Tree Group Lead Generation Social Selling Business growth Surviving The Future Content Marketing

Now is the perfect time to write content



Here at the Tree Group we  help owners of small to medium businesses in the automotive and niche manufacturing industries with lead generation and sales.

 

"My business doesn’t have anything to use as content"

We hear this a lot at The Tree Group. 

First, let’s define what we mean by content marketing - it’s a strategic marketing approach that focuses on creating/distributing relevant and consistent information to attract and retain potential customers. 

Content marketing includes things like educational articles, case studies, white papers, blogs, videos, etc. Really it’s anything that can answer specific questions people may have and provide them with helpful and informative answers. It’s the best way to distinguish your product from everyone else’s.

By becoming a credible, thought-leader on issues and problems that matter to your potential buyers, you are more likely to get discovered by the right audience and earn their trust. Trust means you can strengthen your brand, grow your subscriber base and gain valuable insights into your potential customers.

 

Repurpose what you already have and create your own

You may think you have nothing you can turn into content, but what everyone has is themselves. You have experience of your market, what you perceive happening there, what mistakes your competitors may be making and can turn this into a blog post, a podcast, anything.

Interview one of your existing customers, divide the interview up into a case study or short videos.

Don’t be too salesy. The aim is to provide helpful content, not push your product or service. 

 

Matching Content to Buying Stages

Think about the three types of stages buyers go through when confronted with a problem they wish to overcome - awareness, consideration and decision. Make sure you have content that will attract buyers in each of these stages. What is the buyer doing in each stage?

  • Awareness - The buyer realises they have a problem
  • Consideration - The buyer defines their problem and researches options to solve it
  • Decision - The buyer chooses a solution

 

An example

Let’s use an example, Andy has a fire suppression unit in his rally car, but it’s damaged and he’s not allowed to start the new season without one.  He first looks at the official rules to make sure he has understood what he needs to do to compete. Here, he may look at the regulations section on your website. 

Secondly, he looks at the old unit he had and compares it to others on the market. He may be downloading customer and products reviews for different solutions and looking at price lists. 

Finally, Andy has decided he needs a hand-held unit that has to be a specific size and weight. He will now search for and look at more detailed technical information - he may download data sheets and fitting instructions.

 

The importance of consistent content

We recommend businesses develop a content calendar, this ensures you can plan content and have a consistent presence with your potential buyers. Make sure it’s varied and ties in with your customer’s buying cycle - for example if most people buy at a certain point in the year or will be looking to buy due to market or regulatory changes, focus your content to match this.

 

Should I use third party content?

Yes, you should certainly consider including it in a limited capacity, as long it is interspersed with original content from you. Using too much third party content  can reflect poorly on your brand and show a lack of originality.

 

You will never get more time to do this

Given the current lockdown situation most of us are in, there is no better time to start planning, brainstorming and writing great content! 

Don’t forget to conduct regular reviews on your published content - what was the most successful? Why did your audience engage more with some content than others? 

Use this analysis to constantly fine-tune your content.

 

Book an exploratory call with Steve so we can discuss how we can help you with content creation and content planning, helping you to grow your business.

 

 

About the author

Picture of Laura Hayward

Laura handles our Inbound Leads and Inbound Companies. Monitoring when people download content from our website and our partners websites, we see this as a new lead. Monitoring what companies visit our website and our partners websites and, if they fit the Ideal Buyer profile, researching online to find the right people to contact.