Looking for some proven content marketing tips?…. I see more and more people getting totally confused when it comes to building a brand and a business, in terms of what platforms they should use and what they should do first. They literally don’t know where to start and if ‘they’ is YOU, well this article is going to help you overcome that issue and start moving forward.
Firstly, I feel your pain, honestly, I do… When I first started out in business the internet was nothing but a seedling trying to break through the top level of soil and to continue the analogy, today it is more like a mighty oak tree. Back in those days, people didn’t trust the internet to make purchases and we were all trying to get to grips with unreliable and incredibly slow dial-up modem connections. So using traditional old school offline strategies was all that we really had available to us and back then and because of the competition, it was expensive and hard work.
Point is, times have changed…
When I started out the internet was an afterthought (if you thought about it at all), whereas now, if the internet was a footballer, it would be the first name on the team sheet and in all probability, your captain too!
It has become the axis for everything you do for your business that is marketing and branding related.
But that’s not to say that offline strategies don’t work anymore, because they most certainly do. In some cases, they have become more effective because the competition has become far less aggressive as more and more people see the internet as ‘proverbial holy grail’ for their business marketing.
So I get the confusion and overwhelm of figuring out exactly what is best for your business and I’ll do my best to break down the options as simply as possible here and, I’ll give you my best recommendations for moving your business forward with a balanced and effective marketing strategy.
Let me stress though, that if you are struggling with this stuff right now, it’s not your fault and you’re most certainly not alone.
Suffice to say, it doesn’t matter what incredible systems you have in place to follow up and nurture your prospects if you have no lead flow, it’s not going to do anything for you.
So this article is dedicated to helping you start getting the lead flow that you need to grow the business that I know you want for you, and that I want for you.
I am also going to spend some time on the conversion part of the ‘ business success equation’ which also needs to be in place if you are to succeed where so many other business owners fail.
Let me ask you… What’s worse than not generating any leads for your business?
Answer: Generating lots of leads and not converting them!
Why? Because you are wasting money on marketing to create leads that you aren’t converting. You could be using that money somewhere else, like a nice holiday in the sun with your family!
I am not going to cover every social media platform or every strategy and tactic known to man for two reasons.
- If I give you too much at once, you won’t do anything!
- You need to pick your strategy and platform and focus.
So, let’s talk about item number 1 first.
Overwhelm will steal your dreams and ace your future and that’s why you must avoid trying to take on too much too soon. It’s much better to advance one step at a time and maintain momentum in the right direction, than it is to fire out of the blocks, trying to do everything from the start and burning out before the finish line.
Ever heard the story of the tortoise and the hare?… Of course, you have :)…
… Well, it’s a bit like that.
Now let’s talk about item number 2…
It is so important when first starting out, to pick one or two things and become a master of marketing using that or those platforms. Become a master of one platform and not a jack of all.
As an example, if you feel comfortable with speaking to a camera and love video then YouTube sounds like it is just the ticket for you. But if that’s the case, then just concentrate on making that your major focus each and every day create more video content that showcases you and your unique talent.
The exposure from getting just one of these platforms figured out properly is massive and honestly, you only need to become a master of one to become immensely successful online.
What you need to do is create a reliable and predictable, turnkey marketing system that produces the desired result each and every time it is rolled out.
It sounds like a pipedream… I know 🙂
But it is very doable and fairly simple to implement as long as you actually take the required actions consistently.
OK, so with that out of the way, let’s dive into the meat of this…
Before you come up with your marketing strategy, you need to know who you’re marketing to, and this is the very first thing that you should have done, so I expect you have that handled, right?
If not then tut, tut, tut… Go back and do that now.
Here are is a FREE download of my Niche Workshop to help you with that.************************************************************************
PLEASE NOTE*
If you are downloading the niche workshop document then please don’t carry on implementing anything else from this article until you have come up with your target audience and perfect customer or client.
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OK, so assuming your niche has now been handled…
This article was put together deliberately so you get to do what needs to be done precisely in the order that it needs to be done, and if you skip ahead then you are going to negate the benefits of having a proven system to follow.
So if you’re up to speed then WELL DONE and let’s move on…
If not, then you need to go back and complete the steps that precede this one. You are only cheating yourself if you don’t do this, so do the work and you’ll reap the rewards OK?…
… Great!
Back to what I was talking about…
You now know who your ideal or perfect client is, what makes them tick, where they hang out etc and, you should have come up with a compelling USP (Unique Selling Proposition).
So let’s look at how we can consistently generate leads for your business…
There are 4 major pillars you need to have in place on your road to success.
You need to put these 4 pillars into action within your business right now…
- Content Marketing
- Paid Advertising
- Strategic Referral Program
- Press Releases
Now here’s a tip…
If you don’t feel comfortable working with one or more of these categories yourself, then find a way to get someone involved who is. They are a necessary part of the marketing and conversion system that you must build in order to stand out from your competitors and dominate your niche for the long term, and in the fastest time possible.
In other words, don’t skip it because you don’t feel comfortable doing it yourself. It has to be there so find another way to get it done OK?
Good 🙂
So let’s break the 4 pillars down into more details:
Content Marketing Tips
Now for the most part when I talk about content marketing, I am talking about using the online platform.
Why?… Because any marketing piece that is received offline is usually followed up with online research before any decision is made on whether or not to move forward.
These days online is where it’s at… Just look at the size (or lack of size) of your local Yellow Pages these days and you’ll see what I am talking about is true.
If you want to build authority in your marketplace and create more clients, then you need to commit to consistent content marketing online.
Your Blog
Let’s start by talking about your blog and the role it plays in your content marketing.
Think of your blog as your home.
It’s the central hub of everything you do online and should be the place where your content marketing strategy is focused on driving your audience to.
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NOTE* I am writing this in January 2020 and want to add that in my opinion, blog visits are dwindling from a few years ago, so whilst still extremely important to have a blog and keep it fresh with new content daily, the hierarchy of importance has shifted away somewhat to some of the social media platforms out there.
This is further evidence that as soon as you think you got it down, it changes and you have to adapt fast!
The strategy I am going to discuss is still the most viable right now in my opinion and is the one that I use in my business and it works, so you should do the same.
You just need to keep an eye on the trends and try to anticipate the changes that are coming so you can stay ahead of the curve.
Be ready at all times to move to the next thing if the need arises.
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Back to your Blog….
Here’s what we are going to cover:
- How to create simple but effective blog posts to get you ranked higher in the search engines, create social awareness, followers, shares and of course, create new leads, clients, and customers for your business
- I am going to show you how best to create your blog posts, come up with interesting topics, create the content and structure. Then, I’ll show you how best to promote your post and use it as an effective lead generation tool.
- I am going to show you how to syndicate your content across social media platforms to get the highest return for the least amount of effort.
And don’t worry, I am going to hand you the strategy for using all of this to the best effect so you won’t be stuck with a lot of unstructured information, feeling overwhelmed with no idea of where to start.
And, a couple more things before I get stuck in…
I prefer creating video content myself because I like video, I am comfortable in front of a camera and, I know that the search engines love video, so for me that makes sense.
But, if you are a fan of writing and prefer to write your blog posts, then you need to make sure that your post is around 1500 words or more because a long-form copy is much more effective than short form.
Balance as always is a good thing and you should look to mix these two up and perhaps include the odd audio recording too, in order to keep things interesting.
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*KEY: Always offer a content upgrade in the form of a downloadable PDF or a series of training videos (whichever you prefer). It must be related, but a more detailed and revealing take on the content you have already shared and as a result, it will convert into new leads really well.
*Note: Offering a content upgrade that is not related to the content that precedes it is a recipe for disaster. Like as not, you will find that your offer will not create very many leads at all because of the diversity from the original subject matter.
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So stick on topic and you’ll do just fine.
So here’s another key thing that you need to commit to:
You need to come up with a consistent content marketing strategy, that you can commit to and not fall short.
What do I mean?
Well, if you make a commitment to blogging daily or creating a YouTube Video daily, but in reality you know you are going to struggle and ultimately you fail to produce said content on time, that doesn’t make you look good in the eyes of your audience.
It doesn’t matter if you do content marketing 7 days per week or 2 days per week. What matters, is that you commit and produce quality content when it is expected by your audience.
Now, I can’t figure out what type of content marketing schedule fits you right now, that’s for you to figure out. But it’s better to start off publishing twice a week and increase later, than start by committing to something way more challenging and failing to produce as a result.
So to help you decide what schedule you can commit to letting me share the formula for effective content marketing I (and many big brands online) use to create leads, clients and customers on a daily basis:
And audio files can also be created and syndicated from Soundcloud.com
So the image above plays out like this:
- Create a video on your YouTube channel with relevant and interesting content.
- Take that video and put in your blog along with a long-form write up about the video.
- Use email to tell subscribers to go check out the latest blog post.
- Syndicate on Facebook
- Syndicate on Twitter
- Syndicate on Google +
- Syndicate on LinkedIn (especially good if you’re B2B)
**NOTE** By the way, the platforms above are not necessarily listed in order of importance.
For example, a lot of business owners and marketers online forget to include Google + in their syndication which is crazy!
Google owns YouTube and they play together beautifully. But, if you want to get maximum exposure on the search engines, don’t forget to syndicate on Google +.
OK, so let’s cover what you actually need to get done in order to create this amazingly powerful content marketing machine.
Remember, I am using my own preferred strategy of using video as my primary content offering, for you, it could be a written post or audio, it’s your business and it’s your choice.
The methodology will work for you regardless of the medium you choose to go with…
So here’s the formula:
- Create Video
- Create Audio Transcription
- Create A Compelling and Relevant Image
- Upload and Post on YouTube
- Post On Your Blog
- Use Email To Send Subscribers To The Blog Post
- Facebook – Link Post
- Twitter – Link Post
- Google + – Link Post
- Linkedin – Post As An Article
Here’s the result:
All of the above content marketing tips are designed to drive people back to your lead capture page where you can get them to optin as a new subscriber or lead, they can get your contact details and call or email you and of course, they get exposed to your core product or service offer.
So you’re probably wondering how to know what to talk about in your blog posts and I know that most people find this a challenge. There’s also little point in creating syndicated posts that aren’t targeting what’s trending either.
So here’s what I do:
Content Research
I go look on YouTube and find videos that are popular in my niche and then I go do a Google search to find out if that video is ranking well on Google. If both of those things stack up then I’ll create a video on the same topic and give my own unique twist on it.
So what I am saying is, it’s perfectly OK to get an idea from what has been done before and even use the same title (pretty much word for word), but then make the actual content your own.
Make it better and you’ll get the benefit of having a highly targeted video post, that will get your ranked and bring you eyeballs to your blog in droves.
**NOTE** If you are trying to generate leads for your business then create content that is popular with your audience and don’t just start creating any old thing that might be of interest to you and nobody else. That won’t do you any good in terms of creating new leads for your business.
Post Structure
You must go for clarity with your post.
They need to know what the purpose of the post is and what the end result is going to be.
You need to show them how to do what you have described and then reiterate what you have done over again at the end so that they are perfectly clear on what has happened and the value that they have just received from you.
The key is to keep it simple so that no one loses sight of what the whole objective of the process is.
**NOTE** Don’t be too hard on yourself the first time you try this OK? This stuff gets easier each and every time that you do it and after a short period of taking consistent action, you’ll find it really easy and somewhat enjoyable too :).
Essentially, all we are talking about here is creating one piece of content and making it ‘sticky’ by linking it back to your blog or capture page. It’s not rocket science and it’s not hard to do, but it does take discipline to stay consistent and maintain momentum for the longer term.
This strategy is not a ‘quick fix’ and you’re not suddenly going to see a rush of visitors like you would by running a ‘pay per click’ campaign.
But there is real value and benefit from building organic traffic in this way, one of which is that organic traffic tends to convert better than paid traffic in my opinion, because there is some history or interaction and relationship building.
It makes sense right? If someone who is a follower on your YouTube Channel, takes you up on your offer of a free webinar training, he or she already knows who you are, what you are about and hopefully, likes the experience you have been giving them…
Don’t you think that a person like this would be much more likely to take you up on the offer you give them at the end of your webinar than someone who has randomly come across you for the first time from a PPC ad?
I rest my case…
Here are the 4 major success ingredients required to make this work like gangbusters:
- Know your target audience. The better you know your target audience, the more refined and laser-focused your marketing and offers will be, and the end result of that, of course, is more sales.
- Create a content calendar. You need to have a schedule to stick to, otherwise, you’ll most likely fall off the wagon when it comes to making sure that the content goes out according to what you have promised (or educated) your audience to expect from you. There is no reason why this can’t be prepared for up to 12 months in advance.
- You need a ‘turnkey publishing machine’ in place that doesn’t rely on you to do all of the jobs in order to fulfill the publishing commitment that you have made. This could be built around outsourced workers or automated software, but in reality, a mixture of both of these is what works best.
- Put your best stuff out there. If you put out crap, then why would anyone seek more from you? Put out your best content and give your audience the WOW factor when they engage with it, so that they wonder how great it would be to be a paid customer or client if your free content is this good. They need to be inspired by your content and nothing less than that will do.
**NOTE* You must remember that long-form content is much more effective when it comes to creating overall visibility for you in the search engines, and by long-form, I mean at least 1000 – 1500 words. If you are creating videos, then make sure that there is enough quality content in the video, so that when it is transcribed, it will equate to around 1000 – 1500 words.
And finally, you need to offer a relevant content upgrade (as described earlier) in order to build your email list, your relationship with that list, and ultimately your sales and profit.
Oh and I almost forgot (how could I?)… Track and Tweak.
Keep tracking and tweaking what works and what doesn’t. This formula will always be evolving and you always need to keep your eye on the ball so you know why something is working or why if it isn’t.
Makes sense?… Cool 🙂
You’ll know by now how important it is to have systems in place for every part of your business if you want to be successful long-term, and your content marketing system is one of the most important systems you could ever implement into your business.
But before you go rushing headlong into it, I need you to remember one fundamental and incredibly important thing…
Your target audience is not usually interested in you or your history, they are only interested in what you can do to help them with whatever problem or challenge they are currently facing.
In other words, concentrate on talking about the benefits of working with you, and stay away from talking endlessly about the features of your company, because that won’t cut it if you ever want to turn this relationship into a long-term paying client.
I hope you enjoyed this article and I hope that you use what you have learned and actually get some results in your business.
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IMPORTANT! – If by chance you’d like to dig much deeper into all things marketing and conversion and more specifically, you think you might want to get some help with implementing this strategy and much more, then you can go ahead and book a FREE 45-minute VIP Business Growth Accelerator Call with me here:
Click Here To Book Your Free Call With Me NOW!
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I look forward to speaking to you about your business soon 🙂
– Robert