Personalized marketing content works on several levels. It’s the primary driver in organic search that attracts more potential customers at a lower cost than pay-per-click. This content helps further define your brand and brand identity. It also drives brand loyalty because people want to associate and be associated with brands that match their personality.

Does It Work?

Personalization has become increasingly popular to consumers. A recent report on it showed that 77% of consumers chose brands because of a personalized service or experience. And 73% of businesses using personalization have seen increased customer engagement. This type of marketing improves email open rates by 26% and click-through rates by 97%. As for new customers, personalized content increases lead generation by 60%. Yes, it does work and in significant ways.

First, Know Your Target Audience

Any campaign utilizing personalization requires that you know your audience. These are the fine details going beyond who they are and where they live. Personalization is about what they like to do. It’s about how they see your brand in their lives. Once you understand that, then you can develop a strategy to capture their attention.

  • Demographics – Common demographics include age, gender, ethnicity, income, and trade or profession. These can be group into categories and subcategories, depending upon how much data you can collect.
  • Psychographics – These focus on personalities, lifestyles, and social classes. This gives you much more insight into how your brand fits into their lives.
  • Trends – You want to see where your audience is going, not where they’ve been (unless you have a retro-marketing campaign). These are often technology or lifestyle based and evolve over time. A great example of this are the voice-controlled personal assistants. How does your brand fit in with this trend?

Personalization is as much about individual likes and dislikes as it is about targeting a group of people with the same attributes. This allows you to provide general messages that are personal to the people receiving them.

So Many Platforms to Choose from

There are a lot of marketing activities that can have personalized messages. Each one has a different platform and method of delivery. Below is a list of some of those activities and the type of personalized content you need to give.

  • Text Message – Short and sweet. You have a second or two to let them know what you’re offering.
  • Email – The subject line should resemble a text message. Then, capture their attention by pointing out activities they love to do and how your brand fits in with them.
  • Website – Yes, you can personalize your website to fit the brand, as well as visitors personal preferences. Design works hand-in-hand with content to direct traffic through the decision-making process and how to purchase.
  • Blog – Remember that organic search traffic mentioned earlier? Well, your blog is the cornerstone for that. Posts should be directly related to make their life better—at work or at home. Offering time saving tips is always a great start.
  • E-Book – This is a great platform where you can share an abundance of your knowledge with your audience. People will download a free e-book if it’s something that is relevant and timely for them. Also with an e-book you can capture more personal data through download requirements. Typically, this is a first name and email. That’s all it takes to grow your database.
  • Social Media – You have a following, but want to grow it. Focus on posting things people care about or want to know more. Your engagement will increase quickly.

Get on a First Name Basis

The best part of personalization is that you can get on a first name basis with your audience. People will quickly discard spam and robo-messages, but if they see their first name, then they know it’s something they signed up for and will give it more attention. That’s the power of using their first name and it’s very important when sending out your marketing materials.

Personalized content relies on knowing your audience and bringing the most relevant information to them. I’ve helped companies define their audience, then we implemented a strategic content marketing plan that focused on personalized experiences. These create positive emotional connections that grow stronger over time.