Content Marketing is developing useful information to various questions a potential customer might have about your product or application. When someone goes to Google and types in a question, hopefully you already have an answer waiting on page 1 of the search results.
If not, you’ll be missing a big opportunity. If you haven’t capitalized on things like case studies, white papers, newsletters and blogging, you should consider trying some of them. They are content rich and will help you gain credibility.
So the question arises, what do I write about or how do I know what they want? Here’s a way to start. Ask your sales force, customer service, engineering and product management what are the top 10 issues you continually get asked. That should be a start.
Ask the question on some of your social media sites, like groups on LinkedIn. You might be surprised at the feedback you get. If you have the opportunity to visit customers or go to trade shows, ask the same type of questions. Then when you have all the questions, answer them!
The key to content marketing is how you present your info. Storytelling is one of the best ways.
I read a post by Heidi Cohen, How to Create B2B Content Marketing That Sells that highlights ways you get to tell your stories. Here are some highlights:
- Use show and tell – use photos or videos to show products and features.
- Become a teacher – offer training by providing them info on why to buy or use it more effectively.
- Answer questions – this will give your responses more life.
- Interview others in your organization that might not think they have valuable info to contribute, and then you write it.
- Interview existing customers – get their perspective (good and bad) and address them.
- Offer insights from senior management – on industry trends or issues.
Content is king and we need to do everything we can to make sure that we get GOOD content out. If we do, you’ll be surprised at who will find it.