No matter what business is in your future, it’s always helpful to take stock of where you’ve been and where you are going. One good place to do that, according to Sean McGowan at Equities.com, is social media.
McGowan pointed to Groupon’s (GRPN) recent turnaround. Groupon’s CEO, Rich Williams, is very active on Twitter (TWTR) and other social media platforms, and his posts help engage existing customers while introducing new customers to Groupon as well.
Curation trumps automation
When it comes to choosing how to present your company and content, McGowan recommends a combination of how you present content on your own website, to social media, in newsletters and newsletters and in event materials, news releases and invitations. Mixing and matching the content is a good approach, McGowan said.
“Having something that takes more time to work on … with nice pictures and videos that really tell a great story but [is] also used more to drive people into your company versus an automated list builder,” McGowan said.
The linchpin to successful content marketing is that social media must be relevant to your audience, McGowan said. Your own brand must evolve to be relevant and accepted for its contribution.
“If you can find ways to bring your current customers along and give them value, I think it’s really easy to get a lot more traction,” McGowan said.
Consistency is key
The goal of content marketing is to drive people into your company and to convert their conversions into revenue, McGowan said. Marketing a service that’s a replacement for your existing product — which often requires an element of customization — doesn’t really help your case. But if you’re advertising a new offering, then promoting it well.
“You can’t afford a blowout Christmas around an artificial ‘I’ve got a great new smartwatch and you should try it out’ advertisement that does nothing to convert conversions,” McGowan said.
One way to promote your service differently than you do your existing product is by developing more content around something that’s a current source of revenue. For example, if a customer wants to become a master of her domain name — owning websites for each facet of her business — you could promote that type of content.
“I think [content marketing] is the biggest change we’ve seen in business marketing in a long time,” McGowan said.