How Experts Use Content to Create Brand Authority and Increased Sales

The Internet and social media have created amazing channels for businesses to reach more potential customers and build their audience. There are now more than four billion daily Internet users, and that number will continue to grow, offering an opportunity to reach a large audience in a captive way.

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While the opportunity is great, so is the noise. Countless websites, companies and entrepreneurs are directing messages toward those four billion users. Advertisements pull on their attention at every turn. Standing out becomes important. How your business does that will involve a lot of different elements, one of the most important being content marketing, which generates three times as many leads leads as paid search advertising.

Related: 3 Ways to Tell Your 'Brand Story'

You can get more use out of your content than just posting it because that's what you've been told to do. You can use content to create more brand awareness and increase your sales by following these suggestions:

Use Storytelling

Too many content pieces from businesses end up being "them" focused, detailing changes in the company, new sales, moves that are being made, etc. In other words, content that your audience doesn't care about, which can result in lower email open rates. Telling a story connects the audience member to the message and engages them. We've seen plenty of companies do this well. Apple's Think Different campaign is a compelling example. Instead of pointing out the benefits of their computers, they told a story that made the consumer feel like they were joining a bigger movement.

Start off with the premise that no one cares about what you have to offer. Then, plan how you can get them to care. Use storying telling in your content and it will have a farther reach as it engages and encourages your audience to share.

Use Visuals

Content can be boring, especiallywriting content. The use of visuals in an ever-scrolling digital world, however, grabs attention. The good thing about the time we live in is that yisual content can be repurposed in multiple places and ways. The investment of resources into creating visual content will be returned to your business in the growth of your audience and increased sales.

Related: Why You Need to Become a Better Storyteller

Create for Your Target Customer

When a business creates content, they're thinking about a large group of people online who will consume that content. The problem is that this group consumes the content as individuals. Great content feels conversational and connection-focused, as if the person were sitting right next to you and you're speaking directly to them. It makes them feel like you're addressing a problem they have that no one knows about. You have to create content for one person: your ideal target customer.

All human beings are different, so when you try to reach everyone, you end up reaching no one. That nuance speaks to how content shouldn't just be another thing on your to-do list, but an integral part of your strategic marketing plan, allowing you to leverage your audience organically. Use content marketing to create more awareness for your brand and increased sales will follow.