Posted December 9th, 2010
Have you ever wondered how to create the momentum of influence in your business? Your brand will quickly increase influence in your market through a unified and compelling online presence. You will be respected by your customers and by your competition by publishing remarkable content with tremendous benefits.
What does this look like?
Well let’s consider what it looks like internally…
You first have a planning process in place that allows you to strategically create and publish usable content consistently. So, that you/your team don’t get overwhelmed and paralyzed in trying to do everything all at once. Your business flows more smoothly and you can focus on doing what you love!
Next, let’s take a gander at the external view…
Externally, prospects and customers will start to see you as a reliable resource. You will become, in their minds, the go-to-expert to get the information they need to make buying decisions and that includes buying from you! Additionally, your competition will be trying to keep up and marveling at how you can stay so on top of your game when it comes to produces engaging content. They’ll think you must have a Genie on your team or something **wink**.
Here are 5 Key Strategies to Creating Influence with Content:
- Listen to Your Audience: I love using surveys, polls and discussions to capture the true voice of your target audience. You can use this information as the basis to create new content that you know they will want since it came from their on words. For example an open ended survey or discussion question like, “What social networking automation programs do you use to help streamline your social media marketing activities?”, will provide content that you can use to create a multi-part article series on “Automating Your Social Media Marketing 101″. (feel free to use it if you like
).
- Toot Your Own Horn: Don’t be shy. Make sure your network knows if you are recognized for any award large or small as well as any interviews or guest invites you may get. It tells them you are a sought after expert that needs paying attention to.
- Create Reference Material: This is a great way to add value to your consumers. Create and eGuide (formerly known as ebook), whitepaper or report that provides golden nuggets of information your prospects can use and apply right away. It could be free or fee. They key is to ensure it is something your audience truly needs and not just “fluff” to get people to give up their email or cash to you. Also, another great thing to do is to embed worksheets and video tutorials to supplement your blog articles
- Make it a Series: This is perhaps my most favorite part of content marketing! by breaking up a meaty topic into a multi-part audio, blog or article, you can create content that naturally patterns your audience to hunger for what’s coming next. It will also provide you with a head start on producing other content for release. There is so much “win” with this strategy, it’s hard to list them all in this article, so maybe I’ll create a series on how to create a series…see how that works?
- Stay Visible and Exist to Solve Problems: The key is to stay active in the networks and forums you are a part of. The more they see you the more they will marry you to their mental Rolodex of people to contact when I get to point X or when I have the money to solve this problem or even better… now! This shows prospects that you are willing to help and guide and not just hammer them with offers and sales pitches. It communicates a genuine care to improve there lives and build a real relationship.
A gift that keeps on giving:
Having influence in your market provides you with powerful leverage. It’s a win win for your business and your consumers. So, take a little time to plan your content marketing strategy and you’ll be well on your way to gaining influence and winning customers.
The Next Gift in this Series…
Profitable Progress
Catch up on the Previous Gift in This Series…
Posted December 8th, 2010
Content marketing provides connections, relationships and friendships across the globe, on whatever platform available: Facebook, Linked-In, Twitter or on various forums.
What does this look like?
Its important to leverage your content in a way that brings people together around a common problem or cause. A great illustration would be to create a movement around a product or service offering.
Sheri McConnell, founder and CEO of The Smart Women’s Institute for Entrepreneurial Learning, recently published a book called “Smart Women Know Their WHY“(not an affiliate link!). Sheri’s book created a movement that mobilizes women around the lifestyle of living on purpose while creating a business that influences “positive change in the world”. What woman doesn’t want that, right?.
Here are 5 Key Strategies to Creating Community with Content:
- Identify your passion and step boldy into your voice. Don’t let the virtual thing fool you. Stepping out online is a scary thing. Remember when you were in school and you didn’t raise your hand because you wanted to wait for someone else to ask your question? There are hundreds and thousands of people who have the problem you exist to solve and there are just as many who also want to solve them. No one can say it or deliver it like you. And when you do, you will soon find people will be attracted to the integrity of your messaging.
- Create content that people can use. Think beyond articles and even videos. What can you add to make your content more sticky? Now more than ever, people need more than a great lesson, they need a way to practice and lock in what they learn. So, maybe create a workbook or blueprint that accompanies your article or video. This content marketing idea blueprint can help you get started.
- Use social media to engage more people. If you are struggling with knowing what to say in your social networking communications, you are not being YOU. Social media is simply an opportunity to connect and build of your core message. It allows you to break free from the salesy confines of your website and meet people where they play. So, if you are stuck, just be curious and get noticed by supporting the conversations of your ideal clients. It’s a great strategy for getting on their radar.
- Snyc your message to your offerings. Selling is the transfer of emotion. People make buying decisions based on emotion. Therefore, your marketing content should speak to the emotional senses of your audience. bring your personality to your marketing. Make if fun and relatable so a real connection can be made. Content Marketing isn’t about the hard sell. It’s about creating an atmosphere where prospects get to know, like and trust you without the wall of resistance. It is creating a relationship through providing content that they can apply to the problems in their lives.
The Gift that Keeps on Giving:
There are many more points to consider, but I think these give you a pretty good idea of how to get people to rally around your message. Creating a community gives you the added onus of Add value while being yourself and do so consistently, the people and profits will come!
The Next Gift in this Series…
Creates Influence (coming soon)
Catch up on the Previous Gift in This Series…
#01 Customer Intimacy
Posted December 7th, 2010
Marketing is all about knowing your customers. By being close to the customer’s hearts and knowing what their pains are, you can benefit by providing information in order to meet those needs. Don’t talk to them like a salesman delivering a sales pitch– always talk to your customers like they are your friends.
One of the most important gifts you can receive from implementing a Content Marketing Strategy in your online business is the gift of customer intimacy.
What is customer intimacy?
Wikipedia defines Customer Intimacy as, “a concept from marketing, which describes the ability of a supplier to become accepted and known as the regular partner with its customer.”
It essentially means that you and your customers develop a co-creator relationship in crafting the solutions you provide.
What does this look like?
Let’s say you create a survey/poll. Respondents that identify with your questions will complete your survey. You take the results and create a teleclass providing answers based on the results of your survey.
You asked them, they told you, and you created a custom fit solution that sells itself.
Whether the solution you offer is for free or fee, you will have successfully created a bond that will position you as someone to seek out when they need solutions.
Here are 5 Key Strategies to creating customer intimacy with content:
- Stop talking about your product/service and start educating your audience about how the features of your offerings help them become, better, smarter or more profitable.
- Use surveying tools to uncover the pains and challenges of your market.
- Find out what content vehicles your market prefers (i.e. written, audio, video).
- Make your content “sticky” by ensuring you always present relevant and usable content.
- Create a plan for incubating and producing solutions. This could be as simple as publishing a survey at the beginning of the month and re-purposing it as a solution by the end of the month. be sure to take into consideration the restraints on your time, financial and support resources.
The Gift that Keeps on Giving:
One of the by-products of getting your customer’s feedback in their own words is you can more easily speak their language when you are developing promotional content. We know that sometimes it can be difficult to get out of our own heads and speak to the heart of our prospects and clients.
Here are a few examples of ways you can use the feedback from your surveys:
- Create sales pages that capture their pains in their own words
- Create email campaigns that inspire clicks
- Create info products that provide the results they are looking for
- Create a blog that draws hot and ready leads
And I am sure there are tons more. Now that we’ve opened the gift of customer intimacy, let’s rip into the next package in this series…
Read Introduction….
The Next Gift in this Series…
Creates Community
Posted December 6th, 2010
Tis the season for some gift giving. But, make sure your business doesn’t get left out by giving your business the gift of content marketing.
Here’s the scoop…
Content marketing is Awesome! Why am I so in love with content marketing? Well, other than the fact that I am a complete “nerd”, it adds tremendous fire power to your business.
Many webpreneurs are intrigued by this form of marketing, but get turned off by the work up front. But, true success is in the plan, not in the fast trends that is so widely promoted these days. Web business owners have to embrace the fact that we’re all publishers of content. And ultimately, people who fight it eventually give in due to fatigue and poor results. Well written articles, cool video and convenient audios will create credibility and attract a diverse flow of hungry to buy prospects.
Content Marketing provides you with the gift of multiple assets with profit generating potential. My goal is to make every webpreneur fall in love with content marketing too! So, without further adieu…
Here are the twelve gifts of content marketing that every online business owner should be thankful for:
#01 Customer Intimacy
Every online marketer knows that marketing is all about knowing their customers. By being close to the customer’s hearts, and by knowing what they their pains and challenges are, you can gain an advantage by providing information that meet their needs. Don’t talk to them like a salesman delivering a sales pitch– always talk to your customers like they are your precious friend.
#02 Creates Community
A solid Content Marketing strategy helps you produce a message that rallies strong connections, relationships and friendships across the globe, on a variety of platforms: Facebook, Linked-In, Twitter and other forums. Let your prospects count the ways they love you!
#03 Builds Influence
Your brand will increase influence in your market through a unified and compelling online presence. You will be respected by your customers and by your competition by publishing remarkable content with tremendous benefits.
#04 Profitable Progress
At the end of the day, you want to sell—and you will be more successful when people can come to know like and trust your offerings. Content Marketing allows you to hop off the last minute marketing bus and onto the profitable progress train. You’ll be able to move forward instead of circling the wagon of un-profitability.
#05 Become an Author
Content marketing makes an author out of you! One of the cool things about working from a content marketing strategy is that it’s makes it easy to become an author. Because you are releasing a steady stream of content each month, you could have your book done in a year or less. To make it even easier, try to publish content around a central theme each month. That way, each month can represent a chapter. Twelve months equals twelve chapters. An attractive way content marketing can unleash the inner author in you and give you something you can leverage over and over again.
#06 Meaningful Communication
There is an art to communicating online. It’s not one sided, it’s a two way street! Consumers are in control of the messages they allow into their experience. That’s why it’s important to create a two way conversation with your audience. Show them how important their results are to you, not just how great your product/service is. If you can successfully communicate real meaning, you can make real money!
#07 Loyal Customers
Keep your customers by satisfying them. Provide truthful and helpful insights, tips and information. Constantly update by providing fresh and new content as often as possible. By doing so, your customers will come back again and again.
#08 Platform for Advocacy
Online marketing gives you a channel to broadcast your own thoughts and opinions regarding an issue. It’s a great avenue to voice and share your thoughts to others in order to influence and advocate causes you believe in.
#09 Focus and Purpose
Content marketing allows you to be focused on what your company intends to do. For instance, if you are selling dog food and supplies, focus on writing articles on dog care, food and maintenance. You no longer have to share knowledge on unrelated issues and topics.
#10Competitive Advantage
We are all content marketing. You’re either doing it blind or strategically. It takes planning. And since most webpreneurs aren’t fans of strategic planning, odds are, your competition isn’t using a content marketing strategy. This means you can really position yourself competitively and emerge as THE EXPERT in your industry.
#11 Become a blessing to others
You got in this business to improve or change the lives of your clients. Content Marketing gives you an opportunity to provide a preview of the value prospects can get when they become customers. Give them advice and guidance as a trusted authority and friend. Your influence will make them wiser in choosing products and doing things the right way.
#12 Work life balance
This is the stuff entrepreneurial dreams are made of! By planning and automating your content, you put yourself ahead of the marketing grind, so you can focus on the things in your life and business that matter most.
So, join me as we explore these Twelve Gifts of Content Marketing and their tremendous impact on your life and business.
The 1st Gift in this Series…
The Gift of Customer Intimacy
