The three kinds of information your customers actually want to see

At the center of every piece of marketing is information. If nothing else, people need to know what you've got to sell and how they can get their hands on it. A content-led marketing campaign will look at ways to use even more information, to attract customers and possibly even entertain.

Either way, information is at the heart of marketing. Good marketing creates information that people actually search out and want to see - not bland advertisements that they do their best to avoid. Of course, that raises a good question: what kind of information do people actually want?

People like news (kind of): People do like being ahead of the game and knowing what's going on in the world around them. That's why people read the paper, watch the 10 o'clock news and listen to gossip. If you have an inside scoop to share or a loyal brand following that is interested in every development then news can be the perfect kind of information to share.

Where it doesn't work is where businesses that don't have that kind of brand or brand following still think news about them and their business is interesting. It's not. The kind of news people are interested in is the kind that (a) they want to share and discuss with others or (b) affects them. Your company's new widget or corporate logo don't fit that bill. Unless, of course, you make it more relevant to your audience's particular needs - or make it worthy of sharing.

People like to be entertained: People like being entertained but not every business is all that entertaining. People are entertaining. Thankfully, businesses tend to be full of actual people. Assuming a new life as a stand-up is off the cards, try incorporating your own voice and that of your staff into your marketing communications and the information you publish. Not only will it make your communications more engaging but it will also help put a human face to your organisation.

People like actionable information that's relevant to them: We all remember sitting in certain classes at school thinking, "how are I ever going to use this information?". Make your information actionable, and show people how it will make their lives, personal or professional, better. Just to be clear, it's not how your product or service will makes their lives better but how engaging with your content and information will makes their lives better.

Tall order? Possibly, but that is what's now required to make your information stand out in such a crowded marketplace. Imagine a wine shop that runs free classes on how to choose the perfect wine. That information is, in itself, interesting, relevant to the market and usable. By engaging with the free (marketing) content the wine shop creates, the customer becomes much more likely to buy from that wine shop, both now and in the future. Contrast that with another flyer offering 5% off.

The key point throughout? People don't really want to hear about you and your business at all. They're not interested in you - they're interested in themselves. Simply put, why should someone pay attention to you, what's in it for them?

Information can be the answer to that question; specifically, newsworthy, entertaining and actionable information that's relevant to them. Create that kind of information and people will search you out.