Marketing Is Like A Cocktail Party
There’s one simple thing marketers are overlooking when it comes to the type of content they’re developing. Unlike traditional marketing, content marketing is not all about you. In the past, marketing used to be all about your brand – marketers would develop ads, direct mail, email newsletters, press releases, sales collateral and more – usually focused briefly on a prospect’s pain point, and at length on how the marketer’s company would solve it.
That’s all well and good – but today content marketers have to go a step further.
You have to be a resource.
Think of marketing like a cocktail party – you’re never going to keep someone engaged if you ask them a question about a challenge they’re having, only to barely listen to the answer and then go on and on and on for the rest of the party about why YOU are the answer to that question (what your product/service is). Even if you do have the answer, you’d come across as shallow and not all that interested in learning more, but rather just in talking about yourself.
Nobody likes the gal who just brags about herself and doesn’t really listen. Think of your company the same way.
Content marketing has got to be resourceful. You have to share information that’s not just about you. You have to think of how to help, not just sell.
What information can you share with your prospects that educates, informs, resolves an issue and otherwise benefits your fans over time? Give, even when you don’t need or expect something (like a sale). People remember how you make them feel – not just what you say. And when you make someone feel important, cared for, and understood by being a resource that helped them, they’re more likely to want to do business with you when the time is right.
Is your brand an awkward teenager still figuring things out, or do you know who you are? Are you a humorous company, so it makes sense to post cat memes? Or are you a serious B2B company for which informative and resourceful infographics make more sense? Is Snapchat really a network that will reach your audience, or are you just trying it out because you’ve seen other brands – completely different brands – using it? Great, you’ve joined Instagram! How is it contributing to your bottom line success?