Content is an integral part of every successful brand. Blog posts nurture new traffic into subscribers, and social media ad content convinces the audience to take action. Case studies and demos give potential clients the final push they need.
However, randomly creating content and rolling it out is no longer effective. If it’s not reader-centric, your audience will bounce and check out competitors who offer better. This hurts your business’s return on investment (ROI).
And that’s why you need a people-first content strategy to gain an edge in 2025.
In this article, we will discuss what a people-first strategy means and share effective steps for developing one for your content.
Brooke Webber, Head of Marketing at Ninja Patches, defines content strategy “as a comprehensive plan detailing how you manage your content. This includes the content creation process, distribution channels, and measurable metrics. But not all strategies are people-first.”
To be people-first, she says:
So, if you put all that together, we have a new definition.
A people-first content strategy is a comprehensive approach to content planning, creation, and distribution that prioritizes the audience’s needs, preferences, and experiences above all else.
But why should you make your plan audience-centric? DemandSage says that 52% of consumers say personalization increases their satisfaction with a brand, and a good number say they will pay more for a brand that offers personalization.
52% of customers say personalization improves their satisfaction with a brand
That means tailoring your content plan to your target audience can boost revenue and improve retention. A high retention score means low customer acquisition costs (CAC) and better ROI.
Developing a people-first content strategy that prioritizes your customers’ needs is not rocket science. Let’s see how to do it below.
“The goals of creating content can be anywhere from generating traffic to building your email list. It could also be to generate potential buyers and convert bottom-of-the-funnel clients. For companies with a product, it could be all of the above”, Tom Golubovich, Head of Marketing & Media Relations at Ninja Transfers, says.
It’s important to write them down because:
When outlining your goals, ensure they are SMART. For instance, a new business hoping to build an online presence might aim to:
This can be much more detailed by including a budget per deliverable goal, who will oversee each goal, and when to start.
The core element of a people-first content strategy is knowing who your audience is. Let’s divide them into three categories:
The first category is your primary target. However, you can’t neglect the remaining two, especially the second category. You just need to know which category you’re investing most resources into.
Of course, you can’t go around asking each potential customer what they need. Imagine having to ask over a pool of your ten million audience what their pain point is.
This leads us to create a buyer persona. A buyer persona represents your ideal customer based on real data, market research, and insights about your target audience. You can project this persona to a group of people who share similar interests or pain points.
Since you might end up with more than one segment of customers, you can create multiple personas to fit in.
“To create a persona, you need demographic details, behavioral data, purchasing history, and geographical info. For more personalized targeting, you need to know which channels your audience segment visits most. This shapes your content distribution and helps you meet them at the right place”, Adam Young, CEO and Founder of Event Tickets Center, adds.
You also need to know their interests and needs. Interest is what they prefer to spend their time on. But interest might not necessarily be a need. So, it’s important to understand the difference and leverage both in driving engagement.
To collect these details:
Your most important focus is their interests, needs, challenges, and goals. They form the basis of your marketing content ideas later on.
Similar to your audience, competitors are in three categories:
Samuel Charmetant, Founder at ArtMajeur by YourArt, believes, “Most of the time, there’s no need to reinvent the wheel. A good number of competitors catch up early and implement people-centric strategies ahead. Besides, if you’re new to the market, the best place to learn is from brands hitting their goals already.”
So, identify your competitors and separate them into direct, indirect, or just content competitors. To do that:
Provided by author from SEMrush
Primarily, you want to see what they are doing right and wrong. This includes:
You also want to know their SEO and backlink status. Look out for things like:
You also want to know which social media channels they use most. Their content format on the platforms, frequency of posts, and use of influencers. Assess their content tone and style. Do they add humor, or are they formally formal?
Lastly, identify gaps. Are there topics they haven’t covered? Or are they underperforming for certain keywords? Is there a way to create better content and kick them off the chart?
Document these gaps or opportunities and leverage them.
According to Molly Ancel, Managing Partner at Peerpoint Property Solutions, “Overhauling your word count-centric strategy for a people-first strategy requires a thorough content audit. Of course, that’s if you already have content on your channels. The purpose is to identify what’s performing well, what needs improvement, and what should be removed. Or what needs to be repurposed to align with your new strategy.”
To audit existing content:
When reviewing your content, ask questions like:
Depending on how much content you have, an audit could last months. But to maintain relevance, you must conduct a content audit at least once a month.
The next step is to brainstorm content ideas and turn them into topics. You can also use SEMrush when searching for your industry keywords. Check the image below to understand.
Provided by author from SEMrush
When we searched for “Action camera”, we also got questions related to the keyword. These are the queries your target audience searches for daily. Turn them into topics and use them to address their needs.
For instance, we can spin those questions into:
Another way to gather topics of interest is from Google’s People Also Ask.
Provided by author from Google
You could spin that off into “10 cool things you can do with an action camera” or “10 best alternatives to GoPro.”
“Also, embrace clustering when brainstorming ideas. Clusters are like a tree of related content that is interlinked to a single pillar page. This interlinking facilitates easy crawling and helps readers find information faster. Besides, the most important pillar page gets more visibility,” says Lev Peker, CEO at CARiD.
An example includes:
Pillar page
Clusters
The type of topics you brainstorm also depends on your customers’ stage of the funnel. For instance, top-of-the-funnel (TOFU) customers need more comprehensive topics, such as, The Ultimate Guide to Action Cameras: Features, Uses, and Buying Tips.
Middle-of-the-funnel (MOFU) audiences need more in-depth, comparison-based content to help them evaluate their options. These customers are considering a purchase but need more information before making a decision. For example, GoPro vs. DJI Osmo Action: Which One Should You Buy?
Lastly, bottom-of-the-funnel (BOFU) audiences are ready to make a purchase decision. Your content should focus on conversions, trust-building, and removing final objections. E.g. Where to Buy the Best Action Cameras: Online vs. In-Store
Your people-first content strategy is only effective in the hands of a good content team. This team includes your content writers, copywriters, editors, and content marketers. Most brands prefer to outsource at this point. That’s cost-saving but might affect your quality output. This is because most freelancers or agencies are not familiar with your audience enough to create personalized content.
Nonetheless, some content agencies provide good services by tailoring a particular team to just your brand. However, this usually comes at a higher cost.
Alternatively, set up your in-house content team. Train them on your audience and your business’s selling points. Make them see each piece of content as a product. Access to buyer persona, audience information, and certain company details will also help with grooming.
Most importantly, adopting Google’s E-E-A-T approach is paramount. This acronym stands for Expertise, Experience, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. Ensure your writers, or at least the editor, meet the expertise requirement as much as possible.
Your content strategy should include a training guide for future team replacements. The guide should cover the activities of your social media channel handlers.
A content calendar outlines when and what to post on certain dates and times. Several social media tools, like SocialSprout, have it built in. This is essential for maintaining consistency in posting, especially on social media.
Manually, you can download content calendar templates from sites like ClickUp or design yours in-house. Ensure it includes:
You could also use more comprehensive tools, such as Monday.com, which is more of a project management tool. Others, like Basecamp, can help you track your content rollout by notifying assigned individuals.
Based on your audience and competitors’ analysis, determine the best channels for distribution. As a rule of thumb, your website and a social channel are a must. Most of the internet traffic is on Google, with the top three results snapping up 54.4% of all clicks, according to Backlinko — your website can take a share of that too.
“However, there’s no hard and fast rule against adopting all the channels available. That means you can use almost all the social media platforms you know, including dynamic emails and SMS. However, it’s advisable to take it a step at a time to streamline your distribution and maximize each channel. Also, omnichannel marketing depends on your budget—be careful not to break the bank”, Jeffrey Zhou, CEO and Founder of Fig Loans, advises.
Also, reach out to influencers relevant to your niche. Collaborate to boost your brand visibility and reach a broader audience.
You need to track certain key performance indexes (KPIs) to measure performance. The KPIs you track depend on your initial goals. If your goal is to scale your website traffic, you can use Google Analytics or SEMrush to monitor Website visits.
If it’s conversion, look out for conversion rate using Google Analytics as well. Other metrics to follow up include:
Most social media platforms feature in-built analytics tools. You can check out engagement KPIs, such as likes, shares, and comments. You can also use third-party tools like SproutSocial and Hootsuite.
While your audience might not change, their needs or interests will. Improvement is a dynamic process, and keeping up with this change is crucial. So, collect feedback occasionally through on-page forms, social media quizzes, and surveys.
You also analyze customer support data frequently to see which complaints your content can address. Implement these changes and continuously refine your people-first content strategy.
There’s so much content noise out there already. If you want your content to stand out, then it has hit your audience’s needs on the head. That’s only possible with a people-first content strategy.
Start by outlining your goals and objectives. Research target audience and analyze competitors. Audit existing content to ensure currency and relevance. Brainstorm topic ideas and create clusters. Develop a content team that understands your audience and design a content calendar to streamline operations.
Choose relevant channels, consider using influencers, and measure performance. Collect feedback from the audience and continuously refine your strategy.
Need more streamlining and optimizing your people-first content strategy? Visit our blog page for more tips.
