Simple steps for a creative content research.

The modern digital drift is in create engaging content which are trending and industry relevant, for the least will be shared my millions of readers. One way to come up with this kind of content is to carry out a rigorous research, highlighting recent statistics, latest innovations and creative ideas related to the industry. Content research is a meticulous process of finding the right information which will be useful and provides a solution for a well-defined set of problems that your specified customer persona is facing the information flow should add value to the customer. Portraying a general article won’t suffice the need of your personas. Relevant content is the best tool to invest in creating relevant customers.

Adweek on January 2016 emphasized that both content and advertising is rapidly reshaped by means of data enhanced storytelling. 2015 Harvard Business Review has poised that data-driven storytelling is the next shift in content marketing.

Steps to start a content research

Step one    : Understand your target Audience

Step two    : Think as a persona to come up with good questions

Step three  : Research around your question and phrases

Step four    : Facts to be considered while performing Content Research

Understand your target Audience

For every entity, it is essential to know what the buyer needs, rather than rushing with what we think. One crucial element is about creating a buyer's persona (which is a  fictional representation of ideal customer’s). It is essential to know how the target audience thinks, their preferences, pain points (problems and day to day challenges), the industry they belong, activities and communities belong, etc. By collecting this information you will be able to visually represent a persona who in turn represents a homogeneous group. This will help you in knowing what kind of content has to be tailored for individual groups.

Think as a persona to come up with good questions

A well-defined question is partially solved. Think from the persona's standpoint and develop good questions, If you have done your homework in knowing the target audience, the only work you should do is to provide solutions for their problems. This process helps in developing a better pitch while you start writing an article.

Platforms for questions : Find places where you can collect as many information as possible related to the pain points you collect. Go to online platforms like quora where people can ask questions and find an answer to those specific questions. Here you will come across different phrases, ideas and creative suggestions which could have a lot of practical applications and affordable solutions.

Work around your curiosity : It’s the interest and curiosity that guides us forward. Start answering the basic doubts and questions you have. This will give you the fundamental knowledge and helps to connect the links and develop a clear  pattern on how the to go forward with collecting information and inference.

Research around your question and phrases

Derive as many keywords and phrases from the pain point collected. With the help of keyword research tools like SEO Profiler or SEMRush find all the related keywords, their search volume, and competition. Select a set of primary and secondary keywords, develop a plan to go forward.

Facts to be considered while performing Content Research

Objective : Before you start researching an article clearly define your objective. Whether your objective is conversion or lead generation. If it’s lead generation carve the article in a way that people will subscribe to newsletters.

Uniqueness : If the information you provide is unique and people benefits out of it, then the article will be shared and valued higher in any digital platform. From content creation perspective one should be aware of the implications that a  duplicate content  will have of search engine optimization. Providing a unique content and adding unique value is different. You add unique value to your customers when you come up with unique information from your on experience and creativity thereby providing relevant information for multiple solutions, rather rewriting a duplicate content. For eg; For a search keyword like Pulau Ubin, rather than explaining the geography of the tourist spot, Better to explain the experience, nearby tourist spots, best hotels to check in (both affordable/ prestigious), etc. Here you are providing more information to the reader that adds value to the query. Since competition is rigorous and we unknowingly compete for similar topics it’s better to add unique value.

Authoritative Content :  Authoritative content mainly refers to trustworthy content with valid data supported by solid facts and figures. The importance of valid information is highlighted when bing redefined its algorithm to search for authors online social reputation to determine whether the data is channelized from a subject expert or not. For example getting a link from Linkedin is better than getting a link from facebook. Perform a thorough research, write about what you are passionate.

Be original and creative, see things from different perspective, bring something new on the table

Interactive content :  Blending an interactive content in the article helps improving more customer engagement than posting a static content. The best solution for this is to educate your target audience where a streamlined flow of information exists. Eg : Assessments, calculators,  contest, quizzes and puzzles, ROI calculators, Interactive infographics, white papers etc. Interactive content helps to capture information like email id, phone number etc of your target audience. It also helps in repeated visitors and leads nurturing.

Surprising or Counterintuitive data :  An article like five champagnes a day can help prevent Alzheimer's away lures every one’s interest. Here the importance is given a passive content which people prefer to share. The same can be  applied to some sporadic ideas in your domain. For viral  headlines, it is better to come up with titles that contain words that feed emotion and promises.

Entertainment and fun facts : A long article has to be peppered with crisp fun facts to make it more entertaining for your audience. Try to blend the message with  humor.

Recent Industry News : Mention the latest news, challenges, and innovation that happens within your industry. Develop a pattern showing the merits and demerits of it. How these external changes are going to affect the audience.

Images/ Infographics : Either select images that are under public domain or create your own images. Selected image should represent the article or should depict  specific information about the topic. Use optimized images (lower size) on the website, so that the blog response time can be increased. Which is a crucial factor, If the response time (loading time) is higher, then the chances of prospect customers reading gets dwindles. Create your own infographics which say a compelling story.