Your content marketing strategy should be transformed from a first-touch channel for conversion to one that is last-touch. Content marketing is a powerful channel for converting leads to your sales strategy.
Continue reading to learn why, and some tips for getting your sales team involved in content marketing.
How content marketing can help increase sales
The days of traditional methods such as billboards or window displays to attract customers are over.
Content marketing is an internet version of asking people to stop by their local streets and promote a product or service. They talk about it. Content marketing is a great way to increase brand awareness. However, this is not all. Because content marketing helps, it can boost your sales strategy.
- Demonstrate different uses of your products, business offerings, and services
- Create a loyal customer and advocate brand community
- Customers can be informed about new products by using cross-selling and upselling strategies
- As conversion machines, you can generate and boost conversions.
How do you create a winning strategy?
How do you design a content marketing strategy that is sales-focused
There are many content marketing channels that brands have at their disposal, though it can take some time to master them all. These are just a few of the channels that you should be aware of:
- Blogs: The O.G. Content marketing channels for brands around the world are still the best way to drive traffic and increase conversions. You can start a blog in just five steps. Blog topics can be as wide or as narrow as you wish.
Example: Let’s take Xero, an accounting software that is targeted at small businesses. The site has a wide range of blogs covering topics that are relevant to accountants, small business owners, freelancers, and others.
It doesn’t have to be self-serving. A blog they recently published was about International Volunteer Day. It discussed which charities Xero employees are most involved in 2021, and how customers can help them.
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- Podcasts – The podcast industry has doubled in size over the past few years, with new brands and creators entering the space daily. Several familiar names can be seen on the Webby Awards 2021 list for Best Branded Podcasts. Spotify and other media companies have invested over half a million dollars in podcast acquisitions in order to be a leader in this market. Podcasting is an affordable, but time-intensive content marketing channel. You only need $200 to buy a microphone, audio editing software, and great content. If you want to host your podcasts live, there are many webinar software options.
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- Videos: YouTube has made it possible to create videos with affordable production technology. Comedy skits and explainer videos made with GRWM quickly became a key segment for conversion funnels. An example of this is an English tutoring company that has millions of views on topics such as ‘Understanding Road Signs In US and UK’. These videos are a great way to show the quality and competence of their tutors and can also be used by someone who wants to invest in private tutoring (which can sometimes be costly). These videos can be used to help them hit the ‘book’ button.
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Content marketing can be a complex area with many avenues that require little to no effort. It is possible to grow your content marketing channels by planning and budgeting well.
Step 2. Step 2.
Always keep an eye out for niches. Google processes up to 63,000 searches at any one time (assuming that an average person searches for three to four times per day). You just need to identify the type of information they are looking for.
Take a look at the suggestions Google suggests when you search for “how to increase sales …'” and then read the auto-completed questions. You could then write a blog or a video about, say, “how to increase sales at a salon” and produce a lot of content that is in demand.
Here are some ways to search keywords and topics:
- Google Auto-complete: Type a question into the search bar and the auto-complete function will provide a list of top queries based on your search history and location.
- Get feedback from your customers Find out what their favourite features and services are. Ask your sales team for feedback.
- Problems: Are you offering any services or features that are missing from your product? Do your customers have issues with certain features? If so, how can you help them? If your customers frequently ask you how to download social media performance reports as pdf, you can write and record explanation content that explains the steps.
- Tools Those with access to keyword and competitor research tools can create content more quickly than others. It might be worth considering purchasing a basic subscription plan for tools like Moz SEO, Hootsuite or SEMRush.
Step 3. Step 3.
It takes more than being the first to create discoverable content. Search optimization can help you expand your reach beyond your existing clientele via email marketing.
SEO marketing is best when you map primary and secondary keywords, and optimize on-page content such as headers and descriptions.
Google is launching more search products across its range of apps. This opens up new avenues for SEO.
YouTube indexes chapters (their term to describe timestamps) in videos. Make sure you add keyword-optimized titles (especially if your YouTube video is more than three minutes long) to each section. YouTube video results are displayed above the fold so people have a greater chance of finding the video before the related blog.
The same principle can be applied to all content types, not just blogs.
To improve your visibility in Google Image results, include target keywords in alt text image captions. Optimizing Google My Business listings can be done in the same manner. Make sure your listing includes common terms that are used in the area. If locals refer to soft drink as “pop”, then you can mention it as such.
Step 4. Step 4.
It’s now time to get it distributed. It is important to create a distribution strategy that allows everyone to see it. Distribution is a team effort. So, allocate time to work together and learn from each other.
Try these distribution strategies:
- Send an e-newsletter out to your email marketing list
- To increase your followers, share on social media like Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.
- Pitch to industry news magazines
- You can reuse content from different media (e.g., a podcast episode can be turned into a blog post).
Tips to Increase Sales
Let’s look at a few tips to make content marketing a revenue-generating channel for you brand.
1. Be sure to place your CTAs correctly
When creating content, it is easy to get distracted and include too many Call-To-Actions. These CTAs can be included however many times and wherever you wish. It doesn’t necessarily mean that it will pay off.
Content marketing doesn’t require you to include CTAs everywhere. Without making it too obvious, the material will do all of the talking.
It is a common practice to place a subtle CTA at the end or middle of a piece without making it seem pushy. To be effective, the CTA must have a connection with the topic. A personal finance video maker talking about index funds could include a CTA for checking out a net wealth tracking tool to monitor income from index fund.
2. Your offering should be included in your content
The great thing about having your own content marketing vehicle to promote new features and services is the fact that you don’t have to plan large launch campaigns.
Engaged followers will look forward to your content and be eager to hear about new announcements.
Google Search Central is a blog that Google launched recently. It has become the primary source of search-related announcements to SEO professionals. Here are all the latest news about Core updates, API modifications, and new search products. They are not boring press releases!
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3. Flexibility is key and you should respond to feedback
You must be open to feedback from all angles when you are trying out a new channel for content marketing.
Your output quality will improve if you are responsive to your readers’ feedback. Poorly produced content will turn off 60% of your users. Your community will give constructive feedback if they are enjoying your content. Perhaps your editing is more crisp or your camera quality needs some improvement. Please leave your comments!
Brands can draw inspiration from
Many brands are dominating the content marketing market with thought-provoking and engaging content. Here are a few to be aware of:
Dollar Shave Club
The Dollar Shave Club was founded in a time when subscription-based eCommerce models weren’t yet a common idea. Their videos were viral and broke the internet back then. DSC’s original video has been viewed 27M times on YouTube. They then followed it up with a series about how to choose the right razor, after-shave skin care, and how to get maximum use of their products.
They are unique and stand out among other brands in men’s hygiene.
It isn’t influenced by the typical elements of a mens product advertisement. There aren’t hordes bikini-clad women vying for attention. It’s just a guy looking for a simple, effective and affordable shaving kit. This clip is funny and shows how this product can be a great addition for your bathroom.
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Expedia
Expedia has a wide range of content resources that span many media, including blogs, podcasts and videos. Their blog, “Out There Starts Here”, covers topics as diverse as “Top x Destinations 2021” and as specific as “What to do if you need to cancel a trip.”
They also have a podcast called ‘Out Travel the System’ that breaks down their blogs into smaller episodes.
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Actionable tactics can elevate your content marketing
One piece of advice that will be the most important is to be consistent and patient in content marketing. To build a loyal following, you need to make a concerted effort and focus on the needs of your audience. Also, it is important to use feedback to grow.
With relatively low budgets and minimal effort, digital space allows you to reach new audiences in a variety of formats. Twitter Spaces is another format that’s being launched regularly. Keep trying new formats and you’ll eventually see the results.
Scoop.it Blog: The first article How to Use Content Marketing to Sell: A Guide for Inside Sales Teams appeared on Scoop.it Blog.
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