Let me just explain that this is a milestone post for me. This is the 300^th time I have written a Nailing Post article. What began as an experiment to see if anyone would read what I had to say about marketing, business, and life in general has become a weekly endeavor that will soon be in its sixth year. For those of you who read this with some regularity, thank you for your faithfulness. For those of you who read it a bit more infrequently, thank you too. Without anyone reading it, the Nailing Post is just taking up space on a server. I appreciate the feedback you send my way.

This blog represents a major shift in the way marketing is strategically implemented in today’s business world. Content marketing is designed to be a springboard for the rest of your marketing efforts. It is the way your target market gets to know you before they will consider buying anything from you. The first step in the marketing process has always been awareness of your business and your products and services. You might call it Promotion. In the old days, we would do this via direct mail, ads in traditional media sources such as newspapers, magazines, radio and television. This was used to build enough credibility around your product that it would springboard people to a new level where they would begin to investigate buying the product. What changed all of that was a new generation of consumers who did not trust board room birthed advertising and began to blog and tweet their likes and dislikes. This was a much more honest way to get information on the offerings of a business. The old marketing springboard of traditional advertising has been replaced by content that is not necessarily geared towards a sale. It is purely informational. It is designed to build trust and a traditional sales pitch is seen as untrustworthy.

There is a problem with content marketing as a marketing springboard to a sale. At what point is it safe to ask for a sale in a medium that shies away from mentioning it? You see, none of us can earn a living just reading and commenting on blog posts all day long! At some point, we have to sell something or go broke…and selling is always preceded by marketing. It behooves us to take a good look at what content marketing offers that other forms of awareness marketing did not. It offers something for free – expert advice from people who have already tried a product or, in the case of a blog like the one you are now reading, some tidbits of info that will help you make your business run successfully. Let’s examine this more closely. If free resonates with this generation of consumers, what else could you give away that would entice them to consider buying from you? How about a sample of your product? That is a marketing tactic that has been used to sell everything from pomegranate juice in a supermarket to online movies. (Take a look at my article: The Price of Free.) 

Offering a no-strings-attached chance to try your product or services works to transition your prospects from someone who is interested in what you have to say to someone who has shown interest in using what you have to sell. And with a generation who has become accustomed to having the world of free information at their fingertips, making such an offer is an acceptable way to springboard from product awareness to sales. So what can you offer someone on a trial basis? What can you give away in order to secure a larger sale? Make it a part of your content marketing.

The other part of the content marketing springboard is getting in front of influencers. Who has the active social media voice with your target market? There are stay-at-home mothers who blog about consumer products. They have thousands of followers. What would it take for you to get them to post about your products? In many cases, it takes nothing more than you sending them your products to try out for free. In other cases, it just means you need to follow them on social media and like, comment and share what they have to say. People who blog really like it when they get this kind of engagement. My advice to you is to find out who is shaking the social media tree in your industry and get to know them.

If you have yet to use content marketing to your business advantage, you need to look into this now. I might mention that our first meeting is always free and will open your eyes to new opportunities in marketing. Click here to contact us.