You’re bombarded with hundreds of advertising messages daily. They range from subtle suggestions from product placement in movies to overt pitches in your email in-box. You’ve learned to tune most of them out because they don’t apply to you. You aren’t the target market for these broadcast ads, so they become background noise.
Content is a different story. It isn’t an advertisement; it’s valuable information your customers actively seek. It’s never background noise because it reaches an interested, invested audience automatically. Unlike advertising, content carries a meaningful message to a select few prospects. Customized content is one of your most powerful tools for increasing your visibility, enhancing sales and earning a front-page spot on search engine results pages, and it works best when you find the right niche.
Impressions vs. Conversions
A large ad campaign can create an impressive number of impressions, but it may mean little for conversions. If you aren’t in the market for a new car, no amount of glossy magazine spreads or ad spots will persuade you to buy one. Conversions are the narrow end of your sales funnel; they represent the buyers you’ve convinced, not merely made aware of your existence. That’s the point at which niche content reaches your audience. If you were shopping for a new car, you’d notice those ads and seek more information about them – information you’d find on a company’s website, from online reviews or in feature-length articles about 2014 models.
A narrow focus returns big results because your intended audience is self-selecting to a large extent. They’re actively looking for an industry authority on what they hope to buy. Whether you sell Cadillacs or candy manufacturing equipment, your custom content should position you as an authority within that industry. The more fine-grained you make your focus and the more informative your content becomes, the higher your conversion rate goes.
Cultivating Wider Appeal by Narrowing Your Focus
Niche content also helps you find your way into new markets. Building an all-purpose site for your refrigeration service will attract some attention, but creating specific industry newsletters, blogs, landing pages and social media channels for narrower sub-groups within that broader context, you have multiple attentive, devoted audiences. For example, you might have a thriving business in servicing walk-in refrigeration units for restaurants but could readily expand into serving the needs of local butchers, bakeries and even flower shops, all of which rely on your expertise.
With niche sites, you address the specific concerns of your audience segments directly. Your content creation team can generate blog posts and newsletters that reach those niches and establish your authority in them. Your restaurateurs will sign up for newsletters focusing on food safety and reduced waste with refrigeration while your bakers and candy-makers will find articles on humidity control and maintaining visual appeal especially relevant.
Giving Readers Specifics
With niche content, you and your content creator can drill more deeply into specialty subject matter, building your online knowledge base and establishing you as a trusted authority in that focused niche. The skills and expertise that differentiate you from your competitors might have different relevance and applications to different audiences. Your florists might be more interested in maintaining uniform cool temperatures to avoid ice formation on delicate arrangements while your chefs look for climate zones to keep their champignons and chateaubriands at their ideal temperatures. By writing content that answers these highly specific concerns, you show increased value to both groups and set yourself apart from the crowd.
Specific custom content can let you step into the ring with any competitor – regardless of weight class. A small boutique that gives its clientele white-glove service and greets its regular shoppers by name will thrive even against stiff competition from major department stores. Specializing and localizing your content can even give you an edge over larger, less mobile competition. It all starts with finding your niches.
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