Consumer wants and needs are what make the business world spin. However, in a world of high tech services, do-not-call lists, and spam boxes, how do you reach out to those ideal clients?
Billboards cost a small fortune; who has the time to spend cold calling people who show no interest in what you have to say? Television advertising with some cheesy slogan insinuating you are, “The King or Queen” dressed in a silly outfit and crown on your head are not appealing. Not to mention more than likely overlooked, thanks to DVR and the amazing skip button on the remote control.
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An alternative exists to save yourself and your firm time and money for overcoming marketing challenges of today.
Content Marketing
This marketing technique is a great way to reach out to leads that have a much higher chance of conversion.
Content marketing involves creating and sharing content specifically for viewers that are searching for someone with your firm’s expertise.
Information presented in a variety of formats:
News feeds Videos
E-Books Blogs
Infographics Q&A articles
How-to-Guide Photos
You might have also heard content marketing called internet marketing. All are ways to reach out to hundreds of thousands of possible clients and even previous clients.
Content Strategy
Planning, development, and management of content are key to the creation of GREAT content.
Your strategy should be to get the right content to the right client at the right time through strategic planning of your content creation, delivery, and authoritative.
You should strive to achieve readable, understandable, findable, actionable, and shareable content in any of the above forms. Share blogs and how-to-guides and watch how fast your leads start to become “qualified” leads.
The sole purpose of content strategy is achieving business goals by absolute maximum content impact. You want people to see you as the authority in your industry, ask questions, and contact you for help solving their needs and wants.
Right now, digital content has three key areas to help this all flow smoothly and professionally:
Texts – Photos - Videos
Text/Content
Content should be specific to your targeted persona. If you do not know who your persona is, this would be a great place to start. You have to know whom you are focusing on.
When creating remarkable content, you first have to understand your persona and their problem because your content should be solution-based.
A big “do not” in creating text/content that is right is creating this content as a solution and not selling your product/service.
Look at content as filling in the empty space of the intent. Everything you search for on the internet is content. Make it work and make it great.
According to Hubspot, “93% of B2B marketers use content marketing, but only 42% say that they are effective at it."
This is not acceptable and is a waste of a super resource for growing your firm’s client structure and increasing your profit margins.
The days of the pushy overzealous salesman are not effective, and who has the time to listen to that pre-arranged sales pitch?
Photos
I don’t mean those irritating selfies that people seem to so fond of taking, nor the photo of what you are eating for supper either.
Share photos on social media such as on office/firm business awards ceremony.
Photos of the office personnel out in the community serving meals on wheels, building a local playground, or even participating in habit for humanity are fantastic.
This gives your firm that human and personal appeal for your ideal clients to see that you are approachable. When clients, viewers, and prospective clients notice this, it makes them more willing to ask questions and ask for your help.
Videos
Use videos such as how-to videos and even webinars to share on your website and social media.
They do not have to be long, just a 5 minute or shorter video is perfect. You just want to catch the attention and spark interest.
You can even share through YouTube.com, Facebook, and other media outlets.
This is another great tool to help overcome some of the marketing challenges. This should relieve anxiety within the firm and help with those marketing blues. Try these suggestions - it should only take a few short hours a day with a substantial increase in your lead generation.
Photo credit goes to Flickr user Lemsipmatt
