When it comes to projecting your message to the masses, a combination of marketing and sales is essential. For the best results, you need your best players to come out swinging.
So ask yourself:
Who is your #1 salesperson - the sales superstar who converts SQL’s into customers like they’re going out of business? What is your #1 marketing tool - that killer weapon in your marketing arsenal? No, it’s not Steve from downstairs in sales, or Mandy from the marketing department.
It’s your website.
Loaded and ready to roll 24/7, your website is your most powerful and effective tool at your disposal. It’s a ‘smarketing’ machine. So, is yours well oiled?
What makes a well-oiled website?
Yesterday, I found a perfect example of what a well oiled website DOES NOT look like.
Out of curiosity, I opened an email from a business I subscribe to, only to find a manifesto describing how great they all are. About their great new team members, their great success, how great their product is… you get the idea. I know what you’re thinking… why is that a bad thing?
Look at it this way: imagine you’re at a party or a bar. After someone catches your eye from across the room, you decide to go over and and make a move. With minty fresh breath, and a drink in hand, you introduce yourself by explaining how awesome you are. No matter how attractive you are, or how expensive that drink in your hand is, you’re definitely not going to be getting a new friend request. In other words, the person will think you’re a dick.
Laughable, isn’t it?
In both life, and marketing, gone are the days where it’s all about us. Just like your new friend at the bar, people want to decide for themselves if you’re great. So, why are so many businesses still doing this? Because it’s what we’ve always done.
As hard as it is to believe, there was once a time when the Internet didn’t exist. For marketers, it was all about show and tell. Showing and telling people why they should chose you over someone else.
You were limited to short bursts of interrupted information, and fighting for space. Like an overcrowded market, consumers simply wandered until someone shoved a potato in their face. This was the way it had always been.
Even way back centuries ago when commerce began as a bunch of merchants competing to sell spices and wares, we’ve been programmed to put our sign up and scream “Look at me, I’m awesome!” But the Internet went and changed all that. Now, people don’t want to be told what to do, wear or buy. They’re able to search, explore, research and educate themselves. Before, the power was all in your hands. Now it’s in the hands of the consumer. And this means it’s time to adapt, or get out the way. So, how do we do this?
Out with the old, in with the new.
As marketers, we are constantly analysing and recognising shifting trends. Right now, we’re experiencing the shift towards inbound marketing. To capture new visitors and convert them to leads, we need to change the way we’re communicating. We need to join in their conversations.
At the core of Inbound Marketing is educational, engaging content. Sure, there may well be a time and place to let the customer know how great you are. But, before you do, make sure you really are great. More importantly, prove your greatness through solving your customer's burning questions through great content.
The point of content is not self promotion.
It is to add value to your customer’s experience. And the value of remarkable content is in the way the customer who is reading it finds it helpful and valuable to them. So take a look at your website from your ideal customer’s point of view.
Are you educating and adding value to their experience? Failure to do this puts you one mouse click away from the Google graveyard, where you’ll never be found gain.
What defines remarkable content?
So, how do you measure the quality of your content? Let’s start with this simple checklist.
Are you speaking to your customer’s challenges?
Are you providing information to solve these challenges?
What are you offering?
Would your ideal customer be willing to give you their email address in exchange for the content you’re currently offering?
A common mistake marketers make when trying to implement an inbound strategy is underestimating the power of generosity. They ask, ‘how do I benefit from helping someone for free?’ Realistically, done deals are hard to come by, even at the best of times. But the people who are doing deals, their pages are loaded with large quantities of information designed to assist the customer, not sell to them.
If you are concerned about your website but are not sure where to start, I urge you to come along to one of our free marketing seminars. Just like any great inbound marketer, we can provide you with solutions to your challenges. By helping you understand how content marketing is the best way to create quality content, and how to get it working for your website fast.
To figure out if your content is up to scratch, download our free checklist. Sign up for a conference with The Kingdom to learn your true potential as a content maker.
