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Content Marketing: How to Turn Strangers into Customers

This post is part of a series on content marketing, which will be published every Monday.

So you have a website that’s up and running for your small business and you want to build traffic, or you have some products or services you want to sell online and want a marketing plan that drives visitors to your site. Maybe you’re just looking for a way to build a voice for your business, and create a brand online.

This is where content marketing comes in. What is content marketing? It is basically a term applied to selling your products or services by first building trust with your audience by giving them free information, or valuable tools and resources catered around your service, to create a trust and bond with customers. As a result when you do sell, you have an audience ready to pay attention.

Sound weird?

It is a different way to build awareness about your company and products where unlike a TV or radio ad, where the audience just tolerates your message, you build a real interest and make your site a destination to solve their problems. Because of that, people become active listeners about your services and pay attention to your message.

The beauty in content marketing is that you build an audience that is responsive to your offerings so that you spring to mind when they are looking for services.

Why you should apply content marketing to your business

It’s free

Or relatively low-cost. A small business owner can spend a lot of money pouring into an advertisement that runs on tv/radio for a short period, or they can build a responsive audience through a successful content marketing strategy, that might mean a blog or newsletter service.

Builds an audience that listens

Content marketing works in a field of marketing called permission marketing. Unlike traditional advertising methods such as TV or radio ads, people give you their attention, instead of your message being seen as a disturbance. Your business builds that connection with customers that money can’t buy, so that if they are shopping around for services they know where to go.

Long term impact

Content marketing can help your business in the long run, especially for small businesses looking to grow. By building an audience that listens, shares and tells friends and family about this site, you grow in e-mail subscriptions or just site visits. This interest can outrun any interest built from TV or Radio advertising.

How to get started in content marketing

Write what you know

It’s the advice given to writers everywhere. But don’t write boring puff pieces about your business. Write information that is useful, and applicable to your audience. The idea is if you produce free, valuable content for your customers they will give you their attention and in the long-run their loyalty.

The posts or articles can vary with the interests and needs of your audience, whether its business-to-consumer (B2C) or business-to-business (B2B).

If you already have a mailing list for your customers, then a great way to build initial traffic consider starting a newsletter that starts articles that continue on your blog.

And if blogging is not your cup of tea, consider creating more interactions through social media sites such as Facebook or Pinterest by sharing helpful articles or news that people will find useful and engaging with your audience through those channels.

Got a question? Or need some help getting started? Contact me, and I can answer it through e-mail or in a future post, I’m all about making your life easier.

Content marketing

How to Inspire Your Own Brand Cult

This post is part of a series on brand management, which will be published every Friday.

In Florida, I met a guy from Atlanta that had a tattoo of the Nike swoosh.

“Why?” I asked, more curious than amused.

“I just really love Nike,” he replied.

He was not very chatty, but I doubt this guy was in love with the corporate behemoth that has suffered many scandals in the past. And no matter how great the products are, I doubt that had inspired the permanent ink.

It’s not a unique case, even WordPress boasts a few tattooed followers, but it sparked my analysis about the intense loyalty to a brand that would inspire a customer to tattoo the symbol.

This love is like that found in cults, the difference is in business it means strong loyalty, a personal connection and even a voluntary brand ambassador.

So how can a small business owner inspire the kind of loyalty and love for their own brand?

Target the Ideal

The way a customer views themselves (self-concept) can give your marketing a direction or purpose. Customers will use certain products or brands as a way of showing who they are to others. These brands personality traits that have been socially established. By customers linking themselves with the brand it provides a way to show the world who they are.

So the challenge is to figure out, who your customers want to be. In other words, how do they wish to be seen? In psychology, there are 6 ways people view themselves (self-concept), 4 of these can help your branding efforts:

1. Actual self: This is who I am
2. Ideal self: This is who I’d like to be
3. Social self: This is how others see me (the reflection in the mirror)
4. Ideal social self: This is how I want other’s to see me (the flattering reflection in the mirror)

By giving your brand a personality traits of the “Ideal Social Self” you can speak to a desire in your customers, that would inspire a personal connection and customer loyalty.

Be a Flattering Mirror

Target your messages, visuals, and elements of your business to speak to the ideal self. How would your customer want to see themselves?

Case in point:

In Victoria’s Secret case it’s sexy, glamorous and feminine. The brand has succeeded in creating such an overall experience that communicates this ideal (a quick Google search for the word “Sexy” places them at no.7 at the time of this post). In a recent study customers who walked around the mall for an hour with VS shopping bags felt more sexy, glamorous and feminine compared to those with regular shopping bags.

So if your brand is trying to speak of luxury, or being tough and macho, or even feminine how do you communicate this?

Establishing a particular character for your brand is the key to starting a conversation with the ideal social self, and being a flattering mirror for your customers.

Figure out what the ideal self tor your customers is and describe your brand in a way that relates to this: (Company name) is ___________.
Describe how you get your customers to that ideal, but instead of talking about services, refer to the benefits (expect a post on this topic next Friday)
Craft your messages to cater to that characteristic.

There is probably more than one answer, but your target can’t be everybody because that would mean you have no personality. Aim for a distinct character trait that fits your target audience, but understand that you can’t appeal to everyone (Click here to see an earlier post on brand personality).

Need help? I can work with your business to figure out who you are, and how you should communicate that. In other words, brand strategy, contact me.

Content marketing

Should You Reply To Every Single Comment?

This post is part of a series on social media, which will be published every Thursday.

The simple answer is yes if its positive, or poses a question. And if you are already sold on that then carry on with your day. But if you wish to know why this is important for your social media strategy, then read on.

Why you should reply to every comment

I can understand being busy, not having enough time, and having a jam-packed day. I get that. But then there’s tomorrow morning, when you show up at your workspace, before you tackle all those e-mails from yesterday, and you are bright and perky from your first cup of coffee. That’s a good time to go back and respond to all those unanswered comments.

Responding shows you value your follower’s time, and their opinions, which helps increase the positive associations they will feel towards your brand and business. It will also help build a connection by making them feel that you are listening if they have a problem or concern down the road.

Even an apologetic comment, and contacting a dissatisfied customer helps create a positive reputation, first by allowing others to empathize, and by halting a possible negative word of mouth train in its tracks.

Use Social Media to build relationships

Your pages and accounts should not just be mouthpieces for your business but a tool to use in creating a bond with your fans or followers.

If it’s too much work outsource it, have a consultant or company dedicated to managing your social media presence. Whatever you do, don’t leave customers hanging, it’s how you treat them that counts.

Case in point:

I recently stopped by two businesses in my area, looking for a particular service. I prefaced my introduction by stating that it was a casual drop-in, and I did not have an appointment. Next I asked if they could help me.

One business was friendly, listened well, and was professional. And even though I stood by the receptionist desk the entire time, the friendly demeanor of the assistant made me feel welcome.

The assistant at the other businesses, which was much larger in comparison, did try to help as well. But their demeanor was distant and unwelcoming. Although in comparison this business did have more benefits to offer, it was a small difference and my loyalty was already sold to the first smaller business because of their service.

People will always remember how you treat them.

So the question to ask yourself today is, how do you treat your audience, fans and readers? Make time to respond, and if it’s all too much for your plate, then click here to get some help.

Content marketing

“Click Here” a Tactic to Give Your Marketing Impact

It’s basic, it’s not that artistic, and most often it can be an overlooked marketing tactic, but it sells. The phrase “Click this link” could be the fuel to your small business direct marketing and content marketing campaign because it inspires action, and action can boost your sales.

People respond to direct requests

“Click this Link” is an example of a Call to Action.
A Call to Action is a direct request for your reader to do something.

If you have fine-tuned a pitch or blog post that positions your readers to want more, telling them what to do next to get the benefits you rave about is the best way to turn passive readers into doers.

It’s not enough to expect that people will know what to do. Spelling it out helps drive the point home, and this tactic is applicable to e-mail marketing, blogging, or even a sales landing page.

Example:

Call this number to get your information kit
Email me to request a quote
Click this link to receive a sample
Post a comment to tell me what you think

‘Click Here’ Inspires 8% More Action

How many times do you write a great post with a fistful of benefits that intrigues your readers but forget to tell customers what exactly they should do next?

It’s important to outline your purpose: Spell out what action they should take to get the desired result. Why? Because it’s a direct request. If you want someone to shut a door, you don’t say, “The door is open,” you say “Close the door.” So why not apply this to your writing and marketing?

Your online marketing content should make it as easy as possible for them to get what they want. In fact a study showed that using the term “Click here” and “Click this link” inspires 8 percent more actions that a regular link, click here to read the entire post.

Stick to One Request

Sure, your readers can probably email, IM, tweet, Facebook, snail mail and call you, but telling them to do all that might just overwhelm them and water down your campaign’s impact.

Keep it simple, ask them to do one thing such as fill out a contact form, and you will get in touch. It can feel a little odd to give them just an option or two, because you would really respond to any form of contact but in the end a simple request is the key to inspiring action. It is simple, do this to get that.

Have a question about direct marketing or Internet marketing efforts? Click this link to contact me and get answers.

Image credit: Flickr –Kate Dreyer

Content marketing

5 Basics to Online Writing That Wows Your Readers

This post is part of a series that will get published very Monday on Content marketing or Blogging, subscribe to this blog to receive your daily copy of helpful small business online marketing strategies.

Online users have short attention spans, and no one wants to create content that gets looked over; so mastering these basics can make your online marketing campaign sizzle.

The beauty of these guidelines is that they can help you sell or gain attention anywhere from websites, to blog posts, to newsletters and email marketing campaigns. So whatever online marketing strategy that’s in place for your small business these tips can help inject the wow factor into your material.

1. Crappy Headlines Means Crappy Content

What’s in a name? Well when it comes to online writing everything.

Attention spans are at a premium these days, and your content faces tough competition to get your reader’s interest. So, have a promise in your headline that your writing will deliver. Find a way to communicate the benefit by spelling out what your audience will gain from reading your material (Answer this question for your readers: What’s in it for me?)

It helps to write your headline first, because it helps set an expectation for your post from the get-go. This strategy also helps narrow your focus in your writing and editing stage.

The art of writing great headlines can be mastered by applying a few basic formulas that you might have already come across. Next time you are waiting in line at the grocery store, gloss over the magazine racks and note the titles that get your attention. You might just notice a few formulas that get reused over and over, check out this great post on Copyblogger to find out what they are.

2. Sub-Titles are your friend

And not just sub-titles, but bullet points as well. These help break up your writing into smaller chunks, allowing some white space and making it easier for your readers to navigate. Avoid long blocks of text because even at a glance this can seem intimidating and too much work for your readers to wade through. Use your formatting skills to highlight important points, so that they are easier to spot and pick up on.

3. Can the “Average Joe” understand you?

Ever had to read a scientific or academic paper? They are a pain, and not very popular outside the academic community. If your online marketing efforts are targeting a wide audience, then great writing means that anyone can pick up your material and read it.

You may an expert in your field, but unless you are writing for a very specify (read: narrow) audience with a lot of knowledge in your line of business, then you ought to keep it simple and avoid using acronyms, and overly complex words.

4. Keep It Short and sweet

Putting out 5 pages of great material is not going to help your marketing strategy, when you can cut it down and save everyone’s time. Really try to get to the point in as interesting and few words as possible. If 2 sentences can get your point across instead of 5, trim it. Give your writing a 5 minute or 10 minute reading test is, it digestible? Maybe you need to simplify it, or narrow your focus.

If you really have some information that you think needs to be broken down in more than a page or two, then consider having a downloadable PDF that your reader can refer to and a short blurb about why you think its important. An even better strategy is to have it link to an e-mail subscription to receive your newsletters, that way you earn more subscribers for your mailing list, and your e-mail campaigns get a few more eye-balls.

5. Use some basic SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

If you want your content to rank better than making it search engine friendly is important.

What I like to do with each post is write freely then go back and review ways that I can use some keywords to make it search engine friendly. SEO is a must-have if you are hoping to get more search engine traffic. A great way to get started in learning about it is through this free guide by SEOmoz.

The point to remember here is you write for humans, not robots. So don’t get too wrapped up in technicalities and forget your readers.

Internet and content marketing is really cool because through a little time, patience and marketing tactic you can build a loyal audience that cares about what you have to say.

And that’s it, 5 basics!

If this all seems a little too much to chew, perhaps you could benefit from more one-on-one coaching and tutorials, click here to contact me to find out how we can make this work.

Image credit: Flickr Mohammed Alnaser

Daisy Quaker is a freelance internet marketing consultant, specializing in social media strategy, content marketing, e-mail marketing and internet marketing strategy. In her spare time she writes a personal style blog. Find her on Twitter and Google+ and tell her what strategies work for your business.