While once writing an engaging blog post may have been enough to gain traction, today the internet is so awash with competition that content marketing is more complicated than ever.

Targeted advertising aims to create content directed at a specific narrow audience, and research from Ohio State University has discovered that it can increase click-through rates by as much as 670% when done proficiently.

Next time you create content, consider your audience and ask yourself the following five questions.

When?

Catching your audience when they’re actually online is essential to make waves. Once you have a key demographic in place, do some research on their behavioral trends. Statistics can unveil who is online when. For example, the best time for tech companies to post on Twitter is 9 am on Tuesday. Whereas the same study notes that B2B marketing is more effective when shared on LinkedIn between 10 am and 12 am on Wednesday’s.  

Where?

Your audience’s location also has dramatic effects on your content’s success. If you have a local following, you need to target your efforts to them. Consider geographical factors when creating content, such as time zone, climate, time of year and nearby public holidays. Focusing your posts this way means they stay relevant to those who see them.

If you have a global audience, try and angle your posting times to they hit the most people. For example, 1 pm CST will be early evening in the UK and bedtime in Australia.

Who?

Knowing the psychographics of your audience is essential. You need to understand the type of people you’re trying to connect, what their habits and interests are. The best way to do this is by collecting information before you create content.
Most Email Service Providers (ESP) gives you the option to add a form to your email sign-up, where you can ask specific questions and learn about your audience. It’s also possible to gain insight from the landing pages that your sign-ups are coming from – i.e., what topics are getting the most engagement.

How?

Now more than ever, knowing what devices your content will be viewed from is vital. In 2018, 52.2% of all traffic was from mobile devices. This is significant as most content marketer’s work from a desktop. Even if your site is automatically responsive, some significant differences are worth noting. 

• Paragraphs appear longer on mobile; try cutting down blocks of text more.
• Be conscious with images as they take up more scrolling time on mobiles.
• Aim for concise phrases and words.
• Embolden key points and ensure the first lines of paragraphs are engaging.
• Writing a great article or post is the first step to successful content marketing. However, if you want to take your advertising game to the next level, then you can’t afford to neglect targeted content.
• The above questions are simple but will help you frame your ideas so they can be seen by the right people, at the right time. Engaging your audience in this way will directly influence your sales and conversions.