One of the most common questions I get from new customers is, “What do you see working right now in my industry?”
Now, of course, I can’t and won’t speak about what specific customers are doing. But when I have a broad view of an industry, as I do in cyber security, IT services, and a couple of others, I CAN talk more generally about the types of content that are performing well.
But the thing is, regardless of the industry, the answer is almost always the same:
The more specific and personalized the content, the more (and higher quality) leads it produces. Or, if we’re talking about bottom-of-funnel content, the more effective it is at creating sales.
So how do you make content more personalized? There are quite a few options, but the simplest is to make it industry-specific.
Naturally, most businesses are wary of creating this kind of highly-focused content. After all, there’s a chance it won’t perform, and they’ll have wasted resources creating it.
But here’s the thing. Every business I’ve worked with that has tested industry-specific content (and did it well) has seen strong results. Every. Single. One.
What do I mean by “doing it well”?
Simple. Strong industry-specific content is NOT simply boilerplate content with a 1-page industry-specific introduction slapped on the front. It has to be created specifically for a target industry, and clearly demonstrate that you have a thorough understanding of that industry’s challenges and pain points.
That doesn’t mean you can’t recycle content, but it DOES mean you can’t ‘phone it in’ — you have to make a concerted effort to create genuinely valuable industry-specific content.
Yes, it requires time, thought, and research. And no, it isn’t absolutely guaranteed to work.
But, of all the content I have produced in the last six years or so (and it’s literally thousands of projects) industry-specific content stands out as some of the most impactful I have ever written.
Needless to say, if you’re considering producing personalized content and would appreciate a helping hand, you know where to find me.