Creating powerful online content

Your key to your web presence success

How do you feel about ‘Content’?

● How do you feel about the link between content and social media?

● The transition from one way communication to two way

communication is about change management

● Valuable content is about moving away from interruption, broad

brush marketing to attraction marketing

● We live in a media saturated age where no one has time for

irrelevant intrusive marketing

● You may feel positive, excited, nervous, overwhelmed or fearful!

1. Understanding ‘Content’

● Good content is the key to a successful web presence

● Create content for three main reasons:

1. Create keyword rich content – great for Google success

2. Provide valuable content that attracts your target audience

3. Point 1 and 2 help ensure you get found when people search

and that you make the right impression when you are found

● To achieve this you need to understand the principles of good

content creation

2. Understanding ‘Content’

● It’s about learning how to find potential customers at the right time

in their buying cycle

● Because we live in an information age, people buy when they are

ready to buy – so your job is to help people reach a buying decision

● People go online for product /service information, not to your store!

● Gain control of that buying cycle - provide the information they

need during the investigation phase via your website so it is

indexed by Google

3. Understanding ‘Content’

● That content creates a path leading to your business. When they

are looking for help, you are there, offering the help you anticipate

they will need.

● The essence of content marketing = anticipate content your

potential perfect client needs and they will come to you

Getting Started — Long Tail Content● Start with 5 pieces of key long tail content (blogs and videos)

● Then add 1 a week or at least 1 a month

● Create 1 video a quarter (because of the power of YouTube)

● Focus on quality over quantity

● The more good quality content you have the more traffic you will

generate to your website and business

Creating Short Tail Content

● Use your core long tail content to inspire short tail content

● E.g. A 10 snippets from a 10 step post = 10 G+ posts over 10 days

● This drives traffic back to your long tail content on your website

● Save them and repeat because social media feeds are fast paced

● Grow your content to grow your snippets which drives more traffic

● Send snippets across channels, in your newsletter and in social

comments

Creating a Content Schedule

● Schedule content production and sharing

● The Content Schedule is a key factor in ensuring continuity

● Use the Google Calendar to schedule long tail content

● Share it with all responsible

● Set weekly and monthly targets

● If you don’t schedule you won’t write content, share it or manage a

newsletter effectively

Types of Content

● Blogs, articles and web page content

● **Videos — commercial videos, smart phone videos, hangout videos —

one of the strongest types of content for search performance right now,

● Podcasts

● Photos

● Infographics

● Product descriptions

So what do you say in your content?

● Help people! Tips, guides, articles that are relevant to your

products/services, sector and audience needs...

● Answer questions - FAQs

● Listen and respond

● Inspire

● Establish yourself as the go-to resource for a specific topic, product or

service

Repurposing Content

● Get the most juice out of your limited resources!

● Take content you have already created and adapt it

● A blog can be a transcript for a talking head video

● Which can also be a Podcast

● Which can also be a SlideShare piece

● Which can also be an infographic

● Give people a different way to engage with your content as it suits them

Content linked with social media

● Content and social media can help you

● Enhance your PR work and brand awareness

● Protect your reputation

● Extend your customer service

● Build a valuable community

● Facilitate research and development

● Drive sales and leads

Keyword Strategies

● It’s essential you place good keywords into your content — think about

that perfect client again, what will they search for?

● Enables Google to identify your content and return it in search results

● Include keywords in your content title, high up in your content and in

pictures

● Use Google Keyword Planner

● Don’t overdo it, be natural and create content for real people

A Simple Call to Action (CTA)

● CTA— the response you want the perfect client to take

● What is the most important specific action you want your perfect client

to take?

● Sign up? Call? Email? Visit? Buy?

● Purpose of your content — to lead them to this 1 simple action

● Every piece of communication you do should reinforce this CTA

consistently

● Too many CTAs causes people to bounce

The Perfect Client

● Avoid this basic marketing and communication mistake

● Don’t market to an audience that is too broad — this results in a

weak and convoluted message

● Instead focus on your perfect client!

● This results in a clear and concise message

How to Identify your Perfect Client

● Assess you customer data

● Who is your most profitable client?

● Who is the least hassle?

● Who fits with your business goals?

● Gender? Age group? Interests? Needs? Build a detailed perfect

client profile

● Create content specifically with this client in mind

Moving from a Problem to a Solution

● Most people buy to solve a problem or fulfil a perceived need, moving

from negative to positive

● Move perfect clients from a problem to a solution, from lack to fulfilling a

need

● Sometimes your perfect client will not be aware of the problem

● Always lead them to a positive outcome wrapped up in your product

Keeping Content Evergreen

● Content that doesn’t age!

● Track your content and establish which are the most popular

● Focus on the content that is popular and drives engagement

● Periodically review it and edit it, thus keeping it relevant (‘last updated’)

● Imagine if 1 piece of content brought 25 perfect clients to your site

every month. A conversion rate of just 1% = 3 new customers (yearly)

● Work out relevant numbers in your business and create accordingly

What Should You Give Away for Free?

● Yes, you are supplying relevant and useful content to your perfect

clients for free!

● Option 1 — keep important information and give away what is already

available online — your role is to curate

● Option 2 — Give away as much as possible to demo your expertise so

you get hired (Buyers vs. DIYers syndrome!)

● Option 3 — give away content that complements your products/services

and gives you a chance to promote your paid products/services

The Sphere Content System

● A way to balance the strengths of your products/services with the needs

of your perfect client

● Successful marketing and communication is about understanding

human behaviour

The Physical Sphere — the body

● Our physical/bodily needs — our most basic needs

● Food, clothing, housing, heating, health, physical security

● Marketing to this sphere involves showing how a basic physical need is

going to be fulfilled

● E.g. Double glazing TV ads promote warmth which satisfies a physical

need

The Intellectual Sphere — the mind

● Intellectual stimulation from the analytical part of our nature — what

appeals to our logical side

● Problem solving, analytic observations, financial planning, education,

exploration

● Marketing to this sphere involves informing, technical persuasion, facts

● E.g. Audi’s precise engineering

The Emotional Sphere — the heart

● The most powerful of all spheres and the least understood!

● Emotions are the dominant force in all our decision making

● Social standing, individuality, love, hope, comfort, peace, freedom,

dreams, fear

● Marketing to this sphere involves appealing to emotional needs,

showing us things we aspire for

● E.g. Christmas food amidst family scenes — social pleasure through

emotional family connections

Analysing product/service spheres

● Analyse your products/services from the perspective of your perfect

client — put yourself in their shoes

● What is the most important sphere to your perfect client?

● What value would they assign to each sphere?

● Some products/services rely heavily on a specific sphere

● Some products/services are a blend

● Your job is to combine the spheres, carefully blending physical,

intellectual and emotional values into your content

Designer Kitchen Kettle Example

● Perfect client — successful, has kids, has extra income,

environmentally aware

● Physical sphere — insulated outer casing — protects kids

● Intellectual sphere — efficient — environmentally friendly and optimum

temperature settings

● Emotional sphere — the lifestyle they want — a kettle for the modern

successful home the perfect client desires which can be reflected in

photography and video

Designer Kitchen Kettle Example

● This outline enables you to create marketing content according to the

correct sphere depending on the product and the perfect client

● E.g. Designer kettle is marketed very differently to a budget kettle

marketed to new home owners on a budget

3 Spheres for the Perfect Content Mix

● Create content involving all 3 spheres to engage your perfect client on

all the key points of human experience

● Do this to align your product/service to their needs, blending 3 elements

to create reassurance and trust

● All 3 spheres give you a breadth and depth of ideas, sparing you the

headache of content block

● Avoid marketing in isolation — manipulative, e.g. No need to bypass

intellect and logic, if the product doesn’t work, it’s not good enough!

The Creative Angle

● Inform, entertain, inspire and tell stories

● Create a content style that suits your brand

● Ghost writing — maintain editorial control with the people you work with

and don’t completely handover your social media channels to external

people

● If you can’t write then talk, if you are not comfortable with either then

hire someone

Top tips

● Know your business goals

● Know your audience (sphere content system)

● Know what your audience is looking for

● Assign responsibility and then support them!

● Set times, routine and tick box guides

● Repurpose and be efficient

● Get help if necessary

● Measure

Summary

● Creating quality content is an essential ingredient of a successful web

presence

● Invest in good content to succeed online

● Think long term

● Be realistic, get training and internal/external support