There is a ticklish little problem that is becoming more and more of an obstacle in business. Namely, marketing – or what is being called marketing – isn’t leading to a sale. There is a tendency for the new marketing tactics brought on by content marketing and a generation of people we are told do not like being "sold” to fall short of the expectations of business leaders who are trying to turn a profit. When it comes to all the new media’s expert information, where’s the hook?

The hook

In advertising, we always want to give a person a reason to say yes to whatever you are selling: products or services. We call it the hook. This is your unique selling point (USP). It differentiates you from your competition. We spend a lot of time honing those few words that will make your products/services irresistible to the customer. We try to smack them in the face with that magical phrase that converts them from interested prospect to a buyer. This has been going on as long as there has been stuff to sell.

Here is the dilemma: content marketing is not advertising. It is information about how you solve problems with your products/services, but it does not attempt to actually sell those products/services. So why call it "marketing” if you are not trying to sell? I am a firm believer that all marketing is leading to a sale, but not all marketing leads directly to the cash register. In this case, content marketing, when it is being used correctly, will lend credibility to you or your business as experts in your field. This step helps the consumer become aware of the nuances that separate good products from bad ones. This is key to the buying process in today’s economy. Information on making a purchase happens online. Consumers narrow their choices by reading content marketing. If you want a chance of making a sale, you have to be able to weave your USP into a blog, a case study, a press release, a tweet, a post, or some other form of content that will be found on the web. It has to be presented as information, not advertising or it will be disregarded as marketing banter.

Transitional action steps: From content to hook

But there is another ticklish little problem circulating in marketing today. There is so much emphasis on content marketing that some marketers never get around to the next step: making a sales pitch to get the consumer’s business. After someone is confident in your expertise, you have to market to them to make a purchase. If all you are doing is making them aware of your brands and your level of competency, but you are not enticing them to buy, your marketing is lopsided. Awareness leads to the hook. How do you do this? You have to have a transitional action step between your awareness marketing and your hook. So if you are writing a blog, you need to put a link to a landing page that makes a pitch for the sale of your products/services. If you don’t do this, you are little more than an online encyclopedia of information, not a business trying to sell your wares.

Understand the critical step content marketing plays in today’s business environment. If you use content marketing as a precursor to advertising, you will have success. But the key is transitioning from content to the hook. For more information on how this works for your business, contact me. I would be happy to evaluate what you are doing and recommend a way to make this transition.