You know you need to be on Facebook and have a blog. You have a website and you're updating it with news and announcements. But you're stuck. You're running out of ideas on how to keep that content flowing.
"What should I be saying?" you ask. "Should I just delegate the updates to my team?"
To solve this riddle, we must go all the way back to the beginning. What is the purpose of a blog? Why are you on social media? Why do you have a website? What is the goal of news and announcements?
So we must consider seriously the objective of online content. Once we fully understand the reason for web content, everything else falls into place naturally.Your content strategy will invent itself.
Here is the secret.
Sharing and Caring -- the core values of social media. These twin principles should guide what you say in your blog, social media, website, email marketing, and other promotions. If you really care about your customers or audience, you'll share valuable information with them.
Prove you care -- by what you share. Share information that shows you care about your fans.
Let's break this down into a quick list of some ideas for your content development:
(1) Share your personal expertise: insights, analysis, experiences, anecdotes, opinions, knowledge, training, tips.
(2) Share solutions to common problems.
(3) Share remedies to specific issues your audience has expressed.
(4) Share answers to questions your fans have asked.
(5) Show photos of your organization having fun, helping others, doing presentations, displaying products, engaged in events, meeting famous people, involved with the community.
(6) Show photos of your offices and people working hard to serve the customers.
(7) Show photos of the outside of your building, to help people find it when they want to drop by for a visit or a meeting.
(8) Display videos of events, presentations, products in use solving a problem for a customer.
(9) Display video tutorials and how to tips.
(10) Describe a meeting you just had and the topics that came up, which may benefit others who were not at the meeting.
(11) Answer questions from a meeting you recently had with someone, since others may have the same questions.
(12) Keep announcing new things that occur in your organization -- make it look like your organization is alive, active, by God getting things done! -- and not languishing, drifting, slipping into oblivion.
(13) Read the blogs, websites, and social media updates of competitors and colleagues. What are they talking about? Perhaps you'll find some great ideas for your own content and conversations.
(14) Tie in with current news events that everybody's already talking about. This is a good idea for SEO (search engine optimization) -- riding on the coat tails of hot news stories by connecting them with some aspect of your products, organizations, or opinions.
These are just a few of the many possibilities to consider when devising a content marketing strategy.
You, as CEO, owner, or manager, should have tons of things to say, all the time, or else there's something wrong.
If you're not excited about something every day, something in your industry or company, maybe you're in the wrong field. Surely you are able to speak authoritatively about your company in various speeches, meetings, conferences, media interviews, and press releases.
On the other hand, if you have staff members who are articulate, enthusiastic, and eager to engage in conversations with customers, you may certainly delegate the content duties to them. This will work, as long as you speak in your own authentic voice periodically.
Think of it like the Editor's page in a magazine, introducing a theme, sharing some news, or making a broad statement on the state of the industry.
If you're not excited about something every day, something in your industry or company, maybe you're in the wrong field. Surely you are able to speak authoritatively about your company in various speeches, meetings, conferences, media interviews, and press releases.
On the other hand, if you have staff members who are articulate, enthusiastic, and eager to engage in conversations with customers, you may certainly delegate the content duties to them. This will work, as long as you speak in your own authentic voice periodically.
Think of it like the Editor's page in a magazine, introducing a theme, sharing some news, or making a broad statement on the state of the industry.
Let altruism, a warm, human friendliness, be your guide. Think of things to say that will help, inspire, motivate, and delight your audience, fans, customers, and allies.
Provide value. Share your wisdom. Tell a funny story. Explain how you got started. Describe your vision for the future and how you plan to accomplish it.
Give out valuable and interesting content -- and your fans will promote you with Likes, Shares, Comments, and Re-postings.
You won't go viral unless you're infected -- with a dynamic zeal for your business -- and a genuine love for the problems your products solve for customers who you sincerely care about.
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