Deciding to invest in content is one thing, but having something that is genuinely meaningful and compelling is something rather different.

Although the situation continues to improve, there are still lots and lots of brands that are simply doing “content for the sake of content”, investing in content because they have been persuaded to by their Executive team or external agencies or because competitors are doing likewise. The problem is that many of these brands have nothing particularly meaningful to say.

Your customers do not care about you. They do not care about your products, your history, your service or that you even exist. They only care about themselves.

So why would those people care about your content? The reality is that nobody craves branded content, so the only branded content that achieves any recognition whatsoever is the content that fills a need or that solves a problem. As a brand, you need to make yourself and your content relevant. Overcoming this challenge requires a deep understanding of your target audiences, the challenges they face and how they interact with brands online. It comes down to three key questions:

Question 1: What is your audiences’ problem?

If your product or service doesn’t solve a problem, it is extremely difficult to create content that is going to grab their attention.

Does your audience have a problem that they need to address, do they want to do something differently or do they simply want to be entertained? Whatever those challenges are, understand the pain points of your audiences and articulate how your product or service solves them.

Question 2: Where are your audiences digitally active?

Different audience groups are active in different places online. Younger audiences may be more active on social media and mobile devices, whilst older audiences may prefer to consume digital content on specialist blogs or mainstream media sites using desktop PCs.

Consider where your audiences are likely to be most digitally active, who they are most likely to be influenced by and where they are likely to consume content.

Consumer analysis tools, such as Hitwise or GlobalWebIndex, are incredibly powerful at identifying where your target audiences spend their time online, giving your brand a clear indication on how you should shape and distribute your content.

Question 3: How do they like to be communicated with?

Knowing where your audiences are is one thing, knowing how to communicate with them is quite another.

Different audiences consume content in different ways and different formats. Some prefer longform written copy, other audiences may prefer infographics or video content.

Again, Hitwise and GlobalWebIndex are extremely useful sources for this insight, informing the format that is likely to be most effective for your content.