Chase Llewellyn
Contributing Writer
Success Academy, Marketing Coordinator
Content Marketing is both emotional and informative. Great content will pull the consumer in, engage them, inform them, and inevitably, provide the consumer with an overwhelming sense of social connectedness. Once the consumer believes the product or services are an extension of their identity, you have a customer for life.
While content marketing is typically associated with social media and the digital world, the concepts roots are firmly planted in the past. As far back as 1904, Jell-O salesmen went door-to-door distributing their cookbook for free. The company, less than a decade old, took full advantage of the opportunity to paint their product as more than a one trick pony. Within 2 years the company saw its sales sky-rocket to over $1 million dollars (over $25 million in today’s dollars).
That’s all well and good but how do we create great content? How do we create content that our customers value and find engaging? Most importantly, how do we align that content with our business goals? A good place to start is with SMART goals; Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time Based. This approach ensures that you stay focused on your product while remaining topical and engaging. With those goals in mind, who is your target audience? What are their interests? If social media is your avenue for content distribution and your demographic is males between the ages of 35 and 44, Facebook would be an ideal platform to market your product. Supplying your audience with “get to the point” infographics, user reviews and testimonials, and the occasional comic relief are all great ways to keep your message informative, relevant, and light. Venturing into the content creation process alone can be a daunting challenge so make sure to engage your own team in the content creation process. Here at Success Academy we have a “Facebook Ambassador of the Week” which tasks one of our team members with curating their own content to share. This can range anywhere from a safety fail of the week to thought provoking quotes to insider perspectives on each team members field of expertise. The benefit of this is that the material stays fresh and the consumers remain engaged all while keeping the brand well-rounded and top-of-mind.
Some helpful content ideas:
Behind-the-scenes photos – Offers the consumer a peak into the world behind the curtain.
Statistics or data – Those within the industry and consumers alike are always interested in where the industry is headed and current trends.
Branded Imagery – Take every opportunity you can to get your name out there through the use of friendly and familiar brand name recognition.
“Caption this” – Post a humorous image and ask your audience to “caption” the post. This is an easy way to drive consumer engagement and interact with your audience.
Fan Photos – Ask your audience to send in photos of themselves at home or about town with your branded products and share them with the rest of your audience.
Profile an employee – Tell your audience about a your team members and their accomplishments.
Thank your fans – Maybe the most obvious but also overlooked far too often. Let your audience know how much you appreciate them!
Now that you have the content, a plan of attack is in order. As previously mentioned, social media is a fantastic option that typically costs nothing (other than your time) yet has the potential to immediately reach your consumer base and provides you immediate product feedback. Email marketing is another way to effectively reach your consumers but can be a little trickier as you will have to grow and maintain an email list. If content marketing via email is your preferred method of delivery, be sure to not overdue it and get yourself sent to the dreaded spam folder. Once every week or two should keep you in good standing with your customers. A growing trend in content marketing is “influencer marketing.” This form of marketing is interesting in that the focus is placed on specific key individuals (or types of individual) rather than the target market as a whole. Popular on platforms such as Instagram, a partnership of types is formed and another influencer, one with a large following or market to interact with, who shares and promotes your product or service. Again, when done properly and reciprocated, this method of content marketing is virtually free.
So there you have it. Content marketing in its most user friendly form. I’ve always thought the process should be a labor of love, not that of necessity. While content marketing is absolutely essential to the sustained growth and profitability of your business, the beauty of the concept is that the message lies directly in your own hands. Let your personality and passion shine through and the message becomes contagious!
Chase Llewellyn is a marketing, sales, and design professional with 10 years of innovative and successful marketing campaigns in the insurance and franchise industries. In June 2015, Chase joined Direct Energy Home Services as the Marketing Coordinator for Success Academy, the exclusive training partner for the Direct Energy Home Services branded businesses including One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning, Benjamin Franklin – The Punctual Plumber, and Mister Sparky – America’s On Time Electrician. Success Academy, supporting the home services brands of Direct Energy.