Creating marketing content of any kind is easy. Creating content your audience wants is hard.
“Not everything that happens at your company is newsworthy“
I heard this one-liner by Ann Handley, a marketing and business writing expert and I immediately took to it. It captures probably all of my thoughts when I evaluate business marketing content shared on socials.
Anyone can post anything online. But everyone doesn’t need to post everything online.
Because no one wants to see everything posted online.
My name is Susanna Rantanen and I welcome you back to the Building a Modern Employer Brand podcast!
In this episode, we’re going to talk about what kind of content your audience wants because like Ann Handley puts it, not everything that happens at your company is newsworthy.
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The secret to creating marketing content your audience wants
Do you want to hear the secret to creating marketing content your audience wants? I bet you do.
The secret is that your audience wants to see content that matches with what they are interested in.
As you can see, it’s really not a secret but a very logical fact.
I can also reveal to you, your audience most likely is NOT interested in hearing about your company news of any sort, unless they have something directly to do with your audience.
So, you can cross out content ideas like these:
- Product updates – Unless targeted to your product users or developers.
- Adding value to how they use or access your product.
- About an impact on the cost or availability of your product or some of its features.
- Same goes for services
- Same goes for brand updates.
- As in: “We updated our logo and visuals.” No one outside your company cares.
- Press releases shared on your blog and social media.
- They are not meant for your general audience but for the press with the purpose of the press picking up a story and writing about you.
- If you send lots of press releases, you know how rarely journalists actually pick them up and suggest a story. Imagine how much less the general public cares?
- Anything general posted on your company blog. No one cares about those either.
I know. It’s painful to hear.
But just consider yourself. Is this the kind of content you welcome with open arms on your newsfeeds? No, no it isn’t.
What would your audience find useful content?
The secret to creating marketing content your audience wants is to ask yourself:
What would my specific target audience find useful?
I want you to stop there and taste that word: useful. How does it taste?
Useful.
I checked the Oxford languages on the web. Here’s what they say about the word useful:
“Able to be used for a practical purpose in several ways.”
“Information capable of being put to use”, says Merriam-Webster.
All marketing content creators out there right now.
Your key concern [as a marketing content creator] is that any content you let out, sending them to the world wide web, you want to make sure that content is useful. Able to be used, by your target audience, for a practical purpose in several ways.
Susanna Rantanen
Your key concern is that any content you let out, sending them to the world wide web, you want to make sure that content is useful. Able to be used, by your target audience, for a practical purpose in several ways.
That’s the secret to creating the content your audience wants to receive.
How do you know what marketing content is useful for your audience?
If you are a long-time listener, our agency-client or my student, you remember this triplet:
- Inspirational
- Educational
- Entertaining
This is what your audience wants and sees as useful for them.
No matter what your message is.
Or, what you want to share with your audience.
No matter what you want them to know about you.
You have got to create your content and message in a way that makes it either inspiring, educational or entertaining for your target audience. Or all of them at the same time!
Your content must be about them [your audience], not about you [your company]
The key to creating useful marketing content is to make it about them, your audience instead about your company.
Let me give you an example. Look at my content for example here on this podcast.
I am an employer branding consultant and branding, marketing and communications coach.
I make my living from selling my knowledge for people and companies who need it to succeed in their own right.
But I very rarely post about my services, share our service-related news or post silly and funny things or even memorable moments within our team.
Because, when I do, I can see the traction on those posts is much less than on the content I spend most time creating and sharing.
Content about our services and business, or memorable moments within our team are very meaningful content for me and my team. But they don’t mean anything to you. That’s why you skip posts like that.
The content I find you prefer to receive from me
But you prefer content is like I share with you on this podcast. Because it is useful for you as a listener. It’s about you in terms of what you find inspiring, interesting and important. It helps you to thrive in your work.
I don’t need to keep telling you what you can buy from me. I prove what my value for you is through my content. And, if you cannot manage on your own when it comes to branding, marketing and creating content, you already know what I am capable of and can turn to me.
Susanna Rantanen
I don’t need to keep telling you what you can buy from me. I prove what my value for you is through my content. And if you cannot manage on your own when it comes to branding, marketing and creating content, you already know what I am capable of and can turn to me.
Key to getting started with creating useful marketing content
Now, let’s turn this to you.
Instead of creating marketing content about you; I call this “me-me-content” and “me-me-marketing”, try to turn your content idea the other way around.
Think about what makes this idea, news or information useful for your audience.
It requires from you to become more interested in your audience to see how your company’s experiences and knowledge might serve as useful content for your audience’s situations.
But that’s what all marketing is.
We don’t do it for us, we do it for our target audiences, so that when they win, we win too.
Use data, apply keyword search tools, see how AI like ChatGPT can help you forward.
What is inspirational content?
Inspirational content is any type of media, such as a speech, story, quote, image, or video, that is intended to inspire or motivate the viewer or listener.
It is designed to evoke positive emotions and encourage individuals to take action towards achieving their goals, dreams, or aspirations.
Inspirational marketing content can come in many forms, and it often revolves around themes of courage, determination, perseverance, hope, and positivity.
It may highlight the achievements of individuals who have overcome challenges and obstacles, or it may encourage people to adopt a more optimistic outlook on life.
Some examples of inspirational marketing content include:
- motivational speeches by successful entrepreneurs
- uplifting quotes or affirmations shared on social media
- inspiring books or movies that tell the story of people who have achieved great things despite adversity
- even images or memes that convey a powerful message of hope and encouragement
Overall, inspirational content is designed to uplift and inspire individuals, helping them to overcome obstacles and achieve their goals by tapping into their inner strength and motivation.
Susanna Rantanen
Overall, inspirational content is designed to uplift and inspire individuals, helping them to overcome obstacles and achieve their goals by tapping into their inner strength and motivation.
When you connect this with your EVP (employer value proposition) or especially with your Magnetic Employer Brand’s Key Story Themes, you are more likely to achieve that emotional brand connection and successfully build employer brand affinity.
What is educational content?
Most of my content provides you an example of educational marketing content.
Educational content refers to any material or information that is designed to teach or provide knowledge to learners. It can come in many forms, including text, images, videos, audio, interactive software, or podcast, like this one.
Educational content refers to any material or information that is designed to teach or provide knowledge to learners. It can come in many forms, including text, images, videos, audio, interactive software, or podcast, like this one.
Susanna Rantanen
The goal of educational content is to help the target audience to acquire new skills, knowledge, or understanding. It may be created for different age groups, subjects, or levels of education, and can be used in a variety of settings, such as classrooms, online courses, textbooks, tutorials, and more.
In the employer branding context, you want to use the educational content to build awareness of the level of knowledge and expertise your organization has to give a reference point of what one is likely to learn or reach when working in your company.
In the employer branding context, you want to use the educational marketing content to build awareness of the level of knowledge and expertise your organization has to give a reference point of what one is likely to learn or reach when working in your company.
Susanna Rantanen
Educational marketing content is never everything you know. You don’t want to share everything for free use. You want save the most value to your clients and your employees so that they can stand different from their competitors. I only share a fraction on my content of what our clients, employees and students get from us. After all, why would anyone want to be our client, employee or student, if that decision didn’t provide them a big leap in front of their competition. So that’s important to keep in mind.
Some common examples of educational content include presentations, e-books, lesson plans, quizzes, worksheets, and video tips. The content may be developed by educators, subject matter experts, or by marketing people who gets the subject-matter expertise from those who have it.
Overall, educational content is an essential component of effective brand marketing these days and fits branding strategies for service companies and employers of all sizes and industries.
What is entertaining content?
Social media is the best place to share entertaining content, so I’m going to customize the answer to this question as what entertaining social media content is.
Entertaining social media content is any type of content that is designed to engage and amuse social media users. This can include a wide range of different formats, such as videos, memes, GIFs, photos, and written content.
Entertaining content often has a lighthearted or humorous tone, and it is intended to provide users with a brief escape from their daily routine or to provide a moment of amusement.
The most effective entertaining social media content is often relatable to a wide range of people, and it can be easily shared, liked, and commented on.
Examples of entertaining social media content might include:
- Funny memes or GIFs that use humor to comment on current events or popular culture
- Short videos that feature amusing skits or unexpected twists
- Written content that uses wit and humor to make a point or share a story
- Eye-catching photos that use clever angles or visual effects to catch users’ attention
Ultimately, the goal of entertaining social media content is to create a positive experience for social media users and to build engagement with a brand or community.
When you provide your relevant followers and non-followers with content that they find engaging and enjoyable, as a business marketer, you can help to build stronger relationships with your, followers and expand your social media reach and engagement to your content.
Do you find my marketing content useful?
Let me know by rating my podcast on the app you use or sharing feedback on social media for me!
I’d really appreciate it! Hearing that your work matters to people is important to everyone. Me included.
The marketing coach for driven talents in the HR field
Are you working in the HR field and finding professional value in building your personal brand or helping you to build an employer brand for your workplace?
Do you need someone to coach and hold you accountable using content marketing and social media as your key marketing tools?
I’m that coach!
What makes me the most obvious choice as a coach for you?
First of all, I’ve been working with HR topics since 2002, when I started my HR career.
Secondly, I graduated with High Honors in international marketing management and PR, in 2000.
I am one of the still rare and few who have successfully combined extensive work experience in HR development, talent acquisition, talent marketing and employer branding both as an in-house professional and as a consultant and coach.
Since 2009, I have been using social media as an HR industry professional and I’m known in my native Finland as the forerunner in this field.
I have extensive knowledge and experience that I regularly update educating myself and putting my findings and learnings in practice and I love sharing that with my audiences, clients and students!
Simply google me and you’ll see.
There isn’t many other coaches with the background and experience I have. I was you!
How I pay my living
My husband and I founded Finland’s first employer branding agency back in 2012, but I had already been developing talent marketing practices in my first business since 2010.
Today, I continue to work as an employer brand marketing consultant in Finland and the Nordics, and we have helped hundreds of growth organizations to deliver business value from employer branding and recruitment marketing applying my proprietary Magnetic Employer Branding Method™️.
Did you know, I have also applied exactly the same strategies and tactics for building my personal brand and my agency brand. My agency has been recognized as a game-changer in employer branding and as one of the Top 10 employer branding agencies in Europe!
So, I know what I’m talking about. And I like to share it as a coach for you to help you to build your brand and create professional success as an HR industry professional such as a recruitment consultant, headhunter, career coach or as an employer branding consultant!
My coaching programs are typically around 12 weeks and can consist of a suite of selected educational video and audio content, remote support, and personalised online coaching to set you a plan and help you build your marketing and communications routines.
Contact me to book a free discovery call to discuss your goals and your current status and let’s see if I’m the right coach for you.
Ok, that’s all for this week my friends!
Come back next week for more branding, marketing and communications’ juice to keep you going with employer branding, recruiting and personal branding!
My name is Susanna Rantanen, and I teach branding, marketing and communications for the HR Industry professionals who want to build a successful career and get the life you deserve!
Thanks for listening, and until next time, happy content creation!
Moi moi!