4 Actions to Provide Real Value, Not Just Content in Marketing

Mastering online marketing to make sure your business stands out amongst the noise is not an easy task. Designing quality content in marketing is the first step to win your customers’ attention. They crave information about the products and services they’re shopping for and it’s getting more and more difficult to get them that information first, before your competitor does.

The marketing channels are growing and becoming more complex. Social advertising is prevalent and is required on certain channels just to get your content seen. Algorithms change rapidly and, as a business owner or even as a salesperson, it’s hard to compete with bigger companies. However, the right content in marketing can provide real value to your target customers and that’s where you can stake your claim.

The competition to gain your target customers’ attention increases daily. Each day 92,000 articles are posted on the web. Small businesses can’t compete with the big media publishers based on sheer volume. However, where you can compete is understanding, defining and communicating your company’s unique promise of value.

Content is still the king in all marketing and advertising and implementing a solid content strategy will win you the business. Small businesses have a unique advantage over the large media companies and larger, less-nimble competitors: They can provide real value – like they do in real life with the relationships they have with current customers they see everyday. The real value lies in the quality of your content and follow through with a solid strategy that attracts and engages your target customers.

It’s time to start providing real value, not just content in marketing.

In 2015, it will be crucial to your bottom line to engage prospects and customers with valuable content. Here are four crucial actions to take now to win business:

1. Create Compelling Content

Compelling is in the eye of the beholder. Compelling to whom? Compelling how? To create compelling content, you must know what’s already compelling to your prospective clients and customers. Most buyers begin their journey by some recognized void or need. They realize the status quo no longer serves them and they’re motivated to make a change.

Content that speaks to their needs or desires is compelling because it’s aligned with what your customers need right now. It serves them (creates real value) because it helps them understand their needs and puts them on the path to finding answers.

You must also create content that should be compelling to them. What do your customers need to know that they don’t already know about you, your company, your products and services? Leverage your employees’ expertise. Providing value by showing your authentic true customer experience helps cement your business in their minds.

2. Construct a Content Calendar

Systems are awesome. They help you stay focused and keep you out of danger and alleviate that “overwhelmed feeling.” You can rely on a system to do the thinking for you.

Taking the concept of creating compelling content for your prospects a step further, construct a weekly or monthly calendar of the subjects you want to discuss in your content. Start with your customers and prospects’ biggest struggles. Pick subjects that you know they want to know about: their frequently-asked questions.

Plan out weekly or monthly what you’ll cover in your content on your blog and social media. When you have a plan, you can refer back to it whenever you need to. It takes the guesswork out of “what to share on social media.”

3. Leverage Your Content Hub

Your website is your content hub. It’s important to take a holistic view of your marketing channels and they should all point back to your website. Your blog should live on your site so that when your posts are found on other channels, prospective buyers will be guided to your site.

Now that you have a system started with your content calendar, use the subjects to formulate your blog posts. Create an additional system component in your blog frequency. Pick the days of the week you’re going to publish and stick to the plan.

Once you get a routine happening, you’ll find it’s much easier to publish content that provides real value. You’ll come up with great ideas as you’re driving home or taking your morning shower…it happens to me all the time!

4. Publish Compelling Content on Social Media

The ideal place to get more visibility for your blog content is on social media. “Syndicating” posts on a regular basis not only allows customers and prospects to witness the real value provided by them but when they click to read, they’re taken back to your site. “Social signals” carry a heavy weight in SEO. Traffic from social media back to your site increases your site’s authority. Your posts are also indexed for the keyword phrases you write about and want to be known for.

Providing real value and nurturing customer loyalty will be big trends in 2015. Boring, irrelevant marketing content has a negative effect on your brand – both with users and on your bottom line. Set yourself up for success by adopting these four actions into your marketing right now, before your competition figures it out.