In order to convert leads into loyal customers, you need to learn how to use content marketing.
Using content marketing to convert leads into customers
Content marketing is a type of indirect marketing. You use various types of online content (like blog posts, videos and social media accounts) to get the attention of your audience. Instead of marketing your product directly to them with this content, you’re providing them a free source of information or entertainment.
Your content marketing materials focus on providing value to your lead first, then implementing the marketing aspect in a more subtle way. So, for example, one approach to content marketing would be to draw your leads in with an informative blog post related to your product or service (like a «how to» guide).
That’s just one very simple example; there are many more creative ways to do content marketing. The overall goal is to get leads looking at your marketing materials as something they enjoy and value, rather than the disruptive annoyance that direct marketing is often seen as. A great (and more detailed) example of a real-world case study in content marketing of this nature is the scuba company Dive Rite. Their plan implemented a mix of «how to» content and features centered on their employees with revamped product descriptions to see a 65% increase in web traffic without spending one dollar on direct advertising.
Let’s dive more deeply into the example of content marketing using a blog, since this is a very effective method of lead generation for nearly any type of business.
The primary way in which you generate leads with a blog is to draw in search traffic. You want to identify key terms related to your business that people are searching for, and then position yourself as high as possible in the search results for those terms.
This process is called «keyword research.» You’re not only looking for the search terms that will lead people to your business, but also the ones that are not already saturated by your competition. If you compete solely at a local level, you’ll probably want to target very simple search terms, since your pool of competition is relatively small. The more national or international your business is, the more important it is to identify «long-tailed» search terms that other companies are not already dominating. These are longer and more specific search phrases that more directly pertain to your business and consumer niches.
Once you know what search terms you want to target, you create a series of blog posts featuring those terms. It’s not as simple as just stuffing those terms into any old post, however. That’s a practice called «keyword stuffing» and it is very much frowned upon by Google. The search engines want to see content with genuine value that has a direct relationship with your desired search term.
Search engine optimization (SEO) methods are what you use to improve the visibility of your blog posts in search engines. This is done simply by making genuinely useful and/or entertaining content, with a bit of «behind the scenes» technical wizardry to optimize the code and formatting of each post and page for SEO purposes. This is where a specialist content creation service like Lowpost can be of assistance.
Creating Quality Leads
Simply drawing in more traffic isn’t enough by itself, however. It’s a crucial first step, but the ultimate goal is to turn all of these new leads into quality leads. Quality leads are the content consumers that fit your target demographic profiles and have both the interest and the means to do business with you.
So how do you turn all that blog traffic into a list of quality leads? You offer value propositions tailored to appeal to your target market profiles. You’re exchanging quality content for their contact information.
One of the most common strategies is to offer a weekly or monthly newsletter with insider insights and special offers. If the information you have to offer is valuable enough, your lead may need no further enticement to sign up. If they need a little extra push, you can offer things like a free digital product (such as an ebook) or a discount on their first order.
The ultimate goal is to create blog posts and landing pages that have a high conversion rate. A successful «conversion» isn’t necessarily just a direct sale, however. Bringing a customer into the sales funnel or moving them along it is also a vital part of the process. Sign-ups for your newsletter and requests for your free digital product can therefore be seen as successful conversions.
Digital Products to Offer
As mentioned earlier, blogging isn’t the only form of content marketing. It’s a core component that most businesses will want to employ, but it can be done in tandem with many other types of content.
Some content types that should be considered as part of your overall strategy include:
1) E-books
E-books are greatly appreciated by customers as they feel more substantial than other types of digital products. Free e-books can provide much more detailed information that would be unwieldy to publish online.
2) Newsletters
The perceived value for customers in receiving a newsletter is in getting better tips or special offers that are not available through your web presence. There can also be a convenience factor if you publish prolifically and the newsletter sums up your offerings from the past week or month.
3) Webinars
Everyone has different learning styles, and webinars are great for reaching customers who prefer to see and hear a live speaker and have the ability to interact with them.
4) White Papers
Think of a white paper as a smaller version of an e-book. You’re providing more information than is normally available online, but not quite as much as an e-book does. White papers are also a great format for summarizing complex financial and sales figures for a more general audience.
Quality Content: Your Ticket to Quality Leads
Content marketing is an absolute necessity for any business with an online presence. Use a blog as your bedrock, and expand out into other forms of digital content as appropriate. Lowpost specializes in creating content that converts leads into customers, and is the best solution for driving quality traffic.
