If your business has any sort of online presence, then you’re going to need top quality content to so you can get traffic, build relationships, and convert your visitors into buyers. Here are some ideas on how to get the most out of your business’s content…
Content for Boosting Traffic
You can create a variety of content to attract leads and buyers. Here are some of the top ways to do it:
Optimize your blog content for the search engines to draw in targeted traffic.
In order to create optimized content, you need to know what words your market is inputting into the search engines. You can discover these words by using a keyword tool, such as WordTracker.com.
Do guest blogging on high-quality, high-traffic blogs in your niche.
The key to this strategy is to use your author’s byline as a mini advertisement that sends visitors back to your site. One good way to do this is to create a guest article that’s “Part 1” of a series, and then offer the rest of the series for free to those who click on your byline link. (Ideally, your prospects should land on an opt-in page and exchange their email addresses for access to the rest of the series.)
Post viral content on social media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and similar).
To get a feel for what type of content your audience responds to the best, do some market research on your competitors’ social media sites. Pay special attention to the types of content that get lots of shares, likes and interaction. For example, if your audience seems to really respond well to humorous memes, then you’ll want to create this sort of content too.
Share videos on YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook and Twitter.
You can create a variety of videos to see what your audience responds to the best, including:
- Talking head videos, where you look directly at the camera and share information (such as tips).
- Slide-share videos, which is a PowerPoint style presentation.
- Demo videos, such as when you share the “how to” steps of a process while demonstrating these steps at the same time.
In addition to “how to” or tips videos, you can also create and share product reviews and comparisons, sales videos, explainer videos and similar.
Create and share slide-shares for SlideShare.net.
For best results, watch several of the top slide-shares on the site to get a feel for what people want. Keep these tips in mind:
- Present unique tips and other information (and/or present it in a unique way.
- Create a polished slide-deck template to present a professional image.
Host webinars on in-demand topics in your niche.
Be sure to practice your delivery a few times to create a more polished presentation. Depending on the topic, you may want to accept questions during the webinar. Create desirable lead magnets to attract leads to your mailing list. These lead magnets may include reports, ebooks, videos, audios, access to membership sites, or even tools (such as checklists, worksheets, templates and similar).
Content for Building Relationships
This type of content is designed to build trust with your prospects and customers. Here are different ways to use relationship-building content:
Send useful how-to articles, tips and other content to your mailing list subscribers.
For best results, create a series of emails around each topic, and then pitch a related product at the end. E.G., “The Five Secrets of Landing a $100,000 Job Without a College Degree.”
Post useful content on your blog.
In order to create a “sticky” blog, post tips and information not found anywhere else. Focus in and specialize on one specific topic, and become the “go to” source for information on that topic in your niche.
Share case studies with your prospects and customers.
Even better is if you do “live” case studies that you post on your blog and social media pages, as this will keep people coming back on a regular basis to see the next installment.
Upload an onboarding sequence to your autoresponder for new customers.
This sequence should remind customers of the benefits of the product they just purchased, and it should encourage them to use the product. Once your customers use the product, their satisfaction will increase, which in turn leads to them becoming repeat customers.
Share useful content on social media, and then encourage questions, comments and other interaction.
A good way to get interaction is to post a call to action. E.G., “Post your favorite tips below!” Another good way to encourage interaction is to ask questions. E.G., “What do you think?”
Do group coaching on live webinars or via private Facebook or LinkedIn groups.
You can collect questions and then answer the top questions once per week or so. TIP: Be sure to hang onto these question and answer sessions, as you can compile them to create a lead magnet.
Share high-quality freemium information products with your visitors.
You can share reports, ebooks and tools to both your prospects and customers. These freemium offers might be “lite” versions of a paid product, or even excerpts. For example, if you have a video series, you might share one module for free. This naturally leads to your prospects purchasing the entire series.
Post an explainer video on your site to introduce yourself and your business to visitors.
This video should only be two or three minutes long, and it should focus on what your business can do for your prospects. Focus on the benefits in order to hold your viewers’ attention.
Create extensive support documentation for your help desk.
This not only creates a good experience for your prospects and customers, but it also cuts down on the customer service inquiries flowing into your help desk.
Next…
Content for Bolstering Conversions
A good piece of content can warm up a prospect or even directly make a sale. Here are different ways to accomplish these goals:
Post a direct-response sales letter on your site.
Be sure your letter has all the components of a good piece of copywriting, including:
- Benefit-driven headline.
- An opener that engages and holds attention.
- A set of bulleted benefits that stoke desire for the offer.
- Objection handling.
- Proof (such as testimonials, case studies, screenshots, etc.).
- Risk reversal (guarantee).
- Justification of the price.
- Call to action (works even better if you create urgency).
Send a solo email to presell prospects.
This is a benefit-driven mini sales letter with the goal of getting prospects to click on the link to get to the sales page, at which point the sales page will close the sale.
Publish a pre-launch sequence of articles on your blog, on social media and via your newsletter to build anticipation.
This sequence should build anticipation by focusing on benefits, as well as arousing curiosity about what all the offer will include. A launch sequence works best if the initial offer creates a sense of urgency, such as by offering a limited launch-week discount.
Create a Before-Turning Point-After sequence of emails to promote an existing offer.
These three parts include:
- Before: This is where you talk about the current state the prospect finds them in and build a case for why they don’t want to stay in that condition. This is a good time to create a sense of urgency for change and make a limited time offer.
- Turning Point: This is where you appeal to the prospect’s rational side by using data to back your claims. A good way to do this is by sharing proof such as a case study of how using your product can take the prospect from “before” to “after.”
- After: Here’s where you appeal to the prospect’s desire to change by sharing all the benefits they’ll receive if they order.
Distribute a product review or product comparison on your blog, social media and via email.
Be sure to share the perceived weaknesses of the product, as doing so will help generate trust among your prospects. Even better is if you can justify these perceived flaws and/or turn them into strengths. For example, if a dieting guide doesn’t include recipes (which is a perceived weakness), you can justify this by explaining that recipes aren’t needed since the guide shows readers how to make all their favorite existing recipes healthier.
Send press releases to local media as well as via an online service such as PRWeb.com.
Check your local publications to see what types of press releases they tend to publish, and then model your press release after these successful ones. It’s also a good idea to nurture a relationship with the editor of the publication, as it will make it easier to get future press releases published.
Post a case study and testimonials for your prospects to review.
Be sure to only post your strongest testimonials, which are the ones that talk about results. Even better is if you can post video testimonials. Content is a valuable tool when it comes to building your business. That’s why you want to be sure you only publish high-quality content that’s designed to meet a specific goal.