The Unspoken Genius of Content Marketing

Apr 2017

The Unspoken Genius of Content Marketin

Ah, Sunday. My favorite day of the week. For just one day in seven, from morning to bedtime, I unplug from all things business: no computer, no work, no email, no social media, no giving in to “lemme just check this real quick” temptations. Just rest, relaxation, naps, backyard time with the pups, and Formula One racing.

But last Sunday, I made a teeny exception.

Last Sunday, when my friend John Phillippe of Zephyr Salvo texted me this video, I broke my no-business rule just long enough to check it out. And I’m glad I did:

If you’re not in a spot where you can watch this quick one-minute clip from MSNBC, here’s a synopsis: Small business consultant Barry Moltz shares the main reason why businesses aren’t getting referrals, even if they ask for them. The problem, he says, is that we usually ask our clients the “do you know anyone who …” question once we’re done providing our product or service. At that specific moment in time, the odds of said client being able to refer a perfect prospect to us is slim to none.

The secret to getting referrals, Barry continues, is staying top-of-mind, so when that client does come across someone who needs your product or service, as he puts it, “you jump to the front of the line” and they refer you.

Now, ready for the kicker? Here it is:

“We actually can’t sell anything to anybody. We’ve gotta be there when people are ready to buy, and the only way this works is consistent content marketing.”

Boom.

That, folks, is what content marketing is all about. We show up, day after day, week after week, not with marketing messages, but with engaging, useful content, and when that moment of readiness comes about, we do indeed jump to the front of the line.

Sales Interrupted

The question of how to stay top-of-mind with prospects and referral sources is one that has plagued sales teams for as long as anyone can remember.

Think about the typical sales process. Your sales ace gets wind of a prospect and makes a pitch, only to be told “We’re not in the market for [your product/service] right now.”

Thus begins the oh-so-painful follow-up process, which usually goes something like this:

1 month later:
“Hi there, ready to buy yet?”
[crickets chirping]

3 months later:
“Hi there, ready to buy yet?”
[crickets chirping]

You get the idea.

But what if we followed up not with the same old rehash of “ready to buy yet?” but with rich, insightful resources that actually made those folks’ lives better?

With content marketing, we can.

By the way, this is why your sales team should be the #1 fans of your content marketing. Instead of piping up with “Hey, Bob, just wanted to follow up and see how it’s going …” (we all know nobody ever calls “just to see how it’s going,” right?), we enable them to send an email that goes something like “Hey Bob, when we spoke earlier, you mentioned that your team was having an issue with X. We just published a blog post where we show five easy steps for resolving X, and I thought you might find it interesting. Here’s the link if you want to check it out: …” Big difference, right?

How to Get to Top-of-Mind Awareness … and Stay There

That top-of-mind awareness (or “TOMA,” for my acronym-slinging compadres) that Barry spoke about is the holy grail of every marketer. When people think of our product or service, we want our brand to be the first one that comes to their minds, just like they think of Coca-Cola for soft drinks, Nike for running shoes, and Apple for computers.

And content marketing can do that. If we’re consistent.

Oh, crap. I said “the c-word,” didn’t I?

So, yeah, let’s get that out of the way right now. Achieving top-of-mind awareness takes steady action, over time. It didn’t happen overnight for Coca-Cola, Apple, or Nike, and it won’t happen overnight for us, either.

Now, consistent is not a word many marketers like to hear. We are campaign-oriented creatures, and if we can’t show bottom-line results after six months, well, then, what the heck good is it?

But that’s how content marketing works. There is no drive-through. There are no shortcuts. We have to show up with engaging, compelling content, week in and week out, through product launches, personnel changes, budget cuts, and every other challenge that crosses our paths.

So if you’re not willing to be consistent, all the “best practices” in the world won’t do you a dang bit of good. But if you are in it for the long haul, here are a few proven ways to stay top-of-mind with your prospects and with referral sources.

Build a schedule and stick to it

There’s more to being consistent than publishing content frequently. We have to approach our task like the publishers we are, not with three blog posts one week, zero the next, and one the next. Pull out your project calendar and create a publication schedule you can live with. When will you publish your blog posts? When will you send out your email content? When and where will you publish on social media? Then stick to it. That’s how we build trust.

Know your audience

If you’ve been following me for a while, you’re probably sick of hearing me say “know your audience,” but I can’t repeat it enough. Because here’s the deal: Audiences don’t engage with your content to hear about you. They engage to be educated, informed, inspired, and/or entertained. That’s it.

How do we deliver content that achieves one or more of those goals? We spend a lot of time and effort getting to know the folks on the other side of that screen. What are their challenges? Their interests? Their fears? Their hopes and dreams for the future? Once we have a clear picture of what these folks want and need, we can start delivering content that makes their lives better.

Don’t just share your own stuff

Part of becoming an authority in your field is showing a bit of humility. So branch out. Don’t just share your own insights from your own subject matter experts. Mix it up and include other voices from your industry. Not only will you add flavor and variety to your social media feeds, but you’ll also remind your audience that you’re there to serve their needs, not to hear your own echo.

Be responsive

If someone takes the time to comment on a blog or social media post or to respond to an email, do them the courtesy of responding. Even if they disagree with you, make sure they know that you acknowledge their points of view and that you appreciate the effort. Not only is this good for your cred; it’s just the right thing to do.

Measure and adjust

Unless we engage in some extensive — and expensive — market research, most of us will never know exactly how top-of-mind we are with our target audiences. But the KPIs that are measurable can give us a good indication of what’s working well and what isn’t. Your website traffic numbers, your social indicators (reach, likes, shares, etc.), and your email analytics are all worthy sources to check on a regular basis (at least monthly). Look for patterns among the most and least engaged-with content, then adjust your approach accordingly.

It’s All in the Timing

One of the biggest mistakes we make in marketing — and in sales, for that matter — is that we do everything by our timing. “We need to sell more units of Widget X, so we’re going to promote the crap out of Widget X until we reach our quota.” “We lost a major client this quarter, so we need to add at least one new client from X industry by the end of June.”

Wanna hear something scary? It’s not about our timing.

Wanna hear something really scary? It never was.

Sure, decades ago, a snazzy sales pitch was all we needed to convince buyers that they needed our product or service — right now. Whether or not they actually did need it, well, that was immaterial.

But today’s consumers are smart. And powerful. Until that moment when they’re ready to start the decision making process, even our brightest, most beautiful ADDY-award-winning marketing just blends in with all the rest of the white noise out there. The best we can do is make sure that when that moment does come around, ours is the first name that comes to mind.

And that, folks, is what content marketing is all about.

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About the Author

A self-described geek who can recite entire episodes of South Park by heart, Rachel Parker has had a passion for content ever since she was old enough to hold a crayon (purple, please).

As Founder and CEO of Resonance, Rachel helps businesses publish content that connects with their audience … and converts those followers into customers. She’s also the host of the Content Marketing Podcast and author of the book The Content Marketing Coach: Everything You Need to Get in the Game … and WIN!

Our Clients Are Saying

Event Sold Out Two Years In A Row!

Rachel worked with me on creating a content marketing calendar and content for the Big Social Media Summit (Big SMS) three years in a row. She is very organized and knows just the right amount of posts on social, email newsletters and content to send. Her content marketing efforts helping us sell out our event three years in a row! I am expecting the same for October 2014.

Rachel was hired to write content for our email newsletter and content for our social platforms. In addition, she had a budget to do advertising on social media. She participated in the event live and after the fact to assure buzz was created before, during and after the event. As a result, our event sold out.

When I work with Rachel, I have total peace of mind. I know that she is on target, on time, reliable and delivers over and above the results I expect.

I trust Rachel totally with her ideas on strategy, marketing and the content used to not only promote our events, but also post on my behalf on social networks. I have been doing social media for 8 years, and I hire Resonance to post on some of my social sites as it saves me time, and keeps my social sites relevant and current. They always post great, engaging content that gets my social properties likes, comments and shares.
Produced ROI Result

Form.io needed someone who could grasp the complexities of our product, capture the subtlety of our differentiating value propositions, and convey them in the right voice for an exacting customer audience…. Resonance delivered, by crafting a multi-faceted online content marketing strategy that drove traffic and conversion, producing the ROI result we were looking for….
Professionalism and Sincere Desire to Help

I just didn’t seem to be able to find the time or the right words to explain what I offer and how my company helps people accomplish their goals. Rachel was able to ask me some questions, do some research and capture my voice while writing my website copy exactly as I needed it to be written. Now, the copy on my website is much more professional than what I would have created and having this task handled by Rachel and Resonance freed up my time to complete other tasks I am better suited to do.

It was a joy to work with Rachel. Her professionalism and sincere desire to help was apparent from the first communication until the final delivery. I will definitely use Resonance again and highly recommend their services.
One of the best “vendor” relationships I’ve ever had.

My company had little or no time to spend on social media. Our needs were to ensure a steady stream of posts across three platforms (Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter) by harvesting and re-purposing content from our own site and news streams. So I contacted Rachel Parker of Resonance Content Marketing.

The result was two-fold. Not only did our ranks of followers grew steadily, the steady drip, drip, drip of content helped us train our personnel and direct their own individual social media efforts.

Rachel and her team are extremely organized and open to discussion and new ideas. They deliver a rapid response to new opportunities — and an overall feeling of being on the same team. One of the best “vendor” relationships I’ve ever had.
Added 5 figures to my business in less than 4 weeks

Rachel took the overwhelm and stress out of writing content for my marketing campaign! When I approached Rachel, I was really concerned that I wouldn’t have the time to focus on writing copy for a lengthy marketing campaign that included sales pages, solo emails, newsletters and social media updates. Well, let’s just say I’m glad I hired Rachel because I couldn’t have done it without her support and expertise. I loved how she used my voice and words to craft content that helped me reach and attract my ideal client. As a result of working with Rachel, I added 5 figures to my business in less than 4 weeks, hundreds of new social media followers and exceeded my sales and list building goals! You know your marketing copy is working when you hear someone say, “I see you everywhere”. Thank you Rachel for helping me not only get seen by my ideal clients but get paid!
Increased our likes and interaction rates

Working with Rachel was a delight. Not only does she communicate very well, but she provided valuable insight about our social media platforms and followers. We have much better engagement with our fans and followers, which increased our likes and interaction rates.
Increased website traffic, New Lead Generation

We were experiencing a lack of internal resources to consistently maintain the Ustream blog. So we turned to Resonance Content Marketing to write blog posts on current industry topics while maintaining a consistent tone with the brand. The result is increased website traffic, new lead generation from gated assets on blog, and better educated/qualified leads. And I now have more time to spend on marketing strategy with the confidence that the content we push out is extremely well written and engaging.

Rachel is an amazing writer and has really managed to create engaging and relevant blog material on topics that aren’t always super interesting. On many occasions, she has been able to quickly turn around one-off requests and the results are always top-notch. She has also helped guide our content strategy based on her expertise in content marketing, which has been a huge asset to our team.
Social Media Ranking Better Than Ever!

We are so happy to have hired Resonance for our social media needs. We spend most of our time serving our clients and studying our field so we can provide the highest quality possible. We no longer worry about our social media, as we have total confidence in the wonderful work Rachel and her team have accomplished.

Our social media is active, promoted, and is ranking better than ever! People often comment about what they see on our Facebook page. Resonance has added a creative, and artistic twist to our social media that is appealing and captivating to our audience. This has allowed me more time to work with my team and clients, so I can focus on service towards the people that help our business grow.

I know there will be wonderful content on Facebook, and that Rachel will answer to posts, comments and questions as soon as a comment arrives. I am often impressed at how quickly she responds! Thank you Resonance! I highly endorse Resonance and encourage companies who need social media strategies to work with Resonance! You won’t regret it!