An Overview of
Effective Content Marketing
Getting
information off the internet is like taking a drink from a fire hydrant lately,
it appears that quantity has truly saturated quality. As a whole, we have
evolved into companies who overlook the needs of our consumers and ignorantly
amble on with misguided attempts at marketing, wondering why our ROI is
suffering.
A survey of buyers recently demonstrated that 56% were dissatisfied with the experience of purchasing a product or service. It is apparent that there is a critical need for more engaging and customer relevant content, with 47% of the same test group advising they feel marketing materials often lacks breadth and depth. Consumers are indicating that they would like content more geared towards strategic analysis, and useful material that will help them to handle their responsibilities, as opposed to shameless attempts at the fast sale. The customers of today see the buying process as more than a knee jerk reaction to a marketing campaign; they look to build long lasting relationships with the companies they purchase from, to establish trust that they can garner information from you, and that you know your product, and you know how to value a client. Nobody wants to be just another line in another tally chart on another sales board.
Consumers are looking for new ideas, engaging and useable content, assistance in solving their problem and providing them with a solution. We live in the age where we need to share our expertise, demonstrate our knowledge of the products we sell, and help to build up prospects trust in our brands – if you don’t help them learn what they need to, then somebody else will. Don’t miss the opportunity to put yourself on their radar, and keep yourself there.
First of all you need to ask yourself “who are we really trying to engage?”
You need to learn how to profile your demographic and empathise with their position – quite often we forget that our clients aren’t furnished with the understanding of our industry, or our products and services. Think about the questions they may have, the concerns, doubts, and worries – then address these clearly and concisely. Be the comfort and reassurance they need, take them under your wing and guide them to an informed and logical choice by creating strong and deep worthwhile content, not some ten-a-penny recycled blog post.
It appears we often embrace the wrong marketing approach simply because it’s easier to mass produce; we churn out PR’s and blog posts daily even, but because of the notion we need to stay present at all times to be remain on the radar, we sacrifice quality for quantity. We need to focus on what our buyers want from us, and then create the most effective content we can for those we are wishing to engage.
Statistically, 61% of companies profiled are marketing blindly, unaware of their ROI or how to monitor this. In truth, it’s also abundantly clear that most companies are completely overlooking strategy in favour of mass producing marketing content – that is, they create daily content with no clear purpose or aim. The marketing never asks for anything or promotes a response or engagement; it simply exists just to exist.
A survey of buyers recently demonstrated that 56% were dissatisfied with the experience of purchasing a product or service. It is apparent that there is a critical need for more engaging and customer relevant content, with 47% of the same test group advising they feel marketing materials often lacks breadth and depth. Consumers are indicating that they would like content more geared towards strategic analysis, and useful material that will help them to handle their responsibilities, as opposed to shameless attempts at the fast sale. The customers of today see the buying process as more than a knee jerk reaction to a marketing campaign; they look to build long lasting relationships with the companies they purchase from, to establish trust that they can garner information from you, and that you know your product, and you know how to value a client. Nobody wants to be just another line in another tally chart on another sales board.
Consumers are looking for new ideas, engaging and useable content, assistance in solving their problem and providing them with a solution. We live in the age where we need to share our expertise, demonstrate our knowledge of the products we sell, and help to build up prospects trust in our brands – if you don’t help them learn what they need to, then somebody else will. Don’t miss the opportunity to put yourself on their radar, and keep yourself there.
First of all you need to ask yourself “who are we really trying to engage?”
You need to learn how to profile your demographic and empathise with their position – quite often we forget that our clients aren’t furnished with the understanding of our industry, or our products and services. Think about the questions they may have, the concerns, doubts, and worries – then address these clearly and concisely. Be the comfort and reassurance they need, take them under your wing and guide them to an informed and logical choice by creating strong and deep worthwhile content, not some ten-a-penny recycled blog post.
It appears we often embrace the wrong marketing approach simply because it’s easier to mass produce; we churn out PR’s and blog posts daily even, but because of the notion we need to stay present at all times to be remain on the radar, we sacrifice quality for quantity. We need to focus on what our buyers want from us, and then create the most effective content we can for those we are wishing to engage.
Statistically, 61% of companies profiled are marketing blindly, unaware of their ROI or how to monitor this. In truth, it’s also abundantly clear that most companies are completely overlooking strategy in favour of mass producing marketing content – that is, they create daily content with no clear purpose or aim. The marketing never asks for anything or promotes a response or engagement; it simply exists just to exist.
Studies
show that the most effective content types are Case Studies, Whitepapers, and
Videos – that being said, 2000 views on your video is all fine and dandy – but
now what? How do you convert that interest into desire and action? Most of the
time it appears companies create more content and simply maintain awareness and
interest without escalating this and pushing for conversion. Other companies
completely skip the interest and desire, and just from awareness straight to
pushing for a sale. The social media funnel is a delicate balance and requires
careful nurturing of prospective clients.
It is difficult to maintain consistency when you churn out content just for the sake of keeping up appearances. Similarly, it is difficult to maintain consistency when there is no direct continuity across your marketing platforms. You need to learn congruency and create a solid marketing strategy across all platforms you utilise. There are three primary focuses, and you need to attend to each, equally on each platform.
Social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook are predominantly product focused and often abused for fast sales, shameless plugs, and brash blatant advertising. Websites are usually more refined, but tend to be company driven focusing on who the company are and establishing a brand presence. Blogs are then usually more customer focused, driving conversational content and encouraging interaction, engagement and Q/A. The problem becomes apparent when a client moves between mediums, there is an evident disconnect as there is no consistency between the content.
A common error when marketing is that of readability. 44% of buyers surveyed expressed concern at the ease of use for marketing – the content needs to be easy to digest, concise and legible – nothing will lose the attention of prospective buyers faster than reading you waffling on in technical jargon they don’t understand. It’s not your fault, you are so accustomed to the terminology in your area of expertise, it’s second nature to drop the words in conversation – this is where you need to be conscious of your demographic. Chances are that average Joe who works in MacDonalds doesn’t know about pixel based dynamic remarketing strategy.
Your content needs to be findable, shareable and engaging. A whopping 73% of buyers actively seek for ideas they can share and discuss. I’m not making this stuff up. Remember, people are busy, and they won’t have time to read everything you post… guess what? They’ll be even less inclined to make time when it’s mediocre content! If you post consistently strong and rich content, buyers will be more dedicated and interested in seeing what you have to say, even if it’s infrequent.
50%-80% of the buyers choice is made outside of contact with your Sales department – most buyers conduct their own research, involve their peers and refer to media reviews, and only then will they compile a shortlist of who to speak to for the sale itself. Create more content around helping buyers to find a solution, educate and inform them, be the one they can rely on. 90% of the buyers surveyed involved social media somewhere during the process – learn your demographics pipeline. Understand their consumption of content is critical for determining lead quality and sales transition.
You need to retain creativity as a differentiator – be original and unique, keep people engaged and on your wave length. If they like and trust you, they will buy from you. Create good content to keep them talking about you. Find content that will drive lead generation, before you need to find a new job instead.
It is difficult to maintain consistency when you churn out content just for the sake of keeping up appearances. Similarly, it is difficult to maintain consistency when there is no direct continuity across your marketing platforms. You need to learn congruency and create a solid marketing strategy across all platforms you utilise. There are three primary focuses, and you need to attend to each, equally on each platform.
Social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook are predominantly product focused and often abused for fast sales, shameless plugs, and brash blatant advertising. Websites are usually more refined, but tend to be company driven focusing on who the company are and establishing a brand presence. Blogs are then usually more customer focused, driving conversational content and encouraging interaction, engagement and Q/A. The problem becomes apparent when a client moves between mediums, there is an evident disconnect as there is no consistency between the content.
A common error when marketing is that of readability. 44% of buyers surveyed expressed concern at the ease of use for marketing – the content needs to be easy to digest, concise and legible – nothing will lose the attention of prospective buyers faster than reading you waffling on in technical jargon they don’t understand. It’s not your fault, you are so accustomed to the terminology in your area of expertise, it’s second nature to drop the words in conversation – this is where you need to be conscious of your demographic. Chances are that average Joe who works in MacDonalds doesn’t know about pixel based dynamic remarketing strategy.
Your content needs to be findable, shareable and engaging. A whopping 73% of buyers actively seek for ideas they can share and discuss. I’m not making this stuff up. Remember, people are busy, and they won’t have time to read everything you post… guess what? They’ll be even less inclined to make time when it’s mediocre content! If you post consistently strong and rich content, buyers will be more dedicated and interested in seeing what you have to say, even if it’s infrequent.
50%-80% of the buyers choice is made outside of contact with your Sales department – most buyers conduct their own research, involve their peers and refer to media reviews, and only then will they compile a shortlist of who to speak to for the sale itself. Create more content around helping buyers to find a solution, educate and inform them, be the one they can rely on. 90% of the buyers surveyed involved social media somewhere during the process – learn your demographics pipeline. Understand their consumption of content is critical for determining lead quality and sales transition.
You need to retain creativity as a differentiator – be original and unique, keep people engaged and on your wave length. If they like and trust you, they will buy from you. Create good content to keep them talking about you. Find content that will drive lead generation, before you need to find a new job instead.
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