It won’t be long before we are counting down the minutes to welcome 2015. Whether you are just starting out in business or you have an established brand, the New Year is a great time to start planning for the months ahead. Think about key areas for improvement and reflect on the previous year’s achievements to see what’s repeatable. It’s also the perfect time to review your content marketing strategy and make refinements. Do this exercise now so you can make 2015 a year to remember for all the right reasons.
Over the next five blog posts, let’s reflect on these ‘content marketing truths’ shared by Joe Pulizzi, founder, Content Marketing Institute. Here are five to start you off.
- Your content is more important than your offer
It’s true that you may have something valuable to offer your customers, but the offer alone is not always going to be enough to drive conversion. Hook your visitors in with killer copy that will leave them in no doubt about needing your product or service. - A customer relationship doesn’t end once a sale has been made
While your priority may be to convert visitors into customers, it doesn’t mean that you should stop engagement once a purchase has been made. Keep in touch with your customers, send them more enticing offers, ask them for feedback and ensure they come back to you for more. - Print marketing doesn’t have to stop with the full-page advertisement
Print marketing is still important, but you can do so much more with it than just full-page advertising. Send out tangible content that your customers can hold and refer back to. Newsletters, advertorials, brochures and promotional items can all help you to stay top of mind with your customers. - Be the content. Don’t just surround the content.
When writing your content, you want to make your words sound convincing and true. There is no room for half measures here. Make your content stand out, make it bold and make your message punchy and memorable. Your brand personality and promise must come through with your content. Ensure you keep this brand positioning consistent across all the content marketing channels you are using. - Interruption is not appreciated, but useful content is!
If you keep sending daily spam mails to your target audience, the chances are they will cut themselves off from your brand. Instead, make your content useful and send out updates on a carefully timed editorial schedule. A weekly email, a series of blog posts or advice given over social media is so much better than a blatant sales pitch that becomes too much, too often.