When you have identified a potential problem your audience faces or don’t know they have, what’s the best way to position your brand as the answer? 

Most businesses will put together a video highlighting the problem and how their brand can solve it. Others will create a report with supporting evidence which they send to their audience to study. Some will develop webinars from which their potential audience learns more about the problem and its solution.

Simply put: businesses strive to generate demand for it. 

Demand generation is a marketing tactic of developing high-quality leads by helping your potential audience see their problem, why it matters, and how your business is the best solution for it.

This multi-step process (which involves spreading product awareness, creating consumer interest, product positioning, and persuading customers through follow-ups and feedback) has elements of educating the audience and brand storytelling in it. 

Demand generation content helps you generate buzz around your brand, grow your audience, and increase website traffic from interest or prospects to transform them into customers. 

Once you understand these, you can easily move a prospect through the stages of a funnel to become a lead and eventually buy. With that said, you may ask yourself what content types can you use for a successful demand generation campaign?

1. Infographics

One content type that is a favourite among online users is infographics. Unlike blog posts, readers are 30x more likely to read an infographic from top to bottom. So what really makes infographics a gold mine? 

Infographics easily capture the attention of viewers. The combination of pictures, icons, colours, and texts easily guides a reader besides capturing their attention. 

Besides, they are easily shareable and the way the information is presented makes it memorable. Lastly, a large amount of information can be easily condensed and conveyed. 

That means you can use infographics when you want to:

• Explain a complex process
• Compare and contrast multiple options
• Raise awareness about your cause
• Display research findings

Consumers today are yearning for visually engaging content, and infographics are a great content format that can appeal to the audience since they communicate information quickly and easily. 

2. Webinars

Webinars are also another demand generation content type to use. A study by BrightTalk reveals that 62% of professionals would inquire about your pricing or even request a demo after engaging in a webinar. But that is not all. Other actions viewers take after watching a webinar include

• Viewing additional website content
• Downloading additional resources
• Viewing another webinar
• Sharing the content with colleagues 

Since it requires one to set aside time to watch or attend a webinar, it is the ideal content type for engaging potential leads or targeting warm leads ready to buy. 

To drive webinar attendance, ensure that you help your prospects understand common industry problems and how your product can help them. You can even interview influencers and thought-leaders to have access to an expanded audience with little effort. Besides, promote your webinars early, send out timely reminders, and use email as the best opt-in method.

3. Podcasts

In the last few years, we have seen a massive rise in the number of people consuming podcast content. This is driven by an increase in smartphone usage, podcast tech, and new podcast programming. Studies by Edison Research show that 80 million Americans listen to podcasts weekly.

Podcasts are super convenient in that you can consume the content while driving, cooking, or performing another activity. Besides, those with visual impairment can consume them. This convenience of learning on the go makes podcasts a great avenue for building relationships with potential customers. 

Another factor that makes podcasts more interesting is that their listeners are loyal, affluent, and educated. 

As noted by Edison Research, 51% of such listeners earn an income of at least 75k annually, while 61% have attained a college education. 

As a result, it is an alternative route to generate interest in your product and even position it to an audience that is warm enough to listen to you. When using podcasts, ensure you share thought-leadership content as a way of building relationships with your audience.

4. Videos

Video has already displaced text as the next king of the web. More and more consumers (69%) report that their favourite way of learning about a new product or service is by viewing a short video of it. 

The benefit of video is that it easily grabs the attention of viewers (through emotions, humour, etc). Secondly, videos are the best way to explain complicated concepts in an easy-to-understand manner. 

The visual nature of video assists in information retention. These help to increase engagement and multiply your reach. 

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To succeed with videos, focus on stories and not sales (like in the example above), create a hook, especially in the first few seconds, add CTAs, and make it customer-centric (by sharing content or information that targets early-stage customers). 

Once you have accomplished that, ensure you publish your videos on your landing pages, websites, social media platforms, and on other content offers to increase viewership and conversions. 

5. Case studies

Customers love data, and the thing that would make your product or service more attractive is if you can show some backing or data or proof that supports the need for it. An excellent way to do that is with case studies. 

Case studies leverage customer success stories gathered by you or another firm that can help your potential audience understand why your product exists. 

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To make case studies more captivating, feature your product’s positive results prominently, incorporating long-term goals, supporting points with relevant data, using action, persuasive, or emotive language, and making it customer-driven. When you can illustrate your product’s value in real-life and its effectiveness, you will effortlessly win the hearts and minds of your potential audience. 

A case study is the best tool to send to a potential lead requesting more info about your company. Remember that customers love to hear of others in a similar situation they are in and what they are doing instead of an ad or brochure.

6. Strategic partnership

Last on my list of ways of generating demand among your audience is investing in strategic partnerships. When forming partnerships, go after firms targeting the same audience as you. You can also form partnerships with influencers working in the same niche as you. 

The activities you can do with your partners include co-hosting events, holding virtual conferences, or live streaming events on Facebook. The advantage of such partnerships is they help you access the audience from each other’s network. 

Apart from the boost in audience numbers, the content created together helps spur engagement. Here is an example of a partnership between CoverGirl and Lucasfilm.

You can also form strategic partnerships with PR firms and media companies. With this, request to be featured in their blog posts, podcasts, or as a guest in live events. 

Alternatively, you can do guest post outreach by publishing original research or videos, to get links back to your site. Strategic partnerships aim to get as many people as possible talking about your brand to boost brand authority and trust. 

Conclusion

Content has become an essential tool in driving demand. With content, you can establish authority while still providing value to your customers. 

With the above content types, you can start laying the groundwork for improving customer trust by sharing content consumers will find useful. As you do so, remember, you are not only targeting customers that have never purchased from you but also those who have brought from you to continue generating interest in what your brand offers.

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Alex Garcia is a content editor and writer at Writers Per Hour. She enjoys writing (and reading) about small business marketing, entrepreneurship, and design. When she’s not writing, she’s probably learning a new skill.