What’s Your Niche: Creating Focused Content

Posted on February 10, 2014 by S R

You’re bombarded with hundreds of advertising messages daily. They range from subtle suggestions from product placement in movies to overt pitches in your email in-box. You’ve learned to tune most of them out because they don’t apply to you. You aren’t the target market for these broadcast ads, so they become background noise.

Content is a different story. It isn’t an advertisement; it’s valuable information your customers actively seek. It’s never background noise because it reaches an interested, invested audience automatically. Unlike advertising, content carries a meaningful message to a select few prospects. Customized content is one of your most powerful tools for increasing your visibility, enhancing sales and earning a front-page spot on search engine results pages, and it works best when you find the right niche.

Impressions vs. Conversions

A large ad campaign can create an impressive number of impressions, but it may mean little for conversions. If you aren’t in the market for a new car, no amount of glossy magazine spreads or ad spots will persuade you to buy one. Conversions are the narrow end of your sales funnel; they represent the buyers you’ve convinced, not merely made aware of your existence. That’s the point at which niche content reaches your audience. If you were shopping for a new car, you’d notice those ads and seek more information about them – information you’d find on a company’s website, from online reviews or in feature-length articles about 2014 models.

A narrow focus returns big results because your intended audience is self-selecting to a large extent. They’re actively looking for an industry authority on what they hope to buy. Whether you sell Cadillacs or candy manufacturing equipment, your custom content should position you as an authority within that industry. The more fine-grained you make your focus and the more informative your content becomes, the higher your conversion rate goes.

The Five F’s of Developing a Great Blog

Posted on January 20, 2014 by S R

Having a blog and knowing what to do with it are two different things, as any cursory look around the Internet can attest. Neglected blogs that have a few paltry posts before disappearing, pages containing nothing but one-sentence entries and posts rife with spelling errors are common. Others exist solely to push a product line instead of engaging with readers. There’s no single recipe for the perfect blog for every industry, but these “five F’s” are a good place to start building better content.

Frequent

Updating your blog frequently is one of the simplest and best ways to improve it. Search engines and human readers alike crave novelty, and frequent blog posts keep them coming back to see what you say next. Because Google pays attention to how often a page updates, regular posts help push you to the top of the heap. Once you’re in the spotlight, other bloggers may link to your site or invite you to write a guest blog post, widening your circle of influence and establishing you firmly on search engine front pages.

It’s no coincidence that some of the busiest blogs are also the most frequently updated – often multiple times daily. Niche and industry blogs don’t need to be updated quite that frequently, but posting no less than once a week is a good plan. When your content team is starting your new blog from scratch, publishing two to four times a week to build up a library and establish a following is an even better idea.

Fresh

It isn’t enough to post often; you also have to have something original to say. Posting the same information multiple times doesn’t earn you Google juice and could even cost you if it’s mistaken for duplicate content. This is why it’s vital for your content creation manager or professional blogger to produce original material with every post. “Original,” in this case, means custom-written content, not necessarily revolutionary ideas or Pulitzer-worthy journalism. Blogs are great for pieces under 1,000 words, but if you have an idea you want your writing team to polish to lapidary brilliance, make it a white paper or feature article.

Are There Magic Words in Content Marketing?

Posted on January 13, 2014 by S R

From the Harry Potter films to the movie version of “The Hobbit,” magical realms are big in Hollywood right now. Harry and Gandalf could change reality with a wave of a wand or staff and a few magic words, but content creation teams don’t have that luxury. As much as the marketing industry would like to have a list of words that guarantee high open rates, click-throughs and conversions, they don’t exist. While no “open sesame” will make readers reach for their wallets, some words have a little more magic in them than others.

“Free”

One of the oldest marketing words is still one of the most potent. People love getting something free, and studies such as this one from the University of Miami have proven repeatedly that the word is a major motivator for conscious buying decisions. Interestingly, surprise free gifts – those offered without being advertised – were good emotional motivators, but with content marketing, you may not get the chance to sweeten the deal before your prospective customer has bounced away to another site. If you have a gift for visitors to your blog or social media channel, tell them up front; they’ll appreciate it.

“You”

In content marketing, “you” is one of the most powerful words you can use. Businesses that spend all their time and effort talking about their features are missing the point; their customers also want to know about the benefits they provide. “What’s in it for me?” is the tacit question every reader presented with an offer asks, and that includes your content marketing audience. Why should a visitor pause long enough to read your blog post or find out more about your new product line? One way to make that clear is by addressing readers directly and specifically. “You” also creates a connection between the reader and the writer; you aren’t just a face in the crowd but an individual who’s being addressed directly. Once you start looking for it, you’ll notice how much online content is written in the second person – including this blog post.

Publishing to Impress: the Six People Your B2B Message Needs to Reach

Posted on January 6, 2014 by S R

Business-to-business marketing has its own set of rules. Typically, just one person decides on the purchase of a pair of shoes, and only a few make buying decisions on the family car, but corporate purchases can involve dozens of decision-makers and multiple steps. Entire teams discuss whether they’re going to go with you or one of your competitors, so it’s vital to make an impact on everyone involved in the process.

Content can be powerfully influential well before your prospective B2B customer has reached out to you. Whether it’s a review of your latest product line, a blog post linked by a colleague or an article unearthed via a Google search, your prospects already know plenty about you by the time they pick up a phone or send an email. Knowing how to connect with key influencers with your content is pivotal to closing the deal.

Researchers – the First Wave

In the earliest stages of decision-making, team leaders may assign research duties to lower-level employees to see what’s available. These initial window-shoppers aren’t experts in the field yet, and they may be fairly unfamiliar with the products or services you offer. They’re looking for something valuable enough to bring back to their supervisors yet easy enough to understand at a glance. Accessible information is a strong selling point for this first wave of browsers; they’re still searching broadly rather than in depth. Give them a clear, well-designed site that offers a white paper or useful article to show to the higher-ups, and you’ve done much to win them over.

Users – the Front Line

The people who will use your products and services almost always have a strong vote in purchasing decisions. They’re knowledgeable about their own pain points and the solutions they expect you to provide. Experience and industry knowledge typically matter most to them; they aren’t as concerned with cost as they are with effectiveness at addressing their needs. Give them industry-savvy blog posts, newsletters and webinars to get their stamp of approval.

Biggest Blogging Blunders

Posted on May 27, 2013 by S R

Everyone tells you that you need a blog, but they aren’t as forthcoming about what to do with it once you have it. Content experts are right to recommend a blog; with it, you can build your brand and involve your customers like nothing else. Misusing it, though, is more than just a missed opportunity; it can actively work against you. Continue reading

Build Equity with Your Blog

Posted on March 11, 2013 by S R

One major factor homeowners cite for buying instead of renting is the chance to build equity in their property. When you have a blog, every post you publish builds equity in your brand, eventually turning it into a resource with more value than the sum of its posts. With careful nurturing and excellent content, your blog isn’t just a bunch of dated news items about the sale you ran last year; it’s an ongoing source of traffic and a constant bump up the search engine results pages. Continue reading

Getting More from Your Business Blog

Posted on December 18, 2012 by S R

More than 100,000 blogs are started every day, many of them for new or established businesses. With such an incredible volume of new voices on the Internet, how can your customers hear yours? If you already have a blog that’s under-performing or that you don’t know how to fill, that question is especially relevant. A business blog isn’t an instant ticket to success, but as it grows, it can become a vital part of your site. Continue reading