Your online presence significantly impacts your direct digital marketing success. And you can boost it by ensuring that your website is not only visually appealing but also highly informative about your products, services and brand. By building a strong website you can establish yourself as an authority in your field and attract your target audience to your site.
While there are many ways you can do this and many aspects you can infuse this information into your site, one clear approach stands out: answering the questions your audience asks. In this blog, we will focus on this approach and explain why the “They Ask, You Answer” methodology, which involves creating content that answers the questions that your customers ask, is so powerful.
About “They Ask, You Answer”
“They Ask, You Answer” is a highly influential marketing book written by Marcus Sheridan, a digital marketing expert and entrepreneur. Since publication, it has become a cornerstone for content marketing and inbound marketing strategies.
Sheridan’s core message revolves around the idea that businesses should be proactively addressing their customers’ questions and concerns. This approach is all about creating valuable content that is transparent and genuinely helpful to your potential customers. By giving them the answers and information that they’re looking for you’ll be able to build trust and differentiate your brand from your competitors.
Here are a few ways to implement this method:
Every Question Should Be Written Down
It’s nearly impossible to predict every single term that your audience may type into Google, but you can try recording and keeping track of every question that your customers have asked you. These questions can come from leads, existing customers, or even the general public, chances are if one person is curious about it, more people will be.
By collecting these inquiries, you’re creating a goldmine of content ideas that are clearly targeted to your audience. You can then use these targeted ideas to create blog posts, videos, social posts or any other type of content that you can think of to answer these questions. By taking this approach you will help boost your online visibility because your content will align with the questions people ask Google daily.
If you don’t know where to start, you can start with your frequently asked question page and turn those questions into blogs.
Write Topical Content
In addition to answering customer questions, you should keep your finger on the pulse of your industry. Think about what’s happening right now that you need to write about.
To stay relevant and create content that’s timely and interesting to your audience, it’s important to build content around current news, trends and events in your industry and in your target audience’s lives. This will prove that you’re up-to-date and help you connect better with your audience while building trust and establishing authority.
Creating topical content not only showcases your expertise but also engages your audience by catering to their specific current needs. Users are more likely to engage with and share content that resonates with them at the moment than something that’s overly generic or old.
Create Content Around Trends
Similarly to topical content, keeping up with and writing about current trends is a great way to connect with your audience.
Industry trends can come and go over time, but it’s important to do your best to keep up and produce content about the trends when they’re trending. Whether it’s a hot topic, a new innovation, or a buzz-worthy event, addressing these trends in your content can set you apart as an industry expert and encourage users to trust you.
Being informed about current trends and producing content around them demonstrates that you’re in sync with the industry and engaged with your audience. This can also encourage them to come to you first the next time something big happens within your industry.
Leveraging Tools
We know that trying to keep up with everything that’s happening in your industry and answer all the questions can be overwhelming, especially when you’re also busy trying to run your business. But the good news is, you don’t have to do it all yourself or do it all manually, there are a wide range of digital tools that can help make these processes more easily manageable.
Here are a few to consider:
- Google Keyword Planner: This tool helps you identify popular search terms and phrases related to your industry or niche.
- Buzzsumo: Discover what content is trending and being shared across social media platforms. You can also analyse your competitors’ content.
- Keyword.io: Explore a comprehensive list of long-tail keywords based on what users are searching for.
- Answer the Public: This tool generates content ideas by visualising what people are asking in various search engines. It provides insights into common questions and trends.
Embracing the “They Ask, You Answer” Methodology
Embracing the “They Ask, You Answer” methodology involves staying attentive to your audience’s questions, keeping up with industry trends, and utilising valuable tools to craft meaningful content.
By consistently answering your audiences’ questions and providing informative, relevant and timely content, you can successfully position yourself as a voice of authority in your industry. This in turn will help you build stronger, more trust-filled relationships with your target audience and boost your online visibility to ultimately drive your business forward.
