Effective Marketing Content Makes It Achievable

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“To succeed with a decision-maker, the person proposing a change needs to demonstrate that the plan is achievable,” Garett Mintz writes in the Indianapolis Business Journal. If you’re in business development, you need to position yourself in a way that demonstrates you are the low-risk option, he explains – not necessarily in terms of costs, but in terms of the buyer’s time and reputation.  In “de-risking” the option you’re offering, Mintz suggests the following formula:

Proximity + Follow-through = Trust

Proximity through frequency

There’s a lot of wisdom here for online content marketers, I couldn’t help thinking. For example, in order to achieve “proximity”, Mintz says, the more time a business development professional can spend with a prospect, the more rapport and connection will be built. When it comes to online “pull marketing”, we know at Say It For You, proximity is achieved through frequency of posting new content.

The issue we find so often (and this has not changed in the seventeen years I’ve been the business of creating content) is that, even knowing that winning search and driving business to the website involves frequency of posting content, the majority of business and practice owners simply cannot spare the time – or maintain the discipline – of researching, creating and posting content frequently enough to make a substantial difference in their marketing results.

Proximity through recency

As we work with the owners of businesses or professional practices, we always stress how important it is to use the blog to provide information – especially new information – related to their field. Whatever the nature of their business or professional practice, we always advise using the blog to provide that kind of new information.

Couldn’t online searchers find more complete and authoritative sources of information, some ask?  Certainly, is my response. but readers need you to help them make sense of the information. And, the very fact that you’re posting new content frequently demonstrates that you’re maintaining “proximity” to what’s going on around you and in your profession or business area.

De-risking through content

Since, as Mintz so strongly emphasized, buyers are protective of their own time, content consisting of case studies, anecdotes, and testimonials (showing how your product or service saved valuable time) are important in building trust. In another sense, de-risking through content involves “de-bunking” of prospects’ unfounded fears and biases. By offering content in the form of “guiding principles”, you can allow prospects to move forward.

To succeed in our content marketing efforts, we need to demonstrate that the plan is achievable!

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Aiming Content at Aspirational Appeal

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“Leaders must foster empathy – a deep understanding f the customers’ needs, emotions, and aspirations,” Ali Safaraz, CEO of Pathway Group advises in Britain’s The Business Influencer  Magazine. Knowledge of those aspirations must drive your approach, he explains.

Joel Swenson, writing in the July/August issue of Success Magazine, echoes that advice when it comes to making decisions about incorporating AI. In “Choose Wisely”, Swanson says that not only is it important to decide what data will be used in the decision-making process and how results will be tested, but also to understand the “aspiration”. In other words, what will “success” look like?

“An aspirational goal imagines what could be possible for your organization if there were no limits,” hypergrowthmarketer.com explains. “Even if unmet, aspirational goals can result in incredible achievements.”

To reify is to make something abstract more concrete or real, and, as authors Chevette Alston and Lesley Chapel explain in study.com, reification can turn language abstractions into tangible understanding. One of the challenges we face as content marketers is explaining abstract concepts in the right way. In fact, doing just that makes the difference between business success and business failure.

Over the years of creating content for Say It For You clients, I’ve come to realize, while we’re writing about very real products and services, describing those, not in the abstract, but in a very real sense, we can go “further and deeper”, aiming for the aspirational, introducing possibilities for utility and wellness readers hadn’t ever considered.

What I believe content writing is really about, I explain to business and practice owners, is providing those who find your site with a taste of what it would be like to have you working alongside them to help with their challenges and issues. You want to broaden their field of vision for what can be accomplished, given the right tools and the right advice.

Content marketing can be more, much more, when content is aimed at aspirational appeal.

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Stepping Out of Character in Your Content

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When the characters in a story seem to act against their own nature, Tiffany Yates Martin advises fiction writes in Writers’ Digest, that can feel jarring to readers, but it can also create interest. The author needs to lay the groundwork so that the character’s later actions will seem plausible, perhaps describing external forces that compel unusual action later on. The concept, as Martin goes on to clarify, is that, properly handled, unexpected and complex twists to a narrative can surprise and delight readers.

While, as content writers for business owners and practitioners marketing their products and services, we deal in fact rather than fiction, I believe that the Writer’s Digest “stepping-out-of-character” model can prove highly effective in capturing blog readers’ interest.

There are a number of companies that exemplify the unexpected by having two totally unrelated business lines, such as:

  • Chemed (hospice care) and Roto Rooter (plumbing)
  • Elxsi (sewer equipment and family restaurants)
  • Guiness (beer and recordkeeping)
  • Yamaha (musical instruments and motorcycles)

Diversification like that can be used as a defense, the Corporate Finance Institute explains. “In the case of a cash cow in a slow-growing market, diversification allows the company to make use of surplus cash flows.”

More to my original point, though, as Julie Thompson explains in business.com, business and professional practice owners often have a variety of hobbies, and interests, and interests. Building content around those interests (perhaps unrelated to the business or practice itself can make for refreshingly unexpected reading for searchers who land on the blog.

Another kind of “unexpected”‘ content focus can be charitable causes favored by the owner’s favorite charitable and community activities. But “the way you go about marketing your charitable efforts can either boost or tarnish your company’s public relations,” Thompson cautions, because there needs to be real commitment, not just lip service on the part of the business owner or practitioner. Still, the more unrelated to the type of business or practice the charitable “cause” appears to be, the more that “unexpecteness” factor will come into play…

Just as some of the most successful businesses represent new twists on old ideas and products, as content writers, we sometimes need to step out of character. surprising and delighting readers with a “twist”!

 

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Transform Into a Marketing Maven: the Art of Handling Your Own Business Marketing

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(image via Pexels)

Today’s guest post was contributed by Claire Wentz, creator of Caring From Afar. Through her writing, Claire hopes to inform caregivers, offering them peace of mind. Here Claire shares valuable marketing  insights..

In today’s competitive business landscape, mastering the art of handling your own business marketing is crucial. As a business owner, you know that effective  promotion of your products or services can significantly boost your reach and profitability. This guide equips you with the essential steps to take charge of your marketing and transform into a self-sufficient marketing force. By adopting these strategies, you ensure your business not only survives but thrives in the market.

Revisit Your Current Marketing Strategy

The first step in handling your own business marketing is to thoroughly assess and revisit your current marketing strategy. What tactics have been effective? What hasn’t worked as well as you hoped? This initial audit will help you identify the successful elements that you can build upon and the areas where you need innovation. By understanding your past performance, you can make smarter decisions moving forward, ensuring that every marketing dollar counts.

Elevate Your Expertise Through Education

Consider enhancing your expertise by going back to school for a business degree to sharpen your business and marketing skills. Earning a degree in marketing, business, communications, or management equips you with valuable skills that boost your business’s performance. These programs cover essential aspects such as strategic planning, customer engagement, and effective communication. Online degree programs offer the flexibility to continue managing your business without disruption.

Identify and Understand Your Target Market

Effective marketing starts with a crystal-clear understanding of your target market. Delve deep into identifying who your ideal customers are — their needs, preferences, and purchasing behaviors. This focus allows you to tailor your marketing strategies directly to the people most likely to buy from you, increasing your efficiency and effectiveness. Use tools such as customer interviews, surveys, and demographic research to gather this vital information, making your marketing efforts more focused and impactful.

Refine Your Marketing Message

Once you know who you are targeting, refining your marketing message is the next crucial step in handling your own business marketing. Your message should clearly articulate the value your product or service offers, tailored to resonate with your target audience. It should be compelling, concise, and consistently reflect your brand’s voice across all platforms. This consistency not only reinforces your brand identity but also strengthens your relationship with your customers, making your business a preferred choice.

Evaluate and Adapt Your Marketing Channels

In handling your own business marketing, it’s essential to constantly evaluate and possibly adapt the marketing channels you use. Whether it’s social media, email marketing, content marketing, or print advertising, each channel offers unique benefits and reaches different segments of your audience. Stay open to exploring new avenues and technologies that can connect you to your target market more effectively. Regularly analyzing the performance of each channel will help you optimize your strategy and allocate resources to the most productive tactics.

Track and Measure Marketing Effectiveness

A key pillar of handling your own business marketing is to track and measure the effectiveness of your efforts. Implement tools and techniques to monitor the outcomes of your marketing activities. Metrics such as conversion rates, website traffic, and customer engagement levels are invaluable in understanding what’s working and what’s not. This ongoing analysis not only helps in fine-tuning your marketing strategies but also ensures that you are getting the best return on your investment.

Handling your own business marketing is a dynamic and rewarding endeavor that requires continuous learning, strategic thinking, and proactive adaptation. By revisiting your current strategy, enhancing your skills through education, zeroing in on your target market, refining your message, reassessing your marketing channels, and tracking your effectiveness, you can turn your business into a marketing powerhouse. Embrace these strategies, and watch your business grow as you expertly manage your marketing in-house.

 

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The Best Way To Make It Personal

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“All the time I’m preparing my outlines,” John Maxwell teaches public speakers in his book, The 16 Undeniable Laws of Communication, “I’m asking myself three questions:

  1. How can I make it special?
  2. How can I make it personal?
  3. How can I make it practical?

The best way to “make it personal,” Maxwell advises, is “to pair what they do know with what they don’t know.” The first part involves “know-your-audience” preparation, the author cautions: the organizational culture of the group, their personal experiences, even their national origin..The “what they don’t know” part describes the insights you’re communicating about that already acquired knowledge.

Maxwell’s advising speakers, but in creating marketing content, the very same principles apply. The secret is knowing what your particular target audience already knows and how they (not the average person, but specifically “they*) will be likely to react or feel about your approach to the subject at hand.

For example, while you may point out that your product or service can do something your competitors can’t, that particular “advantage” may or may not be what your target readers are likely to value. For example, even if your readers are money-motivated, are they cost-conscious or might they prize luxury and exclusivity?  Yes, while building content, it’s important to consider not only age, gender, and nationality, but where those target readers “hang out”, what they read and watch, and what they’re saying on social media.

“Chunking refers to the strategy of breaking down information into bite-sized pieces so the brain can more easily digest new information,” explains e-learning coach Connie Malamed. “The reason the brain needs this assistance is because working memory, which is where we manipulate information, holds a limited amount of information at one time.”  Again, pairing information with which your audience is already familiar, then adding a different “spin” or new way to consider – and make use of – that information, offers a “pathway” for communication between the content creator and the consumers of that content.

 

Part of content marketing’s inherent challenge is that the information offered needs to be highly relevant to readers’ search queries.  How can we sustain content writing over long periods of time, yet avoid dishing up same-old, same-old? Maxwell’s two-part “make it personal” secret is the operative one:

  • Establish common ground, confirming to readers they’ve come to the right place to find the products, services, and information they need, and that the people in this company or practice are knowledgeable and passionate.
  • Offer lesser-known information, adding a layer of “new” to themes you covered in former posts, or perhaps a new insight you’ve gained about that existing information.

 

 

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