You have product literature, so why should you create a content marketing strategy?
Your product offers superior features that are significantly better than the competition. The specification sheet details all the data and shows why your product should be a priority selection. Unfortunately, that is often the same sales pitch that all of the vendors have.
Prior to promoting your product, why not explain the solution it provides. Even more interesting, connect with your prospects from the beginning by describing the symptoms of the problem they are facing, because that is the reason they will trust and buy your product.
Q: Why is content the key to a successful marketing strategy?
A: The role of marketers is to attract and qualify potential buyers who show an interest in the product or service in order to build a sales funnel and provide the sales people with leads to contact. In our new 2.0 era, how can marketing achieve that? Simple answer: with content.
- Content and its distribution are what get you visitors, leads, and customers.
- Content invites strangers to visit your website.
- Content converts visitors into leads.
- Content nurtures leads into customers.
- Content delights customers into becoming promoters.
- Content is the fuel that powers any successful content marketing strategy.
Therefore, having a content marketing strategy is the key to populating a sales funnel and keeping your sales people busy—and your management happy.
But, only 44% of B2B marketers have a documented strategy.
Q: How do you build content that brings sales, customers, and money?!
A: First, define who you are trying to reach with your content. Second, build your content by developing its purpose, its topics, and its format. Third, distribute it on the web and social media. Finally, analyze which content shows the best conversion rate in order to successfully repeat your content creation process.
Remember your buyer’s journey. Your prospects must go through three phases before buying your product or service. Some topics and formats are more specific to certain stages. For instance:
AWARENESS: Educate about the problem.
Your prospect is experiencing and expressing symptoms of a problem; he’s doing educational research to more clearly understand, frame, and name the problem.
Recommended content: Report or Ebook.
CONSIDERATION: Be the solution’s expert.
Your prospect has now clearly defined and named the problem; he’s committed to researching and understanding all of the available approaches to solving the defined problem.
Recommended content: Comparison, Expert Guide, White paper, Webinar, or Presentation.
DECISION: Show and demonstrate that you have the product and service to solve the problem.
Your prospect has now decided on the solution; he’s compiling a long list of all available vendors, products, and services; he’s researching to whittle the long list down to a short list and ultimately make a final purchase decision.
Recommended content: Case study, Demo, Product literature (Now is the good time to show it!)
The key is to keep your content educational, not promotional. Let your prospects establish that your product is superior to the competition. They will notice it, they are not stupid.
Learn How to create Content that Converts
To your success!
Stephanie Labrecque, Eng. MBA
stephanie@in-spira.ca
581-999-0724