how does Creating content help generate new business?
Small businesses are working harder than ever to generate new sales with potential customers, retain their current client base and build engagement.
creating content establishes trust
Content marketing as a marketing strategy establishes trust and helps bridge the gap between your brand and your market.
The more you share your knowledge and experience the more of a relationship you are building with your audience - and the more they begin to trust you.
If you have a good understanding of your audience - who they are, their ‘personas’ - you can craft the right content to use at the right time to convert a potential customer into a client. This works hand in hand with the design of your website and how you want potential customers to use it, your sales cycle, how you funnel leads, qualify opportunities etc.
You can equally design content to support your clients’ journey from conversion to renewal, to ensure your attrition rate remains low.
How Else can it help?
Brand-authored content and thought leadership showcase your team’s expertise. You can also disseminate your brand values and cleverly articulate what you do and why. This can be via social media posts and selfie videos to generate discussion or heavier types of content such as articles, depending on the subject matter and audience.
If you throw customer advocacy into the mix - think case studies, interviews etc - you begin to highlight your work with key clients, which in-turn helps other organisations (new business) to map their needs against someone else’s and see how your service/tool could be of use.
baby steps
blogging
As an example, blogs educate, inform and/or entertain, particularly when content is written on a regular basis and as part of a campaign.
Top level, you are striving to highlight why your clients and potential customers need your product/service and how you can help them overcome the challenges they’re facing.
Here are some examples of how you could do this:
Considering a key challenge that your audience faces and offering tips or takeaways by way of a solution.
Writing about a subject your audience will relate to and creating conversation around it.
Outlining the threats and opportunities facing your industry - how are you and your team preparing for them and how will your offering continue to support your customers’ needs?
Providing insight on a topic or future trend to demonstrate you are the leaders in your field.
How does useful content lead to an enquiry?
Start with a question your potential customer is trying to answer. Imagine a small training provider whose audience wants to know how to support someone managing a team for the first time. An article on preparing new managers for their first few months could give that reader useful guidance.
Within the article, the provider could explain where structured training would help and link to a relevant workshop page. That page then needs to answer the practical questions: who the workshop is for, what it covers and how to find out more or book.
The connection matters. A general ‘contact us’ link gives the reader less context than a clear explanation of the support available. Help them understand why the next page is relevant, and make sure it delivers on that promise.
Some people will enquire straight away. Others may read several articles, subscribe to your emails or return when the need becomes more pressing. Your content can help them understand their options along the way.
Look beyond the number of views
Review whether readers visit the relevant service page, ask questions or make enquiries. Ask new contacts how they found you and whether anything they read helped them decide to get in touch. It won’t give you a perfect picture of every interaction, but it can help you understand which subjects support useful conversations.
If people read an article but rarely take the next step, check whether the content reaches the right audience and whether the next step is clear. If the enquiries are unsuitable, look again at how you explain who the service is for.
Want to get started?
My post on how to plan and create effective content takes you through choosing the purpose, audience and format for each piece. Use it to plan content that helps your customers and gives them a relevant next step.