q1: How can content help you build your online brand or presence?

You probably hear others talk about the importance of content all the time, but how exactly does it help you build your brand? Let’s break it down:

The first thing to keep in mind is this piece of advice Joe offered. Content for content’s sake won’t do anything for your brand. You shouldn’t just create because that’s what you’re supposed to do. The content you publish should add value and serve a purpose within your brand. Remember that!

Joe’s next piece of advice is to find a niche that you can be the leading resource/expert for. It’s important that you show your audience that you know your stuff to help build trust with them.

Content can be what helps your company stand out from the rest. It’s also a great way to connect with your audience and establish a level of trust with them.

The content you create can lend itself to establishing you as a thought leader in your field. You just need to make sure you’re generating original and thought-provoking content. Great answer, Katie!

As Maureen said, content can also help build your presence through SEO. Focus on answering the questions your audience has and providing value to them. It helps to build trust and shows your expertise.

Malayna knows great content can help you grow relationships with your audience, which is crucial for your success.

Edanry summed it all up with his answer. Content helps build SEO while developing a framework for authority, expertise, and trustworthiness.

Q2: What do you need to know about your audience in order to create content they’ll love?

Now that you know why great content is so important, you need to understand your audience in order to create content that appeals to them. Here’s what you need to know about your audience:

What keeps your audience up at night? Where do they hang out online? Who do they trust? Who are your attention competitors? Joe recommends answering these questions to get to know your audience even better.

Many people from Tuesday’s chat agreed on this one! You need to know the pain points of your audience. What problems do they have? Create content that solves those issues for them.

Jenn said you need to know who they are, where they are, and what they’re all about. Knowing your audience is really the foundation of creating content.

Jessie said that once you know your audience and where they are, you can tailor your content to speak directly to them.

Once you know what your audience wants, make sure you create top-notch content that provides them with the answers they’re looking for. Your audience expects the best and they deserve it.

Q3: Which content formats should you create for your audience?

There are a lot of content formats you can choose from, which can make it tricky to figure out which one you should pursue. To help, keep these tips in mind:

As Joe said, any content format can work. He recommends choosing one and sticking to it. When you can do that one thing really well, it’s going to help you stand out from the crowd.

Tim’s advice is to consider what your audience likes the most. You want to choose a format that will resonate with them. If you aren’t sure, ask them what they’d like to see.

You also want to choose content formats that are enjoyable for you to create. For example, if you just aren’t comfortable in front of the camera and you feel awkward no matter how much you practice, don’t force yourself to do video. Choose content formats that feel good to you and show off your strengths.

Amalia shared some great content formats to try: video, podcasts, infographics, images, and written articles. Try creating these to see what feels right to you and what your audience enjoys.

A friendly reminder from David: don’t forget to repurpose your content. Don’t let the content in your archives go to waste. Find ways to repurpose it and bring new life to it.

Q4: How can you build your audience organically through consistent content creation?

If you’re ready to start building your audience through your content, keep these tips in mind:

Joe said the two drivers to building an audience are valuable, target content and consistent delivery.

Listen to the needs of your audience and serve them through the content you create. They’ll love you for it.

Make sure you’re consistently producing quality content to keep your audience coming back for more. Building that audience won’t happen overnight, so you have to keep at it.

That’s a great way to look at it, Bill!

Don’t forget to actually engage with your audience while doing all of that creating. Take the time to truly connect with them.

Q5: What are ways to use social media to grow your audience?

Social media is a great tool to grow your audience and connect with them. However, if you aren’t sure how to do that, the whole process can feel a little overwhelming. Here’s what you need to know:

Joe recommends building influencer relationships. Help them spread the word about their content and build a level of trust.

Josh said to join communities on social media. Use them as an opportunity to listen, learn, and help people.

The key is to figure out where your audience is on social media and be present there. Make sure you’re engaging with them.

As Liliana said, social media can amplify your reach and get you exposure in front of new audiences.

Make sure you share your brand’s personality. Allow people to see the person behind the logo. Giving followers a behind-the-scenes look is always great.

Tim agrees with showing your personality. It helps your audience build a stronger connection with you.

Jessie recommends trying Facebook ads as a way to expand your reach. You can also add hashtags on Twitter and Instagram to get your content in front of new people.

Don’t forget Twitter chats are a great way to build your audience.

As Zala said, social media provides communication channels that allow you to connect with your audience. You’re able to nurture your relationships this way.

Q6: How important is it to build the Know, Like, and Trust Factor with your audience?

How important is that KLT Factor? Here’s what some people from Tuesday’s chat had to say about it:

When people know, like, and trust you, they’ll be more likely to buy from you. Joe also said you don’t have to be liked by everyone. You just need your people to like you.

Quite a few people during the chat agreed. It’s hard to make a sale without first establishing trust.

This is a great way to view it, Maureen! Buyers won’t marry you on the first date. You have to woo them first.

Julia has heard something similar to what Maureen said. It all goes back to wooing your audience first.

You’re competing with a lot of other content creators out there. If you build trust with your audience, they’ll come to you first.

Building trust won’t happen overnight either. It takes time and effort.

Consistency and trust go hand-in-hand.

Q7: How can you measure which pieces of content your audience is responding to?

Once you’ve published your content, you want to make sure it’s working. Here’s how to find out:

Joe recommends focusing on what keeps subscribers and gets new ones.

Start by setting goals for your content so you know what you hope to achieve. Knowing this information will help you see what you need to measure and track. Google Analytics is always a great tool to use.

Julia said to measure conversations, real interest, leads, and revenue. That will show you whether or not you’re seeing results.

Don’t forget to check your analytics and social insights. Jessie likes to use Sprout Social for this.

Track engagement on social media, as well as comments, clicks, conversions, and sales.

Look at your open rates, engagement rates, downloads, site stats, and more.

Use Google Analytics to track clicks and conversions.

David knows email opt-ins are another great metric to track.

Q8: What tools can help you grow your audience?

Which tools can be a big help when trying to grow your audience? Give these suggestions a shot:

Joe said to start with analytics and an email tool. If you don’t have an audience already, be prepared to spend some money to grow.

David suggested having effective opt-ins on your site in order to land more email subscribers.

Julia is a big fan of Drift, SEMrush, Keyword Finder, and ConvertKit.

This is a great list of tools from the Legacy Consulting team!

Nicholas relies on Hootsuite and has been focused on video content.

We look forward to seeing you at the next #ContentWritingChat! Mark your calendars weekly for Tuesday at 10 AM CDT for great chats centered around content writing and marketing. Follow @ExpWriters to stay updated on our new topics and guests!

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Tags: content inc | content marketing | joe pulizzi