In an increasingly crowded digital landscape, there is more content than ever competing for audience attention. According to Demand Metrics91% of B2B marketers and 86% of B2C marketers use content marketing as part of their overall strategies.

That's a lot of marketers creating a lot of content, and for good reason. According to Aspiration Marketingcontent marketing can grow customer lifetime value up to 70%. When it seems like everyone is playing the game, how can you make your content stand out?

The key is to be ultra selective. And, as always, it starts with your audience. You want to develop a deep understanding of who you are serving and then tailor your product to their specific needs. Read on for some basic — but essential — guidelines for creating content that builds trust and affinity with your market.

Related: How to create a content marketing strategy

The perils of producing content without a strategy

Have you ever come across branded content that feels out of step with its brand voice, like a fashion company blogging about the best food in Manhattan or a literature publisher thinking about pet care?

This can happen when your brand lacks a content strategy that describes the topics and formats that best serve your audience. Although almost all marketers say they use content marketing, only 40% have a written strategy. Without a plan to maintain content focused to customers, you risk wasting your business's resources (and your audience's time) on low-quality material that doesn't resonate.

Additionally, without a long-term plan, you also run the risk of creating generalized content that doesn't address you specific audience questions or pain points, leaving readers disinterested and confused. A strong content strategy is a lens through which you can quickly and consistently assess whether a content idea is worth pursuing. Over time, these strategic content decisions create a cohesive brand narrative.

Simple steps to develop an effective content strategy

Strategy can be intimidating, but the steps to developing strategic content are fairly straightforward. It's all about getting clear on the outcome you're driving towards – and working backwards from there:

1. Define your goals. What do you hope your brand will achieve through content? Maybe it's entering new markets or answering common questions about your product or category. Identifying your brand's specific goals is the first step to clarifying what to write about.
2. Research target audiences. The best content addresses real and urgent needs of the audience. Refer to your business target personas to clarify your customers' interests, pain points and buying habits. Then, share these insights with your content team so they can create the most relevant and impactful content possible.
3. Check existing content. You likely already have some of the existing content. Learn from her. What works, and what doesn't? Rely on your top-performing materials to inform future content decisions.
4. Choose the right content formats. After choosing topics and audiences to target, decide which mediums best match that content, be it articles, social media posts, videos, etc. It's the classic “form follows function” idea: bigger ideas might call for a lengthy guide or ebook, while an infographic might be the perfect way to summarize new research findings.
5. Create a content calendar. Content calendars can keep your strategy organized by identifying when and where to release content. From the start, include topics, keywords, content formats, publication dates and distribution channels, then update them over time as you identify new opportunities.
6. Approve a new web address. New web addresses feature memorable keywords after the dot – like .pro, .fitness and .world. They signal what you offer to the audience before they navigate to your website, setting the right expectations and strengthening brand memory. These powerful domains can be used to redirect to your current site or build an entirely new digital brand experience. You can even use new web addresses to create topic and campaign specific pages, which can later be used to publish related content.

Related: The 7 Habits of the Most Successful Content Marketers

Key questions to guide content production

To help determine if your current content product and ideas align with your content strategy, consider answering these questions before starting a content piece:

• Who is your target audience?
• How far along are they in the buying journey?
• What is your theme and purpose?
• Where will you publish your content?
• What formats will you use?

It's not rocket science – but it's amazing how often brands publish material without considering these basic questions. Don't be one of them!

Good strategy makes content effective

The best strategies are built on a framework of knowledge, starting with understanding your customers and their needs. You also need to define your goals to know where your marketing strategy should take you.

With this knowledge, you can create a strategy that effectively communicates your brand narrative and builds a deep connection with your audience.