90 Second Content Marketing Lessons

90 Second Content Marketing Lesson - Todays B2B Buyer Part 2

Companies can benefit from concentrating on ways they can connect prospects to the relevant content directly rather than relying on search in a highly competitive marketplace.

 

There are lots of ways to do this.

90 Second Content Marketing Lesson - Today's B2B Buyer Part 1

Anyone who has been selling to businesses for more than 10 years or so knows the way customers find, select, and purchase products and services has shifted dramatically away from a time when salespeople directed a lot of the education, and ROI conversations that precede a sale.

 

Some experts suggest buyers don’t talk to a salesperson until they are 60% (or more!) through the buying cycle.

90 Second Content Marketing Lesson - Choosing Topics to Improve Search Results

Always think about your customers. What problems do they have? What challenges are they facing? What are they likely to enter in a search engine when they are looking for information? List some of the questions they may be asking.

 

Then take that list and use it to create an editorial calendar.

90 Second Content Marketing Lesson - Getting Your Content Read Part 2

Don't get too fancy with fonts. In fact, I rarely use anything other than Arial, Courier, Times Roman, or Verdana – at least for electronic publications. Using more exotic fonts not only makes the content harder to read but you run the risk of font substitution when your document is rendered in different email clients, browsers, and platforms. That will really mess up the way your document flows.

90 Second Content Marketing Lesson - Getting Your Content Read Part 1

You might write the most engaging, motivating, and persuading content ever to grace a computer screen. But it won't do you a bit of good unless it gets read by your target audience.

 

There are a number of things that you should address when it comes to crafting your informational content to increase your chances to connect with your readers. We're going to talk today about a couple things I incorporate into my own content.

90 Second Content Marketing Lesson - Text-Only Emails

Try something different with your email list. A while ago I just typed into the message area. It went out as 10-point Courier typeface with no graphics and no links. Not even a logo.The individuals on the list are used to getting my HTML newsletters every month so this communication was different.

 

The response was pretty surprising.

90 Second Content Marketing Lesson - Channel Choice

In Business to Customer communications, who gets to choose the preferred and most effective channel to deliver messages? You get two guesses and the first one doesn't count.

 

Of course it is the customer who chooses from the options that are available from your organization. Companies that make the mistake of believing this is their decision are endangering their customer relationships and their messages can go unread.

 

This lesson includes a couple of personal examples...

90 Second Content Marketing Lesson - Unsubscribes, Unfollows, Unfriends, and De-Linkers

I used to fret over unsubscribes. I knew that building an email list was important to the success of my content marketing strategy and I took the loss of even one audience member as a personal defeat. It got even worse when I started using social networks and noticed when the number of connections would decrease.

 

Those don't bother me anymore. In this lesson I'll tell you why you shouldn't be concerned either.

90 Second Content Marketing Lesson - Testimonials

One of the success factors for business growth is differentiation. You have to be able to tell prospective customers why you are different from anyone else in the same market. That's really what branding is all about, isn't it?

 

It sounds easy. Of course your company is different. What would be the point otherwise? Unfortunately, being able to clearly point out those differences and PROVE YOUR CLAIMS, is a lot harder than it sounds.

 

One inexpensive but highly effective way to do that is through customer testimonials.

90 Second Content Marketing Lesson - Who Are You Helping - Your Customers or Yourself?

If you've been working on a content marketing strategy for a while it's a good idea to take a giant step away from fueling your social media, blog, and email machine to make sure you're still creating content that is in the best interests of your audience. It's extremely easy to slip back into a pattern of self-promotion. You probably won't even know you're doing it.