Online Marketing for Local Business
Posts tagged content marketing
Content Marketing Matures to Cover Entire Buying Process
8 years
by jhaynes
in Uncategorized
When online content marketing first blew up, brands hopped onto the newly requisite bandwagon and published whatever online content they could muster up. Blogging became an absolute mainstay in online marketing. Websites were made-over with new, richer copy. And soon enough, content truly became king.
However, these early stages of the content marketing era were just that — early, rudimentary, and simple.
Today, just about one year after Google released the industry-changing Hummingbird update, businesses have begun mastering online content marketing. Rather than working feverishly to produce as many words as possible, content marketers are now working smarter and targeting online content to engage with customers throughout the entire buying decision process, guiding them down the sales funnel.
From need recognition to the initial search, all the way to post-purchase, savvy content marketers are covering all the bases. That means those who don’t will soon be left in the dust.
How to Cover All the Bases of Content Marketing
First, make sure you’re familiar with the buying decision process. There are five key steps:
- Need/problem recognition: Let’s say a window in my bedroom has broken. Suddenly, I have one of two needs. Either I need a professional installer to help me replace the window, or I know how to replace it and I simply need to purchase the new glass.
- Information search: Since I like to save money and do things myself, I want to purchase the new glass pane and install it myself. I need to search online to find out what I need to buy. I type into Google “how to replace bedroom window”.
- Evaluation of alternatives: I’ve done my research and I know what I need. Now I need to decide what product I will actually purchase, and who I will purchase it from. To decide, I’ll search for the product and compare different vendors.
- Purchase decision: I know what I want to buy and I’ve found the perfect online vendor. I’m ready to fill my shopping cart and enter my payment information. Hopefully, this will be an easy step, but I still haven’t looked at the shipping costs or tried to use the shopping cart. Hopefully, both fit my needs.
- Post-purchase behavior: My purchase from my preferred vendor went smoothly. I have the new glass and I’m ready to install it. First, however, I’m going to search online for an installation guide.
Creating Your Full-Coverage Content
Cover steps one and two in the buying decision process. In order to capture the attention of potential customers as soon as they enter the market for your product or service, you need to publish online content that answers their initial questions.
- Who manufactures the best glass?
- Who offers the best price on the glass I need?
- Which vendors offer quality customer service?
Next, your content marketing strategy should target the “evaluation” step in the buying process. Again, create content that answers the questions your customers are asking at this critical stage.
- How does one replace a bedroom window?
- Am I capable of doing this myself? If so, can you give me the basic instructions? If not, what should I do?
Finally, don’t forget to address your customers’ post-purchase needs. By providing a an installation guide, for example, you can outshine your competitors and keep customers coming back to you. Cover the entire buying process, and you’ll have a hook-line-sinker content marketing strategy to boost your business well beyond the publishing date.
What’s Next For Content Marketing
Plain and simple, content marketing aims to answer customers’ questions before they even think to ask. Businesses have to anticipate what type of information will attract their target market to their product or service.
Consequently, content marketing will continue to grow more sophisticated. It is a staple of online business. So what’s next? It’s sensible to expect that King Content will really cozy up to Big Data. How, of course, has yet to be seen!
If you want to learn more about advanced content marketing strategies, please don’t hesitate to contact Hat Trick Associates. Our content marketing experts specialize in helping businesses achieve their online marketing goals. Give us a call anytime at (314) 494-3494 or email Jim Haynes at jhaynes@hattrickassociates.com.
Boost Content Marketing ROI by Giving Away Secrets
10 years
by jhaynes
in Uncategorized
When developing a content marketing strategy for your business, one of the biggest mistakes you can make is to shy away from publishing so-called trade or company secrets. Although you may assume your company’s proprietary information should remain private, divulging “secret” information is in fact one key way you can effectively boost your content marketing ROI.
This is because content marketing works to serve a specific purpose – building trust between your company and target audience. When you provide a reader with unique and actionable information, that reader has little choice but to believe you are an exceptional industry expert.
You can effectively reach beyond the realm of best-deal shoppers, and enter the coveted land of customer trust and loyalty.
Walking The Line
Of course, there is a fine line to walk between sharing uniquely valuable information and giving away your edge. For example, the Bush Beans company probably shouldn’t give away that secret family recipe their TV commercials are always talking about. But when people are online, they’re looking for information, and a good content marketing strategy needs to focus on supplying that information.
Giving away secrets is the secret ingredient in the recipe for positive content marketing ROI. Bush may be protecting the secret family baked bean recipe, but the company still gives consumers what they want. The Bush Beans website offers a variety of helpful information, ranging from “Kid-Approved Recipes” to nutritional information about beans. The company has developed a solid foundation for a positive content marketing ROI. Your business can do it too.
How to Boost Content Marketing ROI with Secrets
Creating truly effective content for online marketing is no easy task. It takes time, and as the old adage goes, time is money. Consequently, in order to achieve a positive content marketing ROI, your business must invest in quality content and avoid wasting time on fluff.
Churning out words and posting them online isn’t enough to convert readers into customers. The words must be exceptionally valuable.
1. The first step when developing a content marketing strategy that shares valuable secrets is to set aside fear. Don’t be afraid your competitors will steal your mojo. They have their own secrets, and they likely have many of the same secrets that you do.
Also, don’t be afraid your customers will become do-it-yourself practitioners if you give them instructions. If they want to do something themselves, they will – with or without you. If they don’t, your transparency and expertise can help you build enough trust so that they choose your institution to do it for them.
2. The next step is to determine what your target market needs to know about your industry and/or your product/service. More importantly, find out what they need to know that hasn’t already been beaten like a dead horse by other content marketers.
Basically, you need to have the guts to answer the questions that your competitors haven’t already answered. Give away advice. Show your target market that you get it, that you care, and that you’re here to make even the most complex practices seem simple.
3. The third step is to put it all out there. Choose to answer a unique question about your industry and give it all you got. Go in-depth. Take your time. Get into the nitty gritty. A detailed how-to guide or a well-researched white paper will present more value to your potential customers than a fluffy blog post could any day. (Does this qualify as fluffy?)
Content Marketing ROI Boost for Your Industry
If you are ready to provide real value to your target market and build a solid foundation for positive content marketing ROI, consider making sure to publish these three key pieces of online marketing content:
- Industry FAQ – Gather a list of basic questions that newcomers ask, and answer them in a FAQ page on your website or blog.
- Education – Give your target market educational information on their essential concerns regarding your industry and your product/service.
- Benefits of Your Service or Product – Publish a piece of content that not only explains the generic benefits a using your product or service, but also the benefits of getting them from YOUR business.
Achieving a positive content marketing ROI can be quite a challenge, but success comes more easily when you focus on creating valuable content, instead of merely lots of content. Give up secrets. Get transparent. Get real with customers, and persuade them to get real with you.
If you need help creating content for your business, Hat Trick Associates is ready for you. We specialize in content marketing, and we are prepared to show you how your own trade secrets can be utilized to boost your content marketing ROI. Contact us today by calling (314) 494-3494 or by emailing Jim Haynes at jhaynes@hattrickassociates.com.