Does content marketing work for dull industries?

Well, content marketing works in every area if done right. Don’t let misconceptions stop you from creating an effective content strategy. Content works wonders whether it’s an industry that gives you an adrenaline rush or something with no sudden reaction. You just have to be creative enough to catch people’s attention.

Let’s take a look at different ways of creating viral content in the not-so-interesting industry.

#1 Get The Myth Of A “Boring” Industry Out Of Your Head

Think from the perspective that every person is stuck with their problems. The main aim of a business is to offer solutions to those problems.

No matter how “boring” you think the industry is, people are searching for solutions concerning that industry. They are likely to listen if the content you create talks about their challenges and the ways they can get through with them.

Every business is solving problems and their target audience is likely to deal with them. The industry that seems dull to you is solving actual problems that people are dealing with.

Today if you go ahead and watch a video on YouTube regarding repairing a tap. Would you invest 35 minutes solely for fun?

Definitely not!

It’s boring for you because you are not dealing with that challenge.

Now imagine a person who for some reason cannot get access to a plumber. That video is going to be the need of the hour for him.

The point is what seems interesting to you might be highly irrelevant for others and vice versa.

If no industry is really boring, then the effort you put into creating engaging content isn’t enough.

Take a look at how General Electric worked on creating an attention-grabbing Pinterest page.

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#2 Use Highly Compelling Visuals

Remember that no one likes going through a huge chunk of text lying around on the screen. Imagine not even breaking down complex topics into paragraphs.

Here is what you should implement:

• Make sure your content is broken down into easy-to-read paragraphs, sub-heads, and bullets wherever necessary
• Make use of a lot of visuals along with the text. Use flow charts, diagrams, infographics, etc. to make the content information and visually appealing
• Try to practice repurposing complex content into highly engaging graphics
• Learning should always be fun for the users. Do not hold yourself back from adding puns.

Take a look at how a simple representation explains the point in the insurance industry, one of the toughest industries for creating content.

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#3 Creating Content Based On Buyer Journey

Let’s say your business deals in wallpapers, wall art, and other forms of wall decorations.

What will your content revolve around?

Start by understanding where your customers are in their buyer journey.

For example, a person who is thinking about redecorating their houses with something unique might consider 3-D wallpapers.

Create content regarding how a person can redecorate their house using various things. Make sure it doesn’t just revolve around your products. Your product should just be a part of the content. Using psychology in marketing will prove effective in generating engaging content.

Similarly, a router table manufacturer can focus on the challenges dealt with by the people in this industry instead of simply focusing on promoting the products through their content.

Remember that your focus is to provide value to your target audience. If you simply blabber about the availability of new products in your inventory, you are less likely to capture attention. Your blog should be a place that deals with the troubles dealt by your target audience. It’s not a place for sole product promotion. A strong content game will help you increase your user base.

#4 Boring Products Can Have Interesting Stories

Companies dealing with boring products can back up the information with interesting stories.

Let’s say if you sell hammers, nothing is exciting about this tool. No cool features to capture attention. The first step is to walk out of the rigid thinking process and get into implementing some storytelling tactics.

We all remember the humorous story of classic Looney Tunes cartoons representing the durability of Duracell batteries.

What can be so cool about marketing batteries?

But the right presentation caught immediate attention and we remember it years later.

These are referred to as brand heroes wherein you use a person, animated character, or a general idea to represent your brand. If you think your products are boring then maybe your approach to marketing them is not creative enough.

#5 Create Content Outside Your Immediate Niche

Conducting in-depth research on your target audience will reveal the things that they want. These wouldn’t necessarily involve the things you generally create content about.

Buffer is a great example of a social sharing platform that creates content on varied topics that doesn’t necessarily concern its initial offering. This type of content wouldn’t lead you to instant conversions but will give you the reach you need from the right people.

For example, a credit card blog doesn’t necessarily have to create content entirely around credit cards.

How about tips to improve sales for small businesses?

Do not hesitate to walk out of your immediate niche to create content.

Also, remember that your audience wants humor. If your content is boring enough then maybe you need to work on your sense of humor. Every dull piece of content can be made interesting by shedding the shield of seriousness.

While reading your content ask yourself if you were your target audience, will you reach the end?

Take a look at how you can add humor to something as simple as toilet paper.

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#6 Explore Different Types Of Content

Let’s understand this with an example of an oil and gas drilling company, Payson Petroleums. This isn’t a company that gives you a rush the moment you hear about it. But with the right content strategy, they ended up improving their reach.

Here is what the company implemented:

• Became clear with their target audience- potential individual investors
• Started creating different types of content based on everything that can interest an investor
• Instead of relying on basic immediate information, they tested a variety of content formats
• Their Youtube channel remained highly updated with recent happenings in the industry
• Started conducting frequent interviews with experts in their niche. People might get bored of you but not of the people they look up to.

By covering various formats of content on different platforms, they ended up becoming an expert in their niche. Along with creating rich content, they are active on their social channels. With an effective content game in action, you can easily kickstart your small business idea.

#7 Let An Experienced Editor Handle The Draft

As discussed earlier, people are quick at losing interest when it comes to boring subject matters. An expert editor can break down long paragraphs into small chunks along with preserving the conveyed information.

Remember that most people are reading your content on mobile devices. It wouldn’t take them long to abandon difficult-to-read content.

A quicker reading experience consisting of important points to grasp will improve your session time. Remember those complex topics can be interesting or boring depending on the way you present them.

Summing Up

Start by conducting intense research in your industry. Get to know your target audience and their questions. Once you do, work on creating different formats of content. Analyze the ones that work well for your business and never stop experimenting.