“Having your company or brand attached to a significant piece of research that actually reveals new, useful information is one of the best ways to show your prospects that you are not just trying to sell your stuff, but also trying to contribute to the field.” — Tom Webster, Edison Research
Sharing really useful data and original research can be an amazing way for your business to stand out and impress your customers.
But, how do you stand out when everyone is throwing infographics and pie charts around?
Edison’s Expert’s Guide to Content Marketing with Research, by Social Fresh Conference presenter Tom Webster, recommends ways to stand out by doing what no one else will.
Edison Research on audio streaming. Chart from statista.com
Below are three of those tips.
Consider how your company can use these insights to create some helpful and quality research for your audience.
1. Offer answers to common questions first.
It might seem obvious, but truly answering common customer questions is not something a lot of companies bother to put in real research to find out. Listen to your customers to find out their most commonly asked questions. Then, spend your content marketing efforts formulating answers. Edison calls these the knowable-unknowns. Questions where there are not easily accessible answers, but the answers can be found with some research.
An example Webster gives is from one of their clients, Netbase. They wanted to know how social conversations affected fashion decisions. Something not easily tracked with just link clicks.
2. Decide what you want to be known for.
Are you concerned with vanity metrics, like views and shares, or actual return on investment? People will notice if you don’t do your research accurately and carefully. Quick and cheap is the best way to get noticed for doing it badly.
There are a lot of charts and infographics that get tons of views, but serious potential customers likely notice when the stats don’t add up or are not coming from a reputable source.
3. Simplicity and clarity is key.
It’s not about frills and 3D graphics. Remember that if your data isn’t clear and can’t be consumed quickly, no one will look at it, take it seriously, or share it. Shy away from complexity or focus on making complex topics more easily understood.
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