Content Marketing: Have you tried writing engaging communications about making widgets?

Apparently, we now live in the age of social selling, defined by Wikipedia as the process of developing relationships as part of the sales process. Today continues Wikipedia, this often takes place via social networks but can take place either online or offline.  Using Social Media, as we all know, requires the creation of content which in order to develop relationships must be engaging and relevant. Gone are direct, pushy sales messages: now we all need to demonstrate how helpful we are in order to attract customers.

If you were to embrace this into your sales and marketing strategy, which I think you should, you need to create authentic communications. Why so? Because your clients are much more likely to be attracted to them. So what is authenticity?  Well, it’s a big word so I looked it up in the dictionary:

Authenticity: the quality of being authentic; not false or copied; genuine; real

Got that? It all sounds great, we could all do with being more real and genuine… I am sure that many business owners could generate genuine information about their areas of expertise. But the other question is of course, will this information be engaging for the reader?  That would depend on two main factors:

  1. The subject matter
  2. Your target market

Should you choose your subject matter based on the particular target market you are trying to reach?  Yes of course you should. Does that mean you are not being 100% authentic?  Perhaps not but as long as you are about 75% there I think that should be OK J

What if your area of expertise is very dull to most common folk? Well, you need to concentrate on being helpful and finding topics which common folk needs help in when it comes to your industry. Don’t forget that different people are interested in different things so it helps be clear on the target market you are trying to engage.

What sort of communication can you use? Social Media gives you a lot of choices and you can do almost anything from weekly tips to monthly Blogs, white papers and e-books. Anything goes as long as it’s been thought through and has an appeal to your target market.

What if you find writing difficult or have no time for it? One word: outsource it (OK it’s two)

But even if you do outsource I think you need to be involved in the content plan and help steer the topics and themes as the expert in your business. If you find this hard, you will be happy to know that I have done my bit to be helpful and come out with a document that can help you produce authentic yet engaging ideas for your business communications. Download it here

 

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