Be Helpful to Your Audience
Being helpful to your audience will put you in a position of trust

The one
thing you can do for your audience, not just through your content marketing but
through your online presence as a whole, is to be helpful.
Being helpful will:
- provide engaging and valuable content
- keep your audience coming back
- put you in a position of trust
- build your reputation as genuine
- make you a voice of authority in your industry
Let’s put this into a real life scenario: who do you go to more?
- The friend who sometimes answers the phone, more often than not misses your call and then rushes you off the phone when they finally do answer.
- The friend that 99% of the time answers and then makes time to listen to what’s on your mind and gives sound advice.
(Content marketing is real life by the way).
Friend number one is your last resort in a crisis, you’ve probably tried everyone else first and they’re all busy. Friend number two is the one you really want to have on speed dial or as your ICE contact.
This applies to brands and consumers in just the same way. Be that brand that is always there. Always responds to comments on blogs and social media posts. It doesn’t just have to be on or about your own content. Look for other content that is relevant. Look for competitors’ content.
Get in front of your target audience and HELP them.
If you are going to build a brand reputation, you want it to sound like friend number two, the reliable, trustworthy one.
This relates back to my previous blog posts about knowing your audience, where are they and what are they looking for. Be THERE. If you know them well enough, you’ll know where to find them. Don’t wait for them to come to you, seek them out and put yourself in front of them. If they’re in Facebook groups, on forums or on Instagram, be there and be helpful.
Keep reading for more tips on how you can create helpful content for your target audience...

You should know the questions that your consumers want answered, think about the frequently asked questions you get asked or see in your industry, not just about your brand or your products but in general. Make a note of them and use this to form the basis of a content calendar. Use that content across social media, blogs, your website… anywhere and everywhere. Show that you know your audience and show that you know what they want to know. Make yourself a source. Give insight into the commonly asked questions and musings.
My most asked questions are things like:
- Should we be on all social media platforms?
- What is tone of voice?
- What’s brand personality and what’s the relevance of it?
- Do I need more than one brand colour?
- I’ve got my logo in a JPEG format from a previous designer, is that enough? (No).
These are all things that have been covered in my content marketing across various formats and platforms: videos on YouTube and social media, social media posts and blog posts.
By becoming the go-to brand for information, you will be the first one they think of when they need something from your industry, you will be the first one they think of when friends/family/colleagues need something from your industry.
By putting yourself out there and putting the time and effort into being present, consistent and helpful, your audience will slowly but surely start to come to you, and they will bring their tribe. The more groundwork you put in, the more it will pay off in the long run.
If you’re not sure about the kind of content that you can produce or where to share it, have a look through the previous blog posts in this series or contact me for 1:1 advice and guidance. I can work with you to help form a plan and produce a content calendar. You can do as much or as little of the work as you like.
My job is to support and partner with you.


