Begging the QuestionTargeting content to user goalsAlicia Lewis - Content Specialist - Bozboz

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✓ Target your content ○ Deliver your message to those who need to hear it

✓ Establish empathy○ Build your brand around the communities that use it

✓ Speak the right language○ Position your company as an expert in the field

✓ Inject personality○ Use an appealing tone of voice

✓ Build trust ○ Offer quality information & answer the right

questions

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Begging the Question | Why target content?

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How to establish a target audience

✓ Create a broad idea of who you’re talking to

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Begging the Question | How to establish a target audience

● Begin with general ideas of who the target audience members are, what they do, and where they’re from.

○ E.g. a Brighton-based rock festival may appeal to young music fans from London and East Sussex

○ E.g. an up-market Italian restaurant may appeal to an audience of middle-aged professionals

● N.B. Don’t forget to speak with clients before making any assumptions. The brand’s unique selling point could change the key demographic drastically.

✓ Pad out your persona with statistically-based specifics

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Begging the Question | How to establish a target audience

● Use tools such as YouGov Profiles to find out information about your key demographics based on competitors.

○ E.g. People in the YouGov database who enjoy ‘Download Festival’ tend to be male, aged 25-39, interested in gaming and beer, and have been described as geeky and alternative.

○ E.g. People who like ‘Carluccio's’ are commonly female cat owners working in media or real estate who enjoy going to the theatre and watching the Great British Bake Off.

● N.B. These results can’t speak for all of a brand’s fans - only those most likely to take YouGov surveys - but they can give a general feel for the type of person you’re appealing to.

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How to Identify User Goals

✓ Find out what questions your audience is asking

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Begging the Question | How to Identify User Goals

● Basic research via Google autocomplete

○ E.g. “Are music festivals…” results in “Are music festivals worth it?” “Are music festivals safe?” and “Are music festivals Satanic?”

○ E.g. “Can Italian food…” results in “Can Italian food be healthy?”, “Can Italian food be gluten-free” and “Can Italian food induce labour?”

● Some of these questions would make brilliant blog topics or question-led social posts. Others not so much, but they do give a wider idea of concerns and questions around your subject.

✓ Find out what questions your audience is asking

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Begging the Question | How to Identify User Goals

● Use Answer the Public or FAQ Fox for a deeper and broader view

○ E.g. “Rock Festivals” results in 50 questions including “What to wear for rock festivals” and “How to survive a rock festival”

○ E.g. “Italian Food” results in 114 questions including “What are Italian food customs?” and “How has Italian food influenced Britain?”

● This is where blog topics in particular begin to unfold, as you can be confident that your content is answering genuine questions and adding extra value to your brand identity.

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How to Assume the Right Tone

✓ Identify the language that your target audience uses

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Begging the Question | How to Assume the Right Tone

● Research competitors’ social media pages to see what language your target audience use to identify their goals.

○ E.g. A scroll through the #downloadfestival hashtag shows that typical fans use full sentences, a casual yet enthusiastic tone, and rock-related gifs when discussing the festival.

○ E.g. Tweets discussing #carluccios use full sentences and proper grammar, frequently based around business lunches and coffee meetings, as well as discussions about cooking and Italian culture.

● N.B. Speaking your audience’s language is instrumental to them seeing you as more than a corporation. Don’t be afraid to give a brand a human face.

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How to Bring it All Together

✓ Craft expert answers

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Begging the Question | How to Bring it All Together

● Once you know who you’re talking to, what they’re asking and what social language they speak, you can craft content around them.

● This will both blend in with the information they choose to see and STAND OUT by offering answers that your audience really want.

○ E.g. Fancy something different this weekend? Here are five reasons to choose a local music festival over another takeaway in front of the X Box...

○ E.g. How has Italian food influenced British culture? From the ultimate street food to haute cuisine, we examine the unique place that quality Italian food holds in our hearts - and stomachs!

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In Conclusion...

✓ Build a persona for each of your target audiences○ Include location, gender, age, job, interests

✓ Identify each persona’s goals in relation to your product○ Find out what questions are going through their

minds✓ Learn to speak each persona’s language

○ Use the right tone of voice across communications✓ Craft expert answers✓ Invite feedback - the more questions your readers ask,

the more material you have for your next piece of content!

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Begging the Question | In Conclusion

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