Using Content Marketing to Grow Your Customer Base in 2015

By Darrell Cuthbert

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Schools have re-opened, most people are back from leave, and the holiday season in South Africa is well and truly over.

Once the excitement and busyness of Christmas and New Year celebrations have come to an end, many people start thinking about their plans and goals for the year ahead. This is especially true of business owners and operators.

No matter what the detailed plans and goals are for the individual company, it is a fairly safe bet that an increase in business, and therefore profits, will feature prominently. The key to increasing business revenue is customers.

This could mean:

• Attracting new leads and customers
  
• Generating more revenue from existing customers, or
  
• Both of the above
  

In the current business environment it is essential that every business informs and engages with its current and potential customers (leads). Many people out there are tired of simply being bombarded with marketing messages and sales pitches.

We live in an information age and most business people, and an ever-growing number of consumers and end-users, have access to enough technology for them to do their own research into a product and find information – good or bad.

It is important that every business ensures that information is freely available for customers. If your business is nowhere to be found online and your competitor’s is, you could be losing potential sales all the time, even though your product or service is actually superior to that of the competition.

A well-planned and executed Content Marketing Strategy is vital for every company, irrespective of size or industry, if it wants to attract more business.

There are two basic elements to the typical business content marketing strategy:

• The actual content (type, style, format etc.)
  
• The way the content is distributed and shared
  

Examples of Types of Content

• Company Blog Posts; informative, educational or entertaining. Not simply a disguised sales pitch, but rather written in a storytelling style and with the motive of giving the reader useful, valuable information. How-to, tips and tricks, and “insider information” posts are always popular. Interpreting and commenting on industry developments in layman’s terms is also a great way to build trust and make yourself indispensable to current or potential customers.

• Static Web Pages; providing more information about your product or service. These should be written in a conversational yet informative style. Relevant keywords and search terms should be worked into the text in such a way that they each appear 2 to 3 times per page. Ensure that the content is well written, accurate and interesting, not simply fluff writing strung around a couple of keywords.
  

• Case Studies; real world examples of how your product or service solved a problem for one of your customers. These should be written in a report style and, while it is acceptable to mention the product/service and its application, should not be overly promotional.
  

• Press Releases; notifying print and online media about newsworthy events and developments within your business or general industry. Press releases must be written in a generally accepted format, be non-promotional and can be submitted to traditional channels like newspapers (national, regional or local/community based), or to online press release websites. The better of these charge for the service, but there are also some that are free.
  

• Social Media Posts, which can be:

         - Teaser comments with attached links to your company blog/website to drive traffic.
         - Shared photos/videos showcasing a particular product or service you offer.
         - Standalone posts intended to stimulate discussion or engagement between your                   business and customers, or customer to customer interaction.

Note: When representing your business on Social Media, it is important to get the balance between friendly engagement, information-sharing, and marketing activity right. Typically, social media users have a low tolerance for companies that only use social media channels as a way to bombard people with sales pitches.

Some Ways to Distribute Content

• Share on Social Media Channels (e.g. Twitter, Facebook, Google+); teaser comment with links to the original piece on your blog or website. Intersperse these posts with non-promotional comments or questions.

• Share on Social Bookmarking Sites (e.g. Reddit, Stumbleupon, Digg, Delicious). For maximum impact you should share and comment on information from other people or businesses as well as sharing your own material.

• Create a company board on Pinterest and share interesting, impactful photos; both of your own products and related items that are relevant and interest you. Remember to include a brief but well-written description (important for both users and search engines), and a clickable link back to your company website or blog.

• Start discussions on LinkedIn that are of interest to customers or other players in your industry. Pick topics that are likely to provoke strong views and link to a relevant article on your website/blog if possible.

© D Cuthbert 2015

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I am based in Durban, South Africa but write for clients in many countries.

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