Do you remember that time when a referral asked to work with you? Wasn’t it pleasant and smooth? No pushy sales pitch. No cold call. Just a friendly person who trusts you enough to work with you. Generally speaking, referrals are pleasant and easy to work with because someone has vouched for you before they contacted your business.
The problem with simply waiting for referrals is that you never know when the next one is coming.
What if you could find someone or something that could vouch for you like a past client does AND produce predictable results?
Enter “Content Marketing”
Kind of like a salesperson, except instead of selling, content marketing refers people to you! Before I share 4 ways content marketing can help generate business for you, let’s define what it means. Content marketing is a form of marketing where you share valuable and useful information to a prospective audience. This information can be in the form of YouTube videos, social media posts, emails etc. The point is that you are sharing your knowledge with the public.
Seems simple right? It is. But it takes hard work. Which is why many people don’t do it. If you are willing to do the work, here are four ways content marketing can grow/benefit your business.
Content Marketing Establishes you as Authority
When you consistently provide free value to potential prospects, you are positioning yourself as the expert. Gone are the days when you chase leads. They are now coming to you to hear your thoughts and expertise. Sounds too good to be true? Think of this very article you are reading. This is content marketing. You came to the article. I’m not selling you anything, and yet you are still thinking about me. Content marketing only works if you are genuinely providing value.
Content Marketing Is a Lead Magnet
When you consistently provide value to potential prospects, not only do you build trust, but now you create a sense of indebtedness in the prospect. In a group of competitors trying to sell to your prospect, you are the only one truly helping them without asking for anything in return. This willingness to help and transparency attracts leads like a magnet. And for good reason! People don’t like to be sold to.
Content Marketing Produces Better Customers
Is there a difference between a referred client and a client closed from a cold call? Many times, the cold client doesn’t have the same respect toward you as a referred client. There is no surprise here. To the referred client you are an expert. To the cold client, you are a salesperson. With content marketing, the people that come to you trust and respect you. This means that working with them will be much easier, and will allow you to produce a better customer experience. Think about it, you provided free value, then you provided an amazing experience. That sounds like a raving client to me! And we all know what raving clients produce…referrals!
Content Marketing creates Longevity & Predictability
Even the best clients sometimes forget to refer you. Sometimes the raving client you loved moved away. Content marketing allows you to establish a solid brand presence in the community. The more content, the more market attention you have. Over a longer period of time, this constant attention will inevitably produce leads. The great thing is that, unlike raving clients, content never sleeps. It’s vouching for you 24/7, and it’s not going anywhere.
If you have any questions about content marketing and how you can implement it into your business feel free to email me at tim@orangevisuals.com, or click the button below, and I will be happy to set up a free 30 min brand strategy consultation.