What is really going on with your BtoB content strategy?
The days of wishing, hoping and haphazard results are over.
Please answer these questions…
- Are you just posting on social-media when you remember, or just because you “think you are supposed to” because everyone else is?
- Do you have tons of “social” followers, but no sales?
- Do you just post blogs, newsletter, and other content and hope for results?
- Are you distributing a press release and waiting for the phone to ring?
If any of these sound familiar, you do not have a BtoB content strategy, and you need one!
Why? It’s 2015.
The days of writing content just to share your insights and hope others read it is OVER!
Instead, wouldn’t you like to see some actual results? Maybe even sales? (Wow! What a concept!)
Well, it’s time to get to work. With today’s technology, you can give your customers unique and valuable information that they want. And this helps to build credibility, word-of-mouth and loyal fans. The key is to:
1. Know your customers.
How well do you know your customers and the customers you would really like to have?
You should know their likes and dislikes, what keeps them up at night, how they like to communicate and when, and more. If you don’t know your customers, start looking at the data you already have. What are they purchasing, when and why? What are they saying on social-media? What pages do they visit most? How do they like to get their news and information?
If you don’t have data on your customers and potential customers, find out. Offer a simple survey, conduct research, and get the information you need to write the right content!
2. Use your data.
Now that you have some idea of what interests your customers, make a list of all the various types of content you can provide and how you are going to provide it.
Will you offer a newsletter, blogs, an e-mail campaign, subscriptions, landing pages, videos, and/or something else? How often will you provide the content, and who is going to write it?
Put this into an editorial calendar.
3. Write the right content for the appropriate medium.
Prepare your content, and use search-engine optimization keyword phrases. Give customers valuable information they can easily share with others. And most important, create ways to track this information with unique URLs, landing-page links, social-media posts, and more. And at the end of your content, give people a specific, call-to-action. What do you want them to do next?
4. Know what’s going on!
This is the most important part. Once you post your content, you need to monitor and track it.
Are people actually clicking on your content and reading it? Are they sharing the information with others? Are they making the appropriate actions you want them to make?
This information will let you see what is working and what isn’t. And you guessed it. You want to stop the content that is not working, write something else and test the results.
5. Repeat!
Sorry. But if you want actual results, this is an ongoing process. Your customers’ wants and needs will change regularly, and you need to keep up with them. Plus, you’ll want to follow industry updates, current news and trends, events, and how your customers get data.
Get with the Program Already!
If you are a business owner and want to see sales increase, take the time to develop a content strategy. This way, you can give your customers want they want (how and when they want it) and provide unique and valuable information they will share with others.
And guess what? You’ll actually boost sales, customer loyalty and your brand image in the process!
Are you ready to increase sales with content strategy? Please write to me here, or visit www.rembrandtwrites.com for more information.
