An example of good content marketing

An example of good content marketing.

I was watching this video the other day and came across quite an amazing statement that highlights the importance of content marketing. The presentation concerned a solar installation by Greenwood Solutions, a Melbourne renewable energy company, where they interviewed their customer about the system that they had installed on her property. Along with why they installed it and what they wanted to achieve, the customer mentioned how the decision was made to use Greenwood as their supplier.

I heard the following statement.

“I always do a lot of research before I embark on anything. So, I did quite a bit of hunting. It was hard to find decent information and comfortable information. So, the article I found about you guys was actually a nice little breadcrumb to find, because it actually gave me some information. A bit of a path about what I was wanting to do, and it was a good fit. I haven’t found anyone else, and it was a good fit for what I was wanting to achieve”.

Content Marketing not Advertising.

That’s why content marketing is more powerful than the other “buy now” or “what we have for you” typical of most online advertising. Sure, these ads will put you higher on Google’s placement, but it does not create loyal customers. In other words, the kind of customer that will exclude any other business but yours.

Why? Because you have answered a question before they have even asked it. When the customer is ready to buy, they will have already found a trusted company that they want to work with and not just give them the best price. Now this is profitable business.

The Greenwood Video.

The video is beautifully filmed and crafted. It shows the property and the customer as she talks about the why’s the what’s and the how’s of what she wanted to achieve. There are interviews with the customer and Greenwood staff as they all talk about achieving the desired outcome together. Importantly the company staff do not talk about what they do but more how they worked with the customer to ensure her dream came to life.

The customers content marketing endorsement.

Back to the customer’s comment. “the article I found about you guys was actually a nice little breadcrumb to find cos it actually gave me some information”.

This is the perfect endorsement for content marketing in that one comment. She has now blocked out any competitors. She trusts Greenwood and now will only work with them. Why? Because they took the time to give her some information that will help her achieve what she wants to do. A great example of content marketing.

PNR podcast.

This morning while listening to my favourite podcast “This old marketing” with Joe Pulizzi and Robert Rose they discussed how many companies are setting up an internal content marketing department within their own operations. These departments have a film crew, writers, photographers, all set up to create content so, I thought how important is content marketing to Greenwood Solutions?

How important is content marketing to Greenwood?

I spoke to Veli Markovic from Greenwood about how important content marketing was to them? His response impressed me.

“It is very important, and we take it extremely seriously. So seriously that we have hired our very own videographer and editor to make sure the videos are done as perfectly as we can get them”.

And from the quality of their videos, it is an investment well spent.

“Having it done internally helps us to control what is created which gives us better branding. If you can’t do it internally try to use an external supplier who knows your industry intimately or is willing to take the time to understand your business”. Veli Markovic, Greenwood Solutions.

Not everyone can do it internally.

Not every business can hire their own content staff but it’s good to see that there are businesses taking it so seriously. There are people who can help you with content marketing, so it doesn’t have to be that great of an expense. The important thing is to do it and do it right.

Content Marketing for the Solar Industry.

Now, I have been spruiking content marketing and its importance for business for many years. After viewing this video and other quality content material that Greenwood Solutions have produced, I feel that the Solar Industry is really getting the idea. Good stories that help and talk about what the customer needs, not just about what your business can do, is what this industry needs. Well done Greenwood!

What you should be doing to get through COVID-19

We are all being affected by COVID-19. Business may be slowing down and who knows what is ahead. But here is one thing I do know! We need to be prepared for what happens at the other end. This crisis will end because we all know that Australians will get through anything that the world will throw at us. It’s just who we are. So, what you do right now will determine what happens to your business when things start getting back to normal.

Marketing during covid-19

Here’s what you should be doing.

Don’t stop your marketing Activities

If you are still running your business and are still doing some marketing do not stop it! When it’s all over the last thing you want to be doing is having to start it all up again from scratch. You have been doing a lot of hard work to get customers to notice you and be at the forefront of their purchasing minds don’t let it go!

Increase what you are doing online

If you are still putting things online this is the time to increase what you are doing. As people work from home, we have noticed that more people are posting things online. So, if your message pre-crisis was getting say 20% of the views it now will most likely go down to 10%. This is because there is simply more things being posted and are now cluttering up everyone’s feed. If you were doing say 2 posts a week you now need to increase this to one every day even more.

Hit it hard!

A lot of people think that they are annoying people by what and how much their business posts online. You are not! I repeat you are not annoying anyone! What you are doing is increasing your chances of being seen. If your friend says “gees you post too much” just take them as a friend and not a potential buyer. A potential buyer needs to see your business through the clutter of everything else. The way to get through that clutter is by relevance, consistency, and now volume.

Start some activities

If you aren’t doing any marketing, you need to start it now. I’m not talking advertising that costs too much and things may be tight. I’m talking being on social media and getting your business in front of potential customers. People need to be aware of you for when they are ready to buy.

Be seen!

By following these simple steps, you will ensure that your potential to getting noticed will increase. And you want to be in the forefront of people’s minds when they are ready to buy!

So, in summary here’s my suggestion. Increase your activity to get more business now and when the crisis is over. There is no point in being subtle and waiting for the customers to come to you and the end of it all. The more active you are the more people see your product. That means:

More posts online
More content to give your potential audience help
Start to get noticed

Good luck with all of your endeavours keep safe and let’s build Australia again!

Marketing is Changing

What is Content Marketing?

With the internet the consumer now has control. Most consumers will research a product before they will even think of contacting you. There is advertising but this becomes expensive and is short term. Now there is an intelligent way of getting your brand known and recognized for the longer term. It’s called Content Marketing. It’s a way of selling without using ads. It is more about giving valuable information to someone who would be interested.

Watch the video to understand how!

Here’s how it works.

You create videos, blogs, and other material that solves a potential customer’s problem.
Let’s say you make a product that helps someone to do organise their storage and reduce clutter. Instead of just talking about your product, your content should be about ways to help someone reduce the clutter.

In this way, someone who wants to find out how to “organise their space” will see your content online and get value from it.

Problem – Solution – Trust

What happens is when that person gets value from your content, they will start to trust your brand. It’s like you are the expert in the area and you are there to help them. Over time they will start to get more value out of your content. So, when they are ready to buy, they know who to go to. You!
They will also start to become your biggest fans and pass the word on to their friends. It works on this simple concept. People want solutions to their problems.

Start Solving Problems

So, start solving problems. That way you will gain an audience that values what you do and more importantly trusts you.

How to link your website pages to gain better Search Engine Optimisation

Linking pages on your website is a great way to increase your ranking with Google and other search engines. The best way of doing this is by using the keywords used for the page as links to the connecting page. That means with every link there should be an accompanying keyword or key term. We all know about keywords on your pages and what they will do for Google search rankings. Read more about them in this article What are keywords?

Using keyword and internal links

When creating content for your website it is good to reference other pages on your website. Google loves it and will rank you higher in searches. This is simply linking relevant information to each other. So when designing the structure of your pages especially with content marketing here are things to consider.

What is your page content about

Let’s say on a web page you are writing about solving an issue (an issue related to customers in your industry) with a product of yours (the product that can solve this issue). Try the following:

Here’s how it’s done

In the first paragraph of this story, I talked about keywords and I used the line “Read more about them in this article What are keywords?.” The relating page is called “what are keywords”. The full URL or link of this page is www.assertivemarketing.com.au/what-are-keywords. The words on this page are the same as the Link “What are keywords” this has now tied the term and the page giving more value to the term. When you click on this term you will go to the other relating page about keywords. On that page, you will see a corresponding link back to this page. Thus the 2 topics are related and linked. Google will like this and rank the pages higher.

The Psychology Behind The Online Review

Are you screaming to be reviewed Online?

A lot of companies think that they live and die on the reviews that they get. So, I thought I would talk about some of the psychology behind the online review. So why do people review a business? This question can’t be answered by a simple generalisation of the public. But here are my thoughts on them.

The good review

This one is when someone is either very happy with your service or you have asked them to review you because you need to increase your ranking.

The bad review

This comes from someone who is dissatisfied by their dealing with you. So let’s look at why someone would want to give a bad review. It is generally because they have lost some kind of control over the situation. The order was late, served not to their liking or they are just angry about something.

People do read reviews

Reviews are a good way for other customers to find out about your business, so they are important. The point system can destroy you if you don’t watch them.

The star or point rating system

The rating you receive on your profile is the average of all the reviews that you receive. This means that if you receive 10, 5-star reviews then you have a 5-star rating, Well done! But what if someone then gives you a 1-star review this will drastically reduce your average. You are no longer a 5-star company but a 4.6-star company. Unfortunately, 10 people have said you were great and only 1 has said otherwise, so now you suffer a mediocre review. In a way the 1 bad reviewer has more control over the situation than the 10 other reviewers. Get another bad review and the situation gets worse.

Here are some things to help you get a better online profile

Respond immediately
Always be polite and apologetic to someone’s complaint
Never get personal
Never engage in an argument online

The most important thing is to know your brand

If you know your brand and have a strong one it will outweigh any review system. Your customers will swear by you and will keep coming back. So, encourage them to take the time to give a review of their experience. Ask them to make comments and not just a rating.

Talk to your Customers

Always talk to your customers. There is one thing that I always tell my clients and that is, if you have a customer (or past customers), you should communicate with them. A lot of companies think that if they email or call a past customer they will be annoying them. You won’t. If you have a customer that is satisfied with what you have sold or serviced them then they will be happy to hear from you.

Getting the message out there

I once spoke at an industry event and mentioned this point to the audience. Most of them were small tradies. I told them that they have every right to contact someone who has bought from them. So, do it. I took a call from a member of the audience a few months later and he said that he sent an email out to his customer base and received a great result.

What are you waiting for?

So, if you have a list of past customers and I know a lot of you do, put them in an email list and send them a message. This can be about any product enhancements or updates or even just to keep in touch. Remember if you don’t talk to them someone else will.

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