Posts Tagged: Content Editing
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CREATE USEABLE and USEFUL Content
As an entrepreneur, you want to create content that is irresistible to your customer or clients. You want to have a no-brainer offer that entices them to take the action you want. In essence, this content should be part of your selling ‘system’ which guides your leads into your business.
Some content is used for marketing and some is used to gain customers. Here are some really quick content that you can create pretty easily in today’s digital world. I will give some tips on how to use them as well.
Interview experts
Interview some people in your field. Imagine calling another person in your industry and asking for an interview. Many will be proud to share with you, especially if you have a good reputation and relationship with that person. If someone called you an expert, would you want to grant them the interview?
With GoogleHangouts you can do this interview on the internet and have it recorded and posted for you. How cool is that!? Just get your interviewee on Google, introduce yourself and your guest, then ask a few pertinent questions.
You can literally interview any business and have them share tips relevant to what you offer. Do 2 -3 of these and offer them as a free download to people who give you their email address.
Guest content
You can post on other people’s pages. Find a relevant blog and ask if they take submissions. You can even submit to local newsletters through apartments, HOAs, banks and more. Be diligent and find the opportunity where you can let your expertise shine! Remember, any kind of guest appearances make your company look big even if it is just an article with ten quick tips. This will bring people to your page so make sure you include your web address, email, physical address and phone number at the end.
Case studies
People love to hear success stories. Share a story from a client who had great success with your product or service. You can interview them, have them send you the story, or you can write it yourself. Make sure you have their permission and follow up to see how they are doing. I bet they would want to share the story with their friends on social media…hint, hint.
Review something
Review a product or service in your business. You can review your employees telling about their specialties. Offer this on your about page. You can review your products, but be careful, you may be biased. I suggest reviewing products that you can cross market with other companies. If you have a gym, you may want to review sportswear from the athletic supply place down the street.
Challenge Overcome
This one can be a tough one. It involves you sharing your personal story. Here is where the power comes in though. Share a story with relevant tips that pertain to what you do. I recently had a marketer share his story about his religion. He then promoted a product based on the same ideas.
Trending News (Newsletter??)
Recycle good information. Put together three postings from reliable sources in your industry. Take the compiled info and format it in a way that is interesting. Use lots of pictures. The, you create an article that ties them all together. Now people see your name along side of people they know, like and trust. That will raise their opinions of you. Have people give you their email or physical address to send the newsletter.
FAQ
Create a frequently ask questions list. Take the list and create a tips sheet. Call it something like “how to get the most out of . . .” It will save you some headaches and help your clients feel like they have gotten some really important information. Keep the design simple, but make it look good.
Quick tips
Offer a short list about 5, 7, or 10 tips to get the most success with …People love to get the insider’s scoop. You may even want to call it the “Insider’s Scoop to …” Make it sound valuable, be short and to the point…much like this list.
You can take it one more step. You can share 10 tips, but reveal 2-3 of them. Tell them they have to sign up to get the rest! People hate not knowing what they are missing. If you don’t believe me, just ask them to turn their phone off!
Have a customer strategy
As you can see, there are many options to create content. This is just touching the tip of the iceberg. You can do a lot of research to find valuable content for your business. But, let me warn you, you MUST HAVE A STRATEGY.
Content or any kind of marketing is useless if you don’t have a well oiled system to bring your customers in to. I tell marketing clients that I can’t bring them new customers until they can show me the process their customers go through in their system. It may sound harsh, but I am helping them.
Could you imagine only preparing for ten people and one hundred people show up? Without a strategy, you can get people to come, but can you keep them satisfied. There is nothing worse than an unhappy customer who willingly shares their experience.
What is your system for gaining new customers? Share it on our Youtube or GooglePlus.
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How to create content quickly
If you want to create valuable content quickly, you must start with a good strategy. What is it that your customers or clients will find valuable? How can you entice them to take action and give you their contact information?
Real Life Example
Let me share a real life story. I was visiting with a client yesterday. I shared with him how easy it is to create content. He is a real estate agent, so that will be our example for today. Here is what I shared with him:
- Create a video: just shoot something quick from your smart phone. Tell something important like tips for getting your home ready to sell, tips for selecting the right neighborhood for your family, or tips for getting the best deal when buying a home.
- Use an app to transcribe the audio from your video for your, hire someone to transcribe the audio or type it up yourself.
- Post the video on a site like Youtube or Vimeo. Post the text on your blog.
- Share the video on social media one day. A few days later at another time of day, share the blog on the same social media. A few days later share them both again at different times and put a different headline on them. Use a handy tool like Hootesuite to schedule the posts for you.
- Encourage friends and previous clients to share this valuable information on social media.
As you can see, from simply posting something from your phone, you can come up with a mini strategy to get content. With the right tools, it will take you about 10 minutes to do one of these quick videos, get it transcribed and posted. Imagine the power of doing that once a week for your clients or customers.
Power of Strategy
Now, here is where the content strategy comes in. Create three or four of these little helpful tips for your customers. Package the blog posts in a pdf and offer it as a free download if a customer will share their name and email. Use a catchy title like “The Three Greatest Tips You Need to Know Before Selling Your House.”
You can also share the videos the same way, maybe even do both. Use a catchy title for these as well: “FREE – Three Part Video Series Share the Secrets of How to Get the Best Deal When Buying a House.” You just create an email sequence using an autoresponder and this goes on autopilot for you. (I personally use GetResponse as my autoresponder.)
IMPORTANT: Include a specific Call to Action
Make sure at the bottom of your report or on the last video in the series, you give a single call to action. Tell the customer/client exactly what you want them to do. “Now that you have seen how to get the best deal on a house, give me a call at 555-5555 so I can share a couple more tips and negotiate the best deal for your new home.”
What is your strategy for connecting to clients and customers? Share it on our Youtube or GooglePlus.
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Use online content to gain leads and convert customers
Content is valuable information that you can giveaway in exchange for marketing information that you want. You may want an email address so that you can send an email sequence, you may want a phone number for your sales team to call, or you may want an address to send a direct mail sequence. Valuable content can be used in many ways, only limited by your imagination. You can even use content to boost your social media by getting shares, views, likes, etc. In essence it is a currency exchange where you exchange information you have about your industry for information your customers have about themselves. Make sure your content is the value. If the value is not good enough, they don’t want your products. Here are some examples of content to get your brain thinking about how to gain more customers and get more leads: (Our examples are for an auto mechanic to show the possibilities of using content for a business that is not online.)
- Create a report titled “What you need to know before hiring _____” Insert your industry or business. Ex: What you need to know before hiring an automotive repair technician.”
- Create a checklist for what people need to accomplish for a certain task. Ex: Save thousands. Free checklist to go over before taking your car to a mechanic.
- Create an industry report. Include statistics and trends, but don’t forget to mention how you can help . Ex: Free report on the updated standards of car repair.
- Create an audio. Ex: Download the free audio about how to get the best mileage from your automobile no matter how old it is.
- Create a video series. Ex: Five part video series reveals the hidden power locked in your automobile.
- Create coupons. I probably don’t need to talk much about this one, but think creative. Use a mobile ap or have them text you. The key is to get information from them so that you can market to them.
- BONUS: Have customers create content. Many businesses use Instagram and give a discount to people how post using a certain hashtag and sending an email. You get two benefits. One, you get people to share something about your business on social media. Two, you get an email that you can use to follow up and send specials.
The key is to create something that your customer will find valuable. Make it sound exciting and limited. Make them feel like they are getting something so valuable, they don’t mind giving up the information that you asked for.
IMPORTANT: Have a follow-up STRATEGY in place
Before designing any content to gather customers, make sure you have a follow up strategy. If you collect emails, have an email sequence ready to be sent. You can even set up something like this in advanced for free using MailChimp, or use a paid service with more features like Aweber or my personal favorite GetResponse.
No matter what information you collect, you have to do something with it. It could be a simple “thank you for joining our valuable email list” followed a couple of days later with a “here’s a special ten percent discount because you joined our list and are part of our family.” You have to make the information fit the content. And you have to find your voice to use.
The more you can endear people to your company the more passionate they will be about your business. You will have a tribe of raving fans in no time. How are you using content to connect with your customers? Share it on our Youtube or GooglePlus.