In this episode of The Smart Agency Master Class I talk with Ahava Leibtag, and she is going to explain the six steps for creating valuable content to help you reach your target audience and increase your impact. Ahava is the president and owner of Aha Media Group, a content strategy and content consultancy in Washington, D.C.

How can you generate leads for your agency?

If you ask Ahava how to create great content, she will tell you step one is understanding your target audience. You need to know their business, understand their pain points, and know what solutions they are seeking. Know this before anything else because you can’t start talking to people without knowing what they want to hear.

You also need to spend time where your target audience is spending time. Don’t feel like you need to be on all the social channels. If your target audience isn’t on Twitter, why are you wasting your time and energy on Twitter?

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Once you’ve located your target audience make sure you master that technology. “Content and social marketing isn’t all that simple,” Ahava says, “it’s a lot of stuff to balance, so make sure you know how to use the technology.”

Checklists are imperative in order to create valuable content that can generate new business for your agency.

#1 – Findable. Make sure that you are utilizing appropriate keywords so your target audience finds you. Also think about how your content relates to other content. If someone is looking for a dresser, they may also be looking for a headboard.

#2 – Readable. We’ve all seen it – bad web writing. Keep your content short and with the most important points at the top. People just don’t read long-form content anymore, so don’t have giant chunks of text.

#3 – Understandable. It seems like a no-brainer, but you need to have your content easy to read, and not all about yourself. Make sure it is relevant to your audience. Show them that you understand their pain points.

#4 – Actionable. Include clear calls to action in your content so the reader knows what to do next. Content exists for two reasons: because it supports business objectives and because it helps users accomplish their tasks. You want the person consuming your content to feel comfortable performing the action your requesting.

#5 – Shareable. This does not mean going viral. Shareable content fills a need, is well executed, and simple to understand. It’s the kind of content that can jump from the hands of the person that has it, right into the hands of the person who needs it.

#6 – Mobile. It’s clear mobile is huge in content and social marketing, but Ahava hasn’t quite finalized its place. Since mobile can be standalone and fit within each of the other checklist items look for more to come in the future.

Winning at content on the web.

Be sure to pick up a copy of Ahava’s book, The Digital Crown: Winning at Content on the Web. It’s full of tips to simplify and refine your processes so you’re putting out the best messaging possible.

Bonus: go to Aha Media Group’s website and download the first chapter for free!