Purna Virji talks with Jason Barnard about how to align your content and business goals. Purna Virji is the author of High-Impact Content Marketing and Principal Content Solutions Evangelist at LinkedIn. Prior to joining LinkedIn, she led global learning and thought leadership programmes for Microsoft. Purna has been named to the Young Influentials List by Adweek, Search Personality of the Year at the US Search Awards, and World's Most Influential Expert by PPC Hero. She is a columnist and a highly regarded international keynote speaker who has been featured in The Drum, TNW, Marketing Land and Adweek. She is an award-winning former journalist, an avid traveller, an aspiring top chef and an avid tennis player in her spare time. We put all our heart and soul into creating great content, only to find that it doesn't work? Hmmm… Well, it's not just about creating beautiful words and delightful images, it's about channelling that creative energy into achieving business goals. The difference between content that just looks good and content that actually gets results can often be boiled down to how well it aligns with your business goals. This is a crucial factor that transforms your content from a mere presentation into a strategic tool for business growth. Understanding the intersection between content and business goals is a game-changer for content marketers. In this episode, the lovely Purna Virji shares brilliant tips on how to align content with your business goals. Purna reveals amazing nuggets about the three-step approach to content marketing: identifying and defining your business goals, determining the actions you want your audience to take, establishing relevant metrics and KPIs, and creating content that directly aligns with those goals.  As always, the show ends with passing the baton… Purna passes the virtual baton to next week’s brilliant and fantastic duo, Tonya Eberhart and Michael Carr. What you’ll learn from Purna Virji 00:00 Purna Virji and Jason Barnard 02:35 Purna Viriji’s Brand SERP 05:47 What Comes First, Business Goals or Content?  07:11 What is Backward Design?  09:00 The Three Steps Approach to Content Marketing 09:04 First Step: Business Goals 11:26 Second Step: Audience Behaviour 14:55 Third Step: Content Goals 15:19 Measuring Content Success 16:59 The Five Stages of Awareness 17:22 Unaware Stage 17:43 Problem Awareness Stage 18:05 Solution Awareness Stage 18:12 Product or Service Awareness Stage 18:59 Most Aware Stage 21:06 Creating Content for Existing Customers 21:27 Harnessing Customer Feedback and Fostering Loyalty for Business Growth 22:47 Creating Content for Bottom of Funnel 23:16 How Important are Community Building and Customer Engagement 24:34 The Importance of Mental Preparation and Acknowledging Positive Feedback in Conversations 27:25 How Does Aligning Your Content with Your Business Goals Help with Branded Search 28:43 Passing the Baton: Purna Virji to Tonya Eberhart and Michael Carr  This episode was recorded live on video July 11th 2023