It’s halfway through the year, which means it’s the perfect time to be reassessing your content strategy and asking yourself some of those tough questions.  “Am I producing enough quality content to satisfy my customers, increase brand awareness and generate leads?  Is my content engaging and effective for my audience to make actionable?”

In fact, one of many conclusions that came from PAN’s recent Content Fitness Report was that 50 percent of marketers surveyed stated that this was going to be their number one challenge this year.

One reason why frequency of content continues to challenge modern marketers ties back to the fact that customers now having a higher state of awareness and expectation for smart, personalized, branded content. Customers no longer settle for short blog content and the occasional video being posted. Instead, they expect (and deserve) frequency, variety, a story they can connect to and quality from companies that are trying to win them over. It’s our job as modern marketers to capitalize on these micro moments and be informative and translucent through the portal of our content. The higher the pace – well, all the better if it meets the “mark” along the customer’s journey.

Source: pexels.com used under CC license.

Once you evaluate the frequency of your content you should then ask yourself – is this content adding unique value? Fresh, engaging content will enhance your SEO, will be circulated more frequently on social media channels and will showcase that your company is at the forefront of industry trends, topics and conversations. By providing quality content that your users read and relate to, you are opening the door to deeper brand awareness and future customer advocacy.

Storytelling is an essential part of effective content directed to your target audience. Why? Because this type of content focuses on real-world problems that your customers are facing every day, sparking an emotional response. In fact, according to a recent AOL research, 66 percent of the time consumers choose to purchase a product online it includes an emotional component. Keeping this in mind, it’s not about the one-off purchase, it’s about building that customer relationship and having those brand ambassadors. As stated in our Content Fitness Report as well as Nielson’s Trust in Advertising Report, 92% of customers trust recommendations from their friends, peers and family above all other sources of brand information.

As you can see, content is the pathway to purpose for your brand, assisting in lead generation, sales and ultimately consumer advocacy. No longer is content marketing about just dominating organic search: it’s about the opportunity to connect and create a dialogue with your audience with a connection.

Are you ready to get started? Download the Content Fitness Report here and let’s get that dialogue going @markcnardone.