Is your content marketing strategy “Build it and they will come?” How has that worked for your business? Do you wonder if there is anyone out there on the Internet? How are other businesses improving their online presence? Creating a buzz with customers is about being relevant, timely, personal and shareable.
Here are five tips that are commonly used by companies that create content that rank high with customers.
1. Share customer stories
2. Show other customers how the story is relevant to them
3. Create a call to action (CTA)
4. Connect with recognizable or current trends in your industry
5. Be sharable on other social media
Tip # 1: Share customer stories. Think about your personal stories related to great products and customer service. We share these stories in great detail with family, friends and now our connections on the Internet as well. Write a story about how your business solved a customer’s problem. Using a first name (example: John S.) and describing the problem as a story: “John S. came to us when his website was ranking poorly. He asked us what could be done.”
Tip # 2: Show other customers how the story is relevant to them. Use the personal story of John S. to extend your reach to customers like him. “John S. is a typical customer who owns a small business that started with a do-it-yourself website. When John S. noticed that just having a website was not enough, he starting looking for helpful advice from experts in the field.” If your business is similar to John’s, it may be time to look for professional assistance.
Tip # 3: Create a call to action (CTA). It is very important that this be ONE call to action. Most of us scan for information that is relevant to us in a moment in time. If you have too many pop-ups and CTA buttons, the customer is likely to drop off. A simple, single CTA, such as “sign up for our weekly email to stay updated” or “download our guide” are best to keep customers engaged.
Tip # 4: Content with recognizable or current trends in your industry. Readers like facts, quotes, statistics and images, as they are easy to share with others. The example for John’s business would be the growth in Internet usage that makes it essential to have greater visibility for his website.
Tip # 5: Be sharable on other social media. Building social media buttons into a website is now easier than ever. “John S. needed his website to have these share buttons located where viewers could find them and use them easily.” It is also important that the size of the icons is sufficiently large to be visible, especially for the many that now use mobile devices to scan the Internet.
When potential customers can see that your business has helped other customers that have had similar needs, they will continue to read what you offer. Showing them that you are staying on top of key trends in the industry sets you up as an expert in the field. Giving them ways to stay in touch with you and to share what you offer with others is a sure way of using your content marketing to create a buzz with your customers. Top customer, John S. would certainly agree.
