Content Marketing – It’s Not About You
So often, when business owners are using content marketing to promote their companies on the Internet, they start feeling the urge to talk about their visions, their agendas, the awesomeness of their products, etc. This urge is normal and understandable. After all, one’s company is one’s baby – which is to say that business owners are both proud of their accomplishment and anxious to talk about it.
Content Marketing For the People
Of course, the sad fact is that most of your target market doesn’t want to hear your thoughts, and they really could not care less about your vision. They probably don’t even want to hear about how you developed your products or why you think they are the best thing out there. What people want is information from a knowledgeable source. Remember, you aren’t the only party involved who has an agenda.
Think about it this way when you are marketing your business – it’s not about you. Your potential customers care about their own problems and challenges. They want solutions. They want you to show them how much you know about your subject, so that they can establish you as an authority and a trusted source of information. Trust drive sales. Therefore, your content marketing strategy needs to be centered around the fact that it’s about them, and that requires you to change your point of view.
Begin by thinking of your business as a solution. From there, think about what issues your customers might have. Come up with the answers to every possible question or objection you can think of. Write your content as if you understand these issues and face them yourself. When you genuinely identify with your readers they will start to trust you.
Content Marketing- The Trust Factor
And so we come to the key to effective content marketing. When you stop thinking in terms of how selling your products will benefit you and start thinking about how your products can help other people, and market your business accordingly, then you will start to see real results. Your information becomes the basis of your customers’ purchasing decisions, and you become the natural first place they think of when they are ready to buy.
Tell stories, give examples and offer data that compels people to buy from you. Speak with authority. Let them know that you understand their concerns. This strategy works whether you are a Fortune 500 company or a one-man show. Whatever you are selling, your credibility comes from the fact that you are connecting with your market, and offering your customers something of value.
After all, it is about them.
