Key Takeaways:

1. Definition of Relevance:

   • The quality or state of being closely connected or appropriate
   • Essential for connecting with the right audience and diversifying link profiles

2. Importance of Boundaries:

   • Need to balance connection and appropriateness
   • Helps maintain focus and consistency in content creation

3. Strategy and Framework:

   • Implementing a strategy and using the right tools/framework is crucial
   • The "Who, What, Why, When, Where, How" framework for audience understanding

4. Sources of Audience Insights:

   • Search data
   • Social media data
   • YouGov for demographic and attitudinal insights
   • Customer reviews

5. Using AI for Persona Creation:

   • AI can help develop detailed, realistic personas based on audience insights

6. Example Personas (Travel Insurance Context): a. The Cautious Planner (Margaret Thompson) b. The Reluctant Purchaser (David Hughes) c. The Adventurous Retiree (Alan Forsyth)

7. Benefits of Using Personas:

   • Makes ideation easier
   • Ensures ideas are consistently relevant yet diverse

8. Content Ideas Based on Personas:

   • Cautious Planner: Planning & risks, countries with most claims, travel advice
   • Reluctant Purchaser: Reassuring travel, relaxing destinations, happiest destinations
   • Adventurous Retiree: Bucket list travel, adventure destinations, off-the-beaten-path travel

9. Measuring Success:

   • Audience engagement is a key measure of relevancy

10. Continuous Process:

    • Turn audience insights into audience stories for ongoing ideation
    • Deliver creative, relevant content consistently

Action Items:

1. Implement the "Who, What, Why, When, Where, How" framework:

   • Create a template or checklist to ensure all aspects are covered for each audience segment

2. Set up a system to gather audience insights:

   • Monitor search data trends related to your industry
   • Analyze social media conversations and interactions
   • Utilize YouGov or similar platforms for demographic and attitudinal data
   • Regularly review customer reviews and feedback

3. Develop detailed personas:

   • Use AI tools to help create realistic, data-driven personas
   • Ensure each persona includes demographic information, motivations, pain points, and goals

4. Create a content ideation process based on personas:

   • Organize brainstorming sessions around each persona
   • Use the personas to validate content ideas for relevance

5. Establish content boundaries:

   • Define what's considered "relevant" for your brand and audience
   • Create guidelines for maintaining appropriateness while pushing creative limits

6. Develop a diverse content calendar:

   • Ensure content addresses the needs and interests of all key personas
   • Balance different content types and themes to cater to various audience segments

7. Implement a content relevancy scoring system:

   • Create criteria based on persona alignment and potential engagement
   • Use this system to prioritize content ideas

8. Set up engagement tracking:

   • Monitor audience engagement metrics for different types of content
   • Use these insights to refine your understanding of what's relevant to your audience

9. Create a feedback loop:

   • Regularly update personas based on new data and insights
   • Adjust your content strategy based on engagement metrics and audience feedback

10. Train your team:

    • Ensure all content creators understand the personas and how to use them
    • Conduct workshops on audience-centric content creation

11. Experiment with content formats:

    • Try different approaches to address each persona's needs and preferences
    • A/B test content to see what resonates best with each audience segment

12. Develop a link-building strategy aligned with personas:

    • Identify potential link partners that align with your personas' interests
    • Create content specifically designed for link acquisition, keeping personas in mind

13. Regularly audit your content:

    • Review existing content to ensure it aligns with your current personas
    • Update or repurpose content to better serve your audience's needs

By implementing these action items, you can create a more audience-centric content strategy that consistently delivers relevant, engaging content to your target audience while also supporting your SEO and link-building efforts.