Posted by Jim Monteleone
The Internet is where buyers go to learn about products, services, and yes, even companies. For this reason, firms that showcase their expertise through quality content get found.
A company that builds its reputation through content marketing can grow faster and command a higher price than one that does not. For less money than conventional marketing, an investment in good content can add to your bottom line today and tomorrow. Here’s how:
1. It Attracts Prospects -- By creating a stream of search-engine-optimized good content, a firm helps its prospects become educated buyers (and sales leads increase). Because good content (blogs, informational articles and how-to videos) can stay on the web for months or years, content created today can attract new customers far into the future at no additional cost.
2. It Helps to Retain Customers -- Companies that embrace content marketing use their permission-based “house list” to frequently email helpful information to customers. There are few better ways to stay top-of-mind with customers than by regularly providing them with information they can use.
3. It Shows Industry Leadership -- Every company has a voice, its own way of solving business problems and planning for the future. A weekly blog is an ideal place to tell customers and prospects about new ways to solve problems that the company is uniquely qualified to address. In today’s media-soaked business world, industry leadership gets attention.
4. It Showcases Expertise -- A company whose executives are industry thought leaders attracts both customers and potential buyers. Blogs, white papers, videos, etc. showcase management expertise and its ability to solve tough business problems. Prospects seek out businesses whose managers are thought leaders.
5. It Helps to Recruit Top Candidates -- A track record of recruiting and hiring the most talented candidates adds value to a business. Top candidates want to work for an industry leader with subject- matter experts who will mentor them. Showcasing subject matter expertise online through informational content helps companies attract and hire the best and the brightest.
6. It Increases Company Value -- When it comes time to sell, an investment in content marketing can enhance key value drivers such as sales, customer retention, executive recruitment, and industry leadership. It also takes the spotlight off the owner, who will leave after a sale, and focuses it on the key executives who stay to run the business.
Few marketing investments can add more value to a business than a well-planned program of content marketing. Best of all, an on-going program of content marketing can showcase a firm’s value drivers for a fraction of the money needed for conventional marketing and advertising.
Do you struggle to create "good content"?
If so, Leadsource can do the work for you by interviewing your subject matter experts -- and re-purposing your existing content -- into informative content that prospects are looking for. To find out how easy it can be, contact us at sales@leadsource.com, or call us at 412.922.6415.
Posted by Jim Monteleone
Most companies have good content – information that could make prospects want to learn more about their products or services -- if only they had access to it. Unfortunately, most of it dies a slow death in the literature closet. Here’s why:
- Prospects can’t find it – Traditionally, companies create marketing and sales materials in print. To recoup their marketing investment in whitepapers, data sheets, and case studies, companies must re-purpose and edit these tools into electronic form for website posting. This same content, when turned into informative video slide shows and posted to YouTube, can also bring prospects to the company website at little or no cost.
- Search engines ignore it -- Even when published on the company website, most content does not score high enough in search engines to be easily found. Unless the content is keyword optimized and a concerted effort is made to push it to search engines, blog directories, and social media, there is little chance that interested prospects will ever see it.
- It is too much, too soon – In today’s world of “short attention span theater”, few people will plod through a 25 page white paper. However, when the same document is edited into a series of bite-sized, informative blogs, interested prospects often gladly request the full document in exchange their contact information. And of course, even the complete document should be edited and shortened to make key points without losing the attention of the reader.
- It is a tough read – Ideally, the reading level of most web content should score at the secondary school level. On the Web, a tedious read almost guarantees that you will lose the reader before you’ve made your point. As in most writing, simple language and short sentences move the reader quickly through complex ideas to your conclusion or call to action. When “difficult” content is repurposed into short, easy to follow text, it is easier for the reader to both understand the message and appreciate the author's subject matter expertise.
To generate inquiries and sales, content has to be search engine friendly. The key to getting it in front of potential customers is to repurpose it into informative blogs, white papers, and “how-to” articles and videos – then optimize it for search engine discovery. When done correctly, it makes it easy for interested prospects to find you.
Are you struggling to convert your sales and marketing materials into web-friendly "good content"?
If so, Leadsource can do the work for you by interviewing your subject matter experts -- and re-purposing your existing content -- into informative content that prospects are looking for. To find out how easy (and inexpensive) it can be, contact us at sales@leadsource.com, or call us at 412.922.6415.
Posted by Jim Monteleone
Marketers often struggle to create useful information for prospects to download from their website. Yet much of this good content already exists -- while even more is constantly being created (and lost) by a company’s subject matter experts.
Here are four easy ways to find or create engaging web content that you may not have considered:
- Get People Talking – Regrettably, most subject matter experts don't have the time or interest to write web content. However, they are often quite happy to share their expertise verbally with the marketing team. So an easy way to create good content is to interview your resident experts and get them talking about solving the business problems a customer or prospect might face. Once transcribed, this useful content can be repurposed into multiple blogs, white papers, etc.
- Send Up a Flare – Your subject matter experts invest hours or even days preparing speeches or presentations without realizing that the documents they prepare often have great value as informational content. An email request can help you collect such “lost content” within your company. Marketers’ internal solicitations can yield a treasure trove of usable material – feedstock for multiple blogs, white papers, videos, and the like.
- Check the Back Room -- Most companies accumulate years of white papers, sell sheets, and other marketing materials that can be easily updated and repurposed into new web content. With minimal editing, a sell sheet, for example, can be morphed into multiple blogs -- even longer “how to” informational pieces. A single white paper can begat weeks (even months!) of informative blog posts.
- Bring the Camera – Videoing a presentation or speech can provide you with multiple items of timely informational value from your subject matter experts. When downloaded to YouTube, these video clips should also include an offer for additional information, a tactic that can continue to bring prospects to your website for years to come.
Good content should mirror the personality and values of your firm and its subject matter experts. It is everywhere, once you know where to look for it. The trick is to capture it and repurpose it so that it can be used to help generate leads and sales.
Do You Struggle to Create "Good Content"?
If so, Leadsource can do the work for you by interviewing your subject matter experts -- and re-purposing your existing content -- into informative content that prospects are looking for. To find out how easy (and inexpensive) it can be, contact us at sales@leadsource.com, or call us at 412.922.6415.
Posted by Jim Monteleone
Most internet marketing companies see the same business problems over and over again. Yet some are reluctant to discuss them with clients, especially as they relate to flawed content.
Since many firms emphasize SEO and other technical solutions, they may not know how to address content-related problems that hurt a site's ability to attract real prospects. Here are six things your internet marketing company won't tell you – because they may not know the solutions:
1. Building a site is easy, content is hard -- With today's tools, building a handsome website is not difficult. What is difficult is building a site that attracts prospects with “good content” and gives them a reason to return. This is why it's critical to load your site with fresh, informative content that helps prospects become better buyers.
2. Companies soon run out of content -- At the beginning, everyone is well-intentioned. The site is built, and new content is created frequently. After 3 to 4 months, the novelty wears off, subject matter experts get busy, and content creation slows to a trickle. One way to jump this hurdle is to use a second party content provider who understands your business.
3. Search engine optimization is not enough -- Good SEO can get lots of people to come to your site – but only good content gets them to stay (and come back). To engage prospects, create content that helps them solve problems by using your products or services -- and give them easy ways to ask for more details through landing pages, inbound calls, and more.
4. Close only counts in horseshoes -- There is no such thing as “almost right” when it comes to creating content that mirrors the value of your product or service. Using inexperienced people -- or suppliers with little or no expertise in coaxing “good content” from your subject matter experts -- will leave you with a good-looking site that no one visits.
5. Direct marketing techniques still rule – Knowledge of direct marketing techniques makes it easier to create “good content”. Informational offers, crisp “calls to action,” and ongoing offers are all techniques developed in the world of mail order in the 1920s. Marketers who understand the techniques of direct marketing, i.e., what works and why, produce content that generates leads and sales.
6. There is never enough time – Unless your are an internet marketing firm or have a full-time web marketing staff, chances are that you will not be able to sustain the time, interest and effort needed to create a steady stream of “good content.” To succeed, you need one (or more) full-time staff dedicated to doing things right or competent suppliers who can do the same work offsite.
As with any type of marketing, successful internet marketing requires that you (or your web marketing firm) work backwards from the desired result – and make the needed investments in “good content” to attract the right prospects and keep them coming back.
Are You Sitting on a "Goldmine" of Existing Content?
We can quickly repurpose your existing white papers, sales literature, presentations, etc. into hard-hitting "good content" that helps prospects become smarter buyers -- content you can offer on your website to attract real prospects. To learn more, contact us at sales@leadsource.com, or call us at 412.922.6415
Posted by Jim Monteleone
Does your website mirror your company’s personality and value? If it reads like a sales brochure, chances are that no one will ever “get” what your firm and its people have to offer.
It's a shame. If your company is like most, you have subject matter expertise that prospects are looking for, and years of experience to share. Inquiries and leads increase when a website mirrors a company’s personality – here’s why:
- You Offer Unique Value -- Every company has its own unique DNA. This comes across easily when you meet or speak over the phone with a customer or prospect. To reflect it on your website, offer downloadable “good content” that showcases your subject matter expertise.
- Likes Attract Likes -- A great website attracts prospects who "get" the value of what your company offers, and how they can benefit from using your products or services. For this reason, it only makes sense to have your company website sound like -- and act like -- the people in your firm.
- People Are Looking for You -- Your website should give visitors a fast understanding of your value, and why they should buy from you. It should not read like a brochure. Websites that are “all sizzle and no steak” no more convey the value proposition of a company than its Yellow Page listing.
Great websites mirror a company's DNA. They are filled with informational content that comes not just from the mind, but from the heart of a firm’s subject matter experts.
Translating subject matter expertise into valuable information is the job of the content marketer. It is done by editing and "repurposing" existing content, and by interviewing your subject matter experts to create the blogs, videos, and white papers that potential buyers are searching for. The reward for offering “good content” can be a real increase in leads -- and sales.
Do you struggle to create "good content"?
If so, Leadsource can do the work for you by interviewing your subject matter experts -- and re-purposing your existing content -- into informative content that prospects are looking for. To find out how easy it can be, contact us at sales@leadsource.com, or call us at 412.922.6415.
Posted by Jim Monteleone
In a world of “short attention-span theater”, a one-page blog post often gets more readers than a lengthy newsletter.
Because blogs are usually published weekly, vs. monthly or quarterly like a newsletter, blogging helps businesses reach out to prospects -- and touch customers -- far more often, at less cost.
There are three big reasons why blogging works better than a newsletter:
1. It Helps You Get Found on the Internet
Search engine optimized blog posts "get found" by prospects looking for helpful information about a product or service. Unlike newsletters that are emailed or mailed only to a pre-selected audience, blog posts stay on the web for months or years – attracting new prospects at zero marketing cost.
2. It Helps You Stay In Touch With Customers
When asked, most people on your house email list will agree to receive your blogs. This gives you a low-cost way to reach out to your customers and prospects (people who already know you) on a weekly basis. Most firms find this to be a huge gain over their normal “2 to 4 times a year” customer touch marketing.
3. Its Less Costly Than a Newsletter
It takes a lot of time and effort to produce a multiple article newsletter. Many marketers find that after a few issues, they run out of ideas for quality content, causing most newsletters to have a brief life. And of course, the cost of paper newsletters mailed to a house list can be substantial. Blog posts, because they can be done quickly, are far easier and less costly to create and sustain.
Conclusion: The line between newsletters and blogs is blurring. Firms that use blogs to reach customers and prospects can substantially reduce their marketing costs – assuming they continue to provide a steady stream of “good content”.
Leadsource creates “good content” by interviewing your subject matter experts -- and re-purposing your existing content -- into informative blog posts that prospects seek out on the web. To find out how easy it is to attract new prospects and reach out to customers with effective blogging, contact us at sales@leadsource.com, or call us at 412.922.6415.
Blog Co-Authors: Jenny Monteleone/Jim Monteleone
Posted by Jim Monteleone
You’ve probably seen them, but not everyone knows what mobile barcodes are, what they do, or how to use them.
To read a mobile barcode, you need a smart phone with a built-in reader application that works through your phone’s camera. Once it recognizes the mobile barcode, it will take you directly to a website, landing page, or video – or provide contact information that can be downloaded directly into to your phones “Contacts”.
In short, a mobile barcode instantly brings prospects to your website, landing page, or web coupon without having to input a URL. They come in a variety of types, and can increase the ROI of any promotion by proving the ability to:
1. Bring Traffic to Your Website
A mobile barcode functions as an additional response device, and can be read by your phone’s reader on print materials, or directly from your computer screen. A mobile barcode on an ad or sign can link a viewer directly to a landing page of your website (it even works on tee-shirts or any advertising specialty).
2. Provide Your Contact Information
Business card contact information can be encoded into a mobile barcode, giving the reader the option to automatically include it into their phone’s list of contacts. This can be useful when opening a new office or branch, or providing the specific contact information of a sales representative.
3. Send a Promotional Message
Promotional messages can be offered though mobile barcodes, such as special offers or sweepstakes. Prospects can enter a contest using only their mobile phone, in addition to email, mail, or computer web access. This also helps to increase social media presence.
4. Track Mobile Response
A variety of tracking techniques are available for monitoring the real-time performance of your mobile barcode placement. You can track their performance by media, by message, or any other variable. Their use is limited only by your imagination.
Marketing applications for mobile barcodes will become universal in the very near future. As more consumers accept and use this technology, it pays to include it into every marketing program.
Leadsource can help you to maximize the benefits of mobile barcode technology in your next mail or web promotion. To contact us, just scan the code to the left -- or call us at 412.922.6415, or email us at sales@leadsource.com
Blog Co-Authors: Jenny Monteleone/Jim Monteleone
Posted by Jim Monteleone
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What do prospects really want when researching a purchase on the web? A big part is a comfort level with the decision they are about to make.
Comfort is a function of information -- because nobody wants to make a bad buying decision. That's why even in today's information-overloaded society, people read long copy when it tells a convincing story. To do so effectively, here are 4 ways to create long copy content that generates leads:
1. Make It Personal -- The beauty of long copy is that it weaves a story that makes you feel that you know the writer. Keep the language conversational, and avoid jargon and corporate-speak at all costs.
2. Use Examples -- It is one thing to talk about how to use a product or service, another to show it being used in a compelling way. Prospects search for "how to" demonstrations and videos on the web, and often reward the provider with their business.
3. Keep It Local -- If you sell nationally, use testimonials from customers in different regions to show prospects that your products don't just work, but work for people like themselves.
4. Make It Safe -- When comparing two products or services of equal value, the one with the better guaranty usually gets the sale. So if your products or services come with guarantees, be sure to talk about them.
In the world of internet marketing, long copy gets results because few people can resist reading just a few more lines of a really good story. It is surprising how much existing content can be repurposed into compelling long-copy stories or videos -- content that attracts prospects like a magnet.
For more information about what makes a website attract prospects and generate leads, download a new Leadsource eBooklet, "How to Turn Your Website Into a Lead Machine."
Posted by Jim Monteleone
Recently, I was fortunate to be a guest on the
Pittsburgh Technology Council's TechVibe Radio Show to talk about how to generate leads with content marketing.
Watch the video of the "in the studio" broadcast now.
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The show was hosted by PTC's President Audrey Russo. She asked some great questions, which helped me to share how (and why) content marketing works, and how it generates quality web inquiries and leads.
The Pittsburgh Technology Council was recently described as "the most effective Tech Council in America" by Eric Schmidt, President/CEO of Google. Its TechVibe Radio Show profiles innovative firms on its weekly webcast (and broadcast on KQV Pittsburgh, 1410 AM).
Watch The In-Studio Broadcast Now:
Part 1 (Time: 6:13)
Part 2 (Time: 5:27)
Posted by Jim Monteleone
To get comfortable with a buying decision, people search for "good content" on the web such as how-to articles, white papers, and informative videos.
But in a down economy, the FUD Factor (fear, uncertainty, doubt) can stop sales cold. Here are some content offers that can be used to give prospects sound reasons to buy now:
Overcoming Fear -- Buyers are more likely to make a purchase when they have the option to return it free, and also feel that they have gotten extra value. So to overcome buyer resistance, feature a 30-day free trial, no-interest financing, an extended warranty, or no payments for X months.
Defusing Uncertainty -- The more confidence a prospect has that they are making the right decision, the more likely they are to act. "Try before you buy" helps close the deal with a free or heavily-discounted sample, buy one get one free, introductory rate, or a money-back guaranty.
Erasing Doubt -- Because doubt feeds on disbelief, it is important to show prospects why your product will do the job better than the competition. Content that shows a feature-by-feature comparison helps, but nothing beats an impartial third party endorsement. So if you have testimonials -- or your product is highly rated by a trade or consumer organization -- create content that showcases its superior performance and value.
Find out how your website's content compares to your competition -- PLUS get ideas for re-purposing your content to attract more prospects and make your site work harder.