Early in July 2009, public relations agency Ruder Finn released the results of a study focusing on users’ intent when they go online. The seven primary reasons that people go online include—from most often to least often—
- To learn
- To have fun
- To socialize
- To express themselves
- To advocate
- To do business
- To shop
Note: Chart is interactive. Visit http:www.ruderfinn.com/intent to drill down into each section and explore and compare the results for different audience segments.
By far, the top three reasons (To Learn, Have Fun and Socialize) outweigh all others. How can you use this significant information to help drive your content marketing strategy? This time, we’ll look at what you can do to satisfy users’ intent to learn. In future posts, we’ll look at how to satisfy users’ intent to have fun and to socialize.
Satisfy the Intent to Learn
In the learning category, Ruder Finn reports that people go online most often to educate themselves (96%), to do research (89%) and to keep informed (79%). Here are some ways that B2B companies can satisfy users’ intent to learn:
| Reason for Going Online | What You Can Do to Satisfy |
| Use a search engine to find information (75%) | Make sure that you optimize all of your Web content for search so that users can easily find you. |
| Learn about a new subject (46%) | Through content, become the friendly authority that helps newcomers get up to speed quickly in the industry you serve. |
| Watch videos (38%) | Begin experimenting with video. Perhaps you can turn a background piece or a how-to demonstration into a short video presentation that engages viewers. |
| Download/upload PDFs/documents (38%) | Provide white papers, case studies, presentations, reference guides and similar content for visitors to download and share with their colleagues. |
| Conduct research on a new topic (37%) | Provide your content and links to other useful/practical content to build trust that your company is an authority and evangelist for your industry. |
| Find background information on products (36%) | Provide adequate information about your products, including descriptions and photos, spec sheets, case studies, comparisons with competitors, comments and testimonials (e.g., via Twitter or other social platforms) and similar information. |
| Read product reviews (33%) | Include independent product reviews or links to product reviews about your products. For any negative reviews, include your response and further comments from the reviewer. Being open and honest in addressing reviewer issues is important to your online reputation and builds trust with your audience. |
| Read other blogs (25%) | One in four people read blogs. Do you have one? If not, now is the time to get started to build your library of online content. |
Do any of these seem a good fit for your business? In a future post, we’ll look at how you can satisfy users who go online with the specific intent of having fun. “Fun?” you might say, “I’m a B2B company—how does ‘fun’ enter the equation?” Stay tuned.
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