Abridged with the author’s permission from his blog.
“Our customers don’t pay attention to content, so why should we pay for someone to create it for our business?”
Believe it or not, I heard this statement a few weeks ago from a company I interviewed. They didn’t believe content was worth focusing on as an element in their marketing mix.
Well, according to eMarketer, 73 percent of businesses rely on their own, branded content, and 41 percent make use of user-generated content and/or reviews. Content shouldn’t be an afterthought or something business can ignore — it’s an important piece of any company’s strategy.
If you need to convince someone, here are three benefits of content in any company’s marketing mix.
Content Marketing Helps You Make a Personal Connection
Many businesses I talk to say they don’t need help with content. Why not? The reasons they give include:
- “We can just write something about ourselves and it will work.”
- “Our customers don’t really read much anyway.”
Wow. It’s funny to hear things like this.
According to research from the Custom Content Council:
- 68 percent of consumers like custom content because it’s tailored to their interests
- 55 percent said they would be more apt to buy another product from a company who provides them with custom content.
Content not important? I think not.
Content Marketing Helps Prospects Find Your Business
Usually, when a savvy buyer has a problem, they “Google it” to find a solution, right? So for a business looking to increase its rankings and become more visible to potential customers, quality search content is key. Consider these suggestions:
- Creating and regularly updating a blog
- Writing articles for online trade publications
- Writing guest posts for established blogs
- Creating presentations that solve a problem and posting them on sites like SlideShare.net
- Publishing an email newsletter online through social sharing services
Content Marketing Closes the Deal
As prospects go through each stage of the buying cycle, they need content that’s right for each stage. This includes the end stage, or “closing the deal.”
For instance, how would a prospect know your product or service is in their range, or what other customers say about your business?
- Look at writing case studies and white papers and posting them to your website in PDF form
- Add content available online and at in-person events such as seminars or conferences
- Create ROI calculators to show prospects their return on investment
- Create pricing guides highlighting your “sweet spot” offers
Content is everywhere, and learning how to effectively use it in your marketing mix will only benefit your business. So, don’t skimp on the content — use it, and use it wisely, before your competition beats you to it.
George Passwater enjoys helping businesses succeed with online marketing strategies. You can find him blogging at georgepasswater.com or sending out online marketing tips in his marketing email newsletter.
* Audience research and strategic planning
* Design
* Framing content in print and on the Web
* Industry trends
* Management of a publications enterprise
* Marketing and promotion
* Persuasion
* Presentations and meeting coverage
* Technologies for publications and Web content
* Writing and Editing
Get the Best from Your Copywriter
Reprinted with the author’s permission from the Big Star Copywriting blog.
It is a common misconception that once you work with a copywriter or copywriting agency, you lose all control of the words and the message.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Here are a few tips to help you feel more in control of the process.
Begin with a brief
Whether it’s your first or fiftieth project with a copywriter, beginning with a solid brief is a sure way to get your points across and to keep the writer focused. A good brief will tell the writer what you want to talk about and will outline who it is for.
It is the copywriter’s job to craft the copy for that target audience; to translate the ‘what’ of the brief into the persuasive language that convinces an interested person to take action and buy your product or service, or sign up for your report.
A good brief:
Ask for an early draft
As a copywriting agency, we routinely produce a first draft of one or two passages or web pages to establish the tone and direction before we run off and produce the whole project.
This helps us as copywriters to know if we’re getting closer to what you envisioned for the project. It also helps you to provide early input into the messages and into the direction of the piece as a whole, before everything is written.
This really does save time for everyone in the end, so don’t be shy about asking to see something early on.
Explain your thoughts and ideas, instead of using ‘track changes’
Rewriting someone else’s work provides very little value to the relationship and it doesn’t help the copywriter to understand why you have a particular piece of feedback.
Explaining to your copywriter why he can’t use a certain turn of phrase, or why you don’t like a particular passage is the most effective way to have input on the writing.
Professional copywriters know how to take your explanations and apply them to the passage you indicated as well as the remainder of the whole project.
When you allow your copywriter to know the boundaries like this and to understand your way of thinking, you are giving a professional the freedom to work his or her magic, and you are creating a relationship that will ensure you get what you need from your writer – their best.
Steve Kellas is with Big Star Copywriting.
Three Ways Content Marketing Benefits Your Business
Abridged with the author’s permission from his blog.
“Our customers don’t pay attention to content, so why should we pay for someone to create it for our business?”
Believe it or not, I heard this statement a few weeks ago from a company I interviewed. They didn’t believe content was worth focusing on as an element in their marketing mix.
Well, according to eMarketer, 73 percent of businesses rely on their own, branded content, and 41 percent make use of user-generated content and/or reviews. Content shouldn’t be an afterthought or something business can ignore — it’s an important piece of any company’s strategy.
If you need to convince someone, here are three benefits of content in any company’s marketing mix.
Content Marketing Helps You Make a Personal Connection
Many businesses I talk to say they don’t need help with content. Why not? The reasons they give include:
Wow. It’s funny to hear things like this.
According to research from the Custom Content Council:
Content not important? I think not.
Content Marketing Helps Prospects Find Your Business
Usually, when a savvy buyer has a problem, they “Google it” to find a solution, right? So for a business looking to increase its rankings and become more visible to potential customers, quality search content is key. Consider these suggestions:
Content Marketing Closes the Deal
As prospects go through each stage of the buying cycle, they need content that’s right for each stage. This includes the end stage, or “closing the deal.”
For instance, how would a prospect know your product or service is in their range, or what other customers say about your business?
Content is everywhere, and learning how to effectively use it in your marketing mix will only benefit your business. So, don’t skimp on the content — use it, and use it wisely, before your competition beats you to it.
George Passwater enjoys helping businesses succeed with online marketing strategies. You can find him blogging at georgepasswater.com or sending out online marketing tips in his marketing email newsletter.