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The Professional Testing Blog

Using Content Marketing to Attract Certificants

By: Natalie Judd, principal, Big Voice Communications

According to the Content Marketing Institute, content marketing is defined as a “strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly-defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.” It is one of the most powerful marketing tools that a certification organization can use to expand its influence, position the program as a thought leader, and attract more certificants.  Plus, by developing and sharing compelling content that is relevant to your audience, you are accomplishing two things: 1) positioning your organization as an industry resource, and 2) enhancing the customer experience – this is the one-two-punch strategy to build loyalty and ultimately a following.

How do you develop a content marketing strategy?

The key is planning – and it’s planning with the end in mind. Creating the right content strategy for your business takes time to develop, but careful planning will pay off in the end.

Here are some basic steps to follow:

• Establish business and communication goals – Gather your marketing leaders and ask, “What do we want to accomplish? What makes our program different? What do we do best?” Also identify what’s working and what isn’t. Then, list your competitors and note what they’re doing well from a content perspective, identifying any voids that need filling. As you move forward, make sure you have nailed down your internal process of gathering data from your team.
• Identify your audiences – Make a list of who you are currently talking to and how are you reaching them. Then, think about how you can extend your reach. Who would you like to reach?  Do you have a previous relationship with them?
• Probe & listen – Start with your existing internal customer data, web analytics and social metrics. Then, search keywords using tools like Google Trends to better inform your social media listening – be sure to search multiple hashtags. Finally, consider doing small surveys and do them often. Keep asking yourself, “What can we do to get to know our customers better?”
• Create audience personas – Using audience personas is a great way to come face-to-face with your core audiences.  By creating three to five personas to represent your audience, you can internalize the customer that you are trying to attract and relate to them on a more personal level. There are many of online resources and templates to help create persona, and it is recommended that you give your personas names so that the type of person your persona represents is front and center in your communications strategy.
• Create your story – Think about the resources you have for content, and then create a story that is unique to your brand, service, or company. This is the most important step of all! If you don’t have something of value to say, why should anyone listen?  Providing quality information keeps potential customers returning, witnessing your capabilities and associating warmly with your brand. Highlight the qualities that make your organization unique and then customize these messages to meet the various audiences. When developing your story ask yourself: What style of writing best matches your audience and your organization? Does your message/story have an emotional trigger?
• Pick the right channels to tell your story – There is a misconception that organizations need to be on every channel out there – that is not the case! Any channel you pick will require constant care and feeding so select wisely. Set yourself up for success and pick a few channels that you can own to resonate with your audience.
• Build synergy between your channels – Create links between channels steering customers where you want them to go. For example, LinkedIn posts can drive potential customers to like your organization’s page on Facebook, or tweets can be written in a compelling way to drive certification candidates to your web site. That said, this is about conversation – not a series of announcements – so make sure your content fosters engaging dialogue.
• Frequently check in to track progress – Measurement should be done on an ongoing basis to determine what is working and what isn’t. Not every channel is measureable but frequent check-ins help you ensure your approach achieves your business goals and keep you in tune with your members/certificants. Remember brand awareness is not immediately measurable but can pay dividends down the road.

With so much information at our digital fingertips, providing valuable, relevant content is the name of the game.  By drawing your audience in with information that is important to them, you are creating a relationship with them and building trust for your brand. That way, when they are ready to take the next step in their professional development, your organization and the content provided across your strategically chosen channels will be top of mind.

Image Attribution: DigitalRalph

Categorized in: Industry News