5 Ways to Learn What Content Your Audience Loves

If you want to create content that your audience loves; then understanding your audience is the only way to learn and create content tailored to their needs.

understand what your audience wants

We all know the value of regularly creating and uploading quality content. But how can you be sure that the content you write is going to be content your target audience really loves?

You need to start with a thorough understanding of your audience, their interests and their needs. Very few people want to read about your company. Instead, they want to read content that informs them, entertains them or provides a resource that is useful to them. You need to think very much from the perspective of your customer when coming up with content ideas.

It’s also important to maintain a clear link with your company operations. Funny memes of dogs may get lots of shares on social media but it’s not the way to go for a professional organization. Content has to be shareable but also a representation of the authority and brand image of your company. Ask yourself what needs your customers have and how your product acts a solution. Content should always be related to one or the other.

So how to learn what content your audience will love? Here are five tips to get you started:

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Keyword Research

Do some research into the keyword phrases associated with your industry and services. Google Trends is a great place to start. It allows you to compare the popularity of different search terms over time. Google Keywords Tool is another great resource for keyword research. By typing a search term into the tool, it comes up with a long list of related search terms; which you can compare for search volume and competition. By researching popular keywords you can determine the best options on which to base your content.

Social Media

Social media is a great place to look for content inspiration. Social networks provide a platform for your audience to ask questions, to explain their requirements and to share content they like. You should take a look at your own company’s social media pages for ideas but also look to industry influencer pages and competitor pages to get real insight into the needs and interests of your audience.

Online Forums

Finding and involving yourself in online forums related to your services (and services provided by your competitors) will give you an understanding of the kind of advice people are looking for, the requirements they have and the topics that are attracting their attention. You can even use forums to test out ideas. Reach out to users and find out if they find a particular topic interesting. If they are wholeheartedly positive in their response, you know you’re on to a winner.

Surveys

A good old-fashioned survey, either online or offline, can provide lots of information about the interests and needs of your audience. Target visitors to your website with a survey pop-up and provide an incentive for completing it. The information could prove really valuable to your content creation strategy.

Google Analytics

Once you have content on your website, you can easily use Google Analytics to see how many views that content is getting. You may be able to see that certain title formats generate a better CTR or content around a particular topic gets lots of shares. This data can then inform subsequent content decisions.

 

There’s no point creating content that doesn’t resonate with your audience. It’s all about quality content that offers something of real value to customers. Do your research well and you could soon be creating the kind of content that has your audience liking, sharing and coming back for more.