Is Your Marketing and Social Media Paying Off?
Add Muscle to Your Business Through Content
Competition is fierce in today's market for just about every business. You’re not only competing with local businesses and big box stores anymore, now you need to compete online with businesses selling to your client base from half a world away.
If you’re not trying to get in front of your client online, you’re missing a huge opportunity. Not only that, but you run the risk of someone else stealing that customer from under your nose.
But how can you do more to cater to an online community outside of your website and online advertisements? Content Marketing.
Providing valuable content online is one of the best ways to see organic growth for your business. Blogs, articles, videos, pictures, how-to’s, music, you name it. It’s all content, and it’s all being consumed by millions of people by the minute.
So how can you use content to pump up your business?
Validate Your Mastery
Don’t think that you need to be a savvy, internet based business to utilize fresh and informative content. In fact, just about any business can use content to validate their mastery over the subject of their work.
For example, let’s say you sell heat pumps. Creating reviews on products, tips on keeping your home energy efficient, or even how-to videos on cleaning and maintenance is going to prove to customers that you know your stuff.
Plus, if a homeowner has watched and shared your video on “How to Properly Clean a Heat Pump” 3-4 times per year, when they need professional maintenance, your business will likely be the first that comes to mind.
Remember, creating content isn’t about selling. Creating content should be about providing expertise to people who need it, and through that, providing people the confidence they need in you to become a customer for life.
Build Trust Through Value
Much like validating your competence, creating content is about providing value to followers, plus current and future customers alike. Once a buyer is confident that your business can provide them with value, and help them solve their problems, they will trust your brand and have no issues with becoming a customer.
Too many businesses assume that the online buying process works like this: Post Content > People Click/Share/Like > People Buy Products. Unfortunately for them, that isn’t how things work.
The intent of content isn’t to convert people into customers through their first visit to a blog, or from them simply following a social media account. The intent of creating content should be to get people familiar with your business, nourish a relationship, and build trust.
This makes the buying process look a little more like this: Post content > If people like it, they might share it and remember it > They recognize more of your content in the future > A relationship and trust is built > When they need your product, they buy.
If you can create the proper expectation that you’re an expert who can be trusted, you’re more likely to win more customers and earn more sales.
Make Social Media Pay Off
If you already have a social media presence, then good for you, you’re making the right moves for your business. If not, it’s time to take full advantage of today’s smartphone culture. Your customers are on social media every day, so you need to be right there for them when they need you.
But having social media accounts for your business is futile if you’re not letting them work for you. Using social media to show off who you are and the things you’re doing is great for personal accounts, but for business, it needs to be all about your customer.
What you don’t want is all of your posts forcing people to Google your business. You also don’t want your posts sending customers to the same landing page on your website again and again and again.
Post content that keeps you engaged with your customer and provides them with answers and insights right at their fingertips.
Fresh content provides life beyond your social media posts. It not only gives people a reason to click through links, it encourages them that there will always be something new of value to them with every post.
Through social media, people can now share things easily, and be a part of amplifying your content to help you grow your following and your customer base.
Learn About What Your Customer (and Future Customer) Wants
Just slapping a blog on your website and waiting for the customers to roll in doesn’t work. As important as content is, it’s equally important to monitor and track how it’s performing and who is following it.
Metrics and analytics allow you to track views, shares, click through, etc. Use this information to discover what content your followers like and share the most.
Let’s say I run a bakery, and I post an article about how to toast bread. We’ll assume this article gets very few likes or shares. That tells me that people already know how to toast bread, and that if this is the type of content I’m going to provide, I’m most likely wasting my time.
Next, I post an article about how to turn my bread into the greatest French toast in existence. The article is getting a high volume of likes and shares, suggesting that I’ve hit a cord with my followers. Now I know that I can post more articles like this, because my followers are telling me (through likes, and shares, and comments, and views) that I’m providing value.
Try new things with your content, listen to your customers and the metrics that come with them, and let that help you build a road map for success.
Your customers are spending a lot of their time online. There’s an endless supply of content at their fingertips, and understanding how to provide the content that will stand out is a massive step up over your competition. By improving your content strategy, you improve your brand and your opportunity for success.
Click here to email us, and start the conversation on discovering the potential your website has on improving your business
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Mike Ross is the Content Creator for 902 Advertising Group and is part of a dedicated team helping businesses improve their brand through Content Marketing.
