Are you randomly creating content and throwing it out there hoping it sticks and gets the marketing results you want? If so, you’re probably disappointed.
Without a solid strategy in place, you may well find yourself creating content for content’s sake. It’s as though content were some kind of commodity. Just plaster up enough of it and success will follow.
The fact is that each piece of content you publish needs to have a specific purpose in the marketing scheme of things. Essentially, to be successful commercially, your site content needs to do one or more of these things – make sales, grab leads, and get comments or be shared – the social factor.
Let’s look at each in turn.
Make Sales
This, of course, is the ultimate goal of online marketing. By empowering your prospect with the information he needs to make an informed purchase, your content works as a subtle salesman.
It should outline the benefits of owning your product or using your service and show how much better his life would be. It should back it up with the proof needed to convince him he’s making the right choice. Then it should end with a clear call to action.
The trouble is that not all visitors to your site will be ready to purchase. They may be there to check on available solutions to decide which is right for them. Or they may be comparing different options. Alternatively, they may be checking prices. Each type of visitor needs to be handled differently with different types of content.
Grab Leads
A lead can take many forms but most commonly involves signing up for a newsletter, mailing list or some other form of regular communication. It indicates the visitor has acknowledged you may have the solution to his problem but needs more convincing. By continuing to provide him with helpful content, you hope he’ll come to accept your product or service as the one right for him.
Social Impetus
The objective here is to get your content (or links to it) shared on social media sites or attract comments to your post. In either case, it marks the start of some form of dialogue and represents a path to dissemination. It both involved keeping the prospect in your loop and spreading the word to others.
The point is that each of the above goals content requires content that is structured in its own particular way. That’s why you must consider what your objectives are for each section of your clients’ websites – the sales page, the blog posts, the presell pages, the newsletter sign up page and so on.
Do that and you’ll be well positioned to decide on the kind of content that will most effectively attain those objectives. In the process, you’ll be getting your content market strategy off to a good start.
