3 min read
Creating Content that Connects
Anyone tasked with creating effective marketing collateral is set upon achieving several objectives. Chief among them is reaching your target audience and influencing them to buy a product, vote for your candidate or contribute to a charitable cause. Most marketing campaigns are directed outward; they seek to interrupt and grab a prospect's attention. Inbound seeks the opposite. Inbound's goal is to create compelling content that draws the prospect inward to a location on the web.
We propose an entirely new direction by combining the best of both. Applying inbound methods to outbound collateral may be the most effective direction you can take to stand out from the crowd in this age of digital marketing.
Read More Tips for Using Buyer Personas with Outbound Collateral
Connecting the Content Dots
The power of creating digital content for marketing purposes is widely acknowledged. You might even say it's old hat which raises a question and a challenge - how do you differentiate your content from the deluge that pours out daily? We suggest a few ideas that can distinguish you from the crowd. Practices we recommend include:
- Change your focus - don't try to interrupt or grab the attention of your potential buyer or client. Instead, focus on giving them something they will value. What's "valuable" to the end-user can cover a wide range from educational to inspirational, but it must provide a solution to a dilemma your buyer persona is trying to resolve. Take direction from your buyer personas.
- Be enticing - create content that offers an abundance of solutions with a touch of exclusivity. Consider offering an ebook or whitepaper but qualify the offering as for a limited time only or only available for the first 250 respondents. Make the content special by making the people who accept your offer feel special.
- Stay in context - remember that all consumers, whatever the product, are somewhere on the continuum of their buyer's journey; some are still gathering information while others are ready to commit. Create content that correlates with each stage of the buyers journey and match your expectations accordingly.
- Become a braveheart - break away from the crowd. If your competitors are flooding the market with technical whitepapers, take an opposite approach. Consider Slide Share or PowerPitch. Find ways to incorporate scripted info-graphics or inter-active media into your campaign. Tackle a problem, offer a solution but do it with humor. Make it fun.
- Don't be a bore - in keeping with the last point, a product may be technical or mundane but you don't have to be. Use your buyer personas to key in on what your prospect likes and enjoys. Personify those qualities. Remember you are the honey to the bee.
Read More Power Up Your Points - Apply Inbound Methods to Outbound Presentations
Learn more about what Inbound Marketing can do for you.
