Context isn’t just the time and place where you’re interacting with your audience.

It’s everything from what they’re doing when they see your content to how they feel at that moment in their lives.

The internet provides endless opportunities for brands to interact with their audience, but not all of them will reap success if they don’t adapt their messaging accordingly.

The best way to avoid a flop? Focus on creating content that sticks within the right context.

How do you create contextually relevant content, and why does it matter to your audience? 

If you keep reading, I’ll show you.

What is context?

The world of content marketing is vast. Advertisers, agencies, and publishers are all trying to get their share of the pie as the industry continues to grow.

And yet, there is one key ingredient that goes unnoticed — context.

But what exactly is “context” to content?

Context encompasses everything that is non-content related — the physical, social and cultural factors of the environment in which your audience lives.

All these provide the context for the delivery of your content.

Your content needs to speak to the context in which the reader is in to have the highest probability of success.

How does a writer or an artist connect with an audience?

• They consider their audience’s current environment.
• They note the interests and needs of their audience.

For example, a visitor on your blog may look for information about what it’s like to live in New York City.

Here, writing an article about living in Paris won’t engage them because their needs don’t align.

Benefits of contextually relevant content 

At every point when you experience a piece of content, you’re doing so in a specific context — whether you’re aware of it.

And you’re likely to experience a different reaction to the same piece of content.

For example, if you read a blog post on your tablet while watching The Simpsons, you might be more likely to skim through it.

In contrast, if you read the same blog post while waiting for the bus, you’d be less likely to skim and more likely to read the whole thing.

Different context but the same content.

Even as you read through these passages, context plays a vital role in how you assimilate this message.

Why does contextually relevant content matter?

To create high-performing content, you need to understand the context.

Understanding context doesn’t just help you create more effective content. It also helps you make better business decisions because it allows you to focus on the content that will produce results.

The following are some reasons context matters to content:

• Context helps localize the value of your content to the reader.
• Context allows you to separate yourself and your content from the competition.
• It enables you to adjust your language and tone to the mood of your audience.
• The context of your target audience matters because it helps you understand what motivates and drives them.
• When done right, context improves your chances of generating qualified leads for your business.
• Context enables you to adapt to changes in demand faster.
• It fulfills the requirement of right timing and delivery, which is relevant to creating a connection.

Contextually relevant content speaks to the mood of your audience and helps you forge a genuine connection.

Content plus context equals connection

The concepts of content and context are foundational to understanding engagement.

To engage an individual, your content must speak to them in a way that is relevant and meaningful to their present situation. 

For example, if you’re writing a copy, deeper psychological triggers are at play. This change depends on whether your audience will read it on mobile or desktop. 

What do I mean? While writing this content, I placed greater emphasis on mobile phone users.

This context informed my use of shorter sentences, which perform best on mobile devices as against desktop computers.

To put this into perspective: when Apple introduced the MacBook in 2006, they started by reeling out its benefits and features gradually.

Apple teased and created mystery before the official launch of the sleek product.

By then, they’ve done two things already:

• They’ve laid the foundation for the product by creating awareness — context.
• They’ve built curiosity in the minds of their audience and enhanced their expectations — connection.

Another scenario is this: many brands make use of the “coming soon” strategy when they’re about introducing new products.

In reality, this strategy is a way for them to build a pre-launch relationship between their audience and the new product.

And this works every time. When you put context into consideration, it gives room for connection to thrive.

Similarly, the most potent form of content is one that is created in a way that engages the user and makes them feel part of the process.

How to create contextually relevant content

Content without context is like a body without a face.

But put the two together, and you not only have a visual description, but you can also connect with that person.

Four steps to help you create contextually relevant content that leads to engagement includes:

• Define your audience persona

Defining your audience persona is the starting point towards building rapport, trust and ultimately engagement.

Some questions you should ask:

• Who is my target audience?
• How can I meet their needs?
• Where are they located?
• What stage of the customer journey are they in?
• Which platforms do they prefer to consume my content on?

Once you’ve defined your audience, you can understand their interests and needs. 

This is the point where a content strategy takes shape and gives way to creating relevant and value-driven content.

• Define your content goal

What is the primary purpose of your content?

Your content goal connects the needs of each persona to the overall business goals.

It’s also a must-have for any content planning, since you can’t create content without a clearly defined purpose.

Your content goal is the focal point of your plan, and it should always be something measurable, achievable, and realistic.

• Provide context

By providing context around your content, you’re ensuring that your audience’s search intent meets the right content

This boils down to understanding the goals and desires of your audience, and then translating that into content that can satisfy those needs. 

Creating relevant content ensures there’s an intuitive relationship between what you have to say and what applies to what someone’s looking for.

• Create content for different segments

The best way to create content for your audience is to segment your audience and create content for each segment.

Trying to create content that appeals to all of your audience is like catching flies with a bucket of water — it’ll have little impact.

By creating content for different segments of your audience, you’ll create a personal connection with each contact.

Conclusion

Content is king, and context is the kingmaker.

Great content in the wrong context is a waste of time, money, and effort. Because content, plus context, creates connection.

The context here is that of the user — and the time and place where they’re interacting with your content.

And since content is king, if you aren’t creating content that sticks with the right context, audience engagement will plummet.