How do you plan the best content marketing strategy for your business? -[ My experience]

A Perfect Website Needs A Perfect Content Marketing plan.

Content Marketing is all about letting your customer know about you and your business, Making him understand that you are available just for him to help.

Content Marketing can help you in four major aspects of marketing

You do content marketing by publishing on one or two social media platforms. You do it regularly. But, you will not find any leads out of it. You find zero engagement. 

This is because you need to understand the road map of content marketing. The content marketing should actually be laid parallel to the buyer's journey.

How do you plan content marketing for your Business?

Allow me to explain through an example.

I have worked previously with a CME Event promotions & online marketing company called eMedEents. This is a company which specifically provides information about medical conference, Continuous media education events to Healthcare professionals happening worldwide.

They are good at their doctor's database. As it the clinician focused website searched by doctors across the globe covering 147+ countries.

It provides medical conferences conducting on around 207+ medical specialties. They have direct connections with medical bodies who conduct CME events, so the information is shared with the company as the first preference for online promotions. They are most trusted partners for medical bodies for their event marketing & promotions

Now, they have a website which is SEO focused. They have huge traffic flowing on daily basis. The social media followers are good in number.  So, they give digital marketing services like Banner Ads, Email Campaigns, Social Media Campaigns to the CME event organizers.

Okay! You got the first step: Understanding the Business. 

Now, let's do the Content Marketing plan for them.

#Step-1:  Buyer Persona Definition:

A buyer persona is a script written by the content marketers thinking that the business end user/ target customers would be. Their education to the buying process a frictional screenplay is written thinking that the customer would likely to act.

Let me give you the characteristics of a Buyer persona:

1. Industry: To which industry he may belong to?
2. Company: What type of companies/ organizations he would be from?
3. Designation: What is his most likely designation in that organization?
4. Department: To which department does he belong to?
5. Income: What would be his salary to be?  
6. Education: What is his educational background? This is important to decide on the content marketing pitch we can generate on him. Can he understand the digital marketing platform or do you need to educate him on the basis? 
7. Age: What would be his age?
8. Needs and Goals: What exactly the output he is expecting from digital marketing? What are his goals for marketing? Was that to get reach the CME event to many people? Was that to get registrations?  etc.,

# Step-2: Outline The Basic Objectives and Obstacles of The Ideal Customer.

This analysis gives you an idea of your customer's trigger points which attracts them to buy yours or become your customer.

#Step-3: What Are The Most Common Buying Habits Of The ideal customer?

This gives you an idea where your ideal customer is available online. Where you can find him?. 

#Step-4: Most Common Questions He Would Raise For Himself About Buying A Service?

#Step-5: Max No.Of Days Taken By Ideal Customer To Decide To Move Further

#Step-6: The Content Generation Framework

#Step-5: Content Mapping the Strategy By Defining The Working Titles To The Topics

#Step-7: Social Media Marketing Content Generation Mapping The Title.

#Step-8: Content Distribution Strategy

You need a content distribution plan to distribute your content on your own blog and also on the different social media platforms available.

• Blogging Strategy for your blog:

You need to post the blogs as per your buyer's buying journey.  Remember, there should be a connection from one post to another so as to interlink with each other. 

• Social Media Marketing on Social Platforms in-general:

The most general social media platforms we all follow in general would be LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Google+. These 4 major platforms follow different style guides for posting the content. Their platform viewers follow different timings to view the content published on them. Keeping on this in mind and analyzing your industry, you need to prepare a plan of action for social media marketing.

• Image Marketing

I call it as image marketing separately because of the platforms evolved these years for sharing images.  The most image sharing platforms we have today are Instagram, Snap chat, Pinterest, and WhatsApp. Again, each of them is known with different styles to publish content. 

• Video Marketing

Video Marketing is the hot trend. Now and before, a video attracts the view more than any other format of content.

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The doctor's behavior on the usage of online networking platforms has carved them out to get into the path of Digital & Multichannel marketing basis their customer behavior. 

The communication customized as per doctor-patient preference and doctor-medical societies. They are walking through a strategical therapy pathway in virtual communication channels. It's no more a world of standardization but now a world of virtual customization. We are in a need to set up such a framework to get into digital channels can be a great start for your business promotions. I hope, this information is useful to prepare your content marketing strategy for your website. And I am helping to the same. 

Next Article: Guest Posting Strategy.

Have you ever created a performance funnel for your website?-[My experience]

Many people concentrate on design and functionality of the website and forget about relevant content. The website is a primary vehicle for delivering the business objectives, purposes. When you treat content as an afterthought, your ability to make a useful website fail. 

It is a constant challenge for a content strategist like me, wrestling for years to convince the management to push content as the primary heart of user experience.  This post shares one of my experience involved in building and implementing the content strategy for a company website  I worked earlier. 

I hope after this, you ( maybe as management or a business person) start thinking:"Content -First For Better Website Results" 

A Content Strategy requires the team effort from all peer disciplines.

The team involved in the building the content strategy are as follows:

1. BDE & Sales: They collect the big problems of the ideal customer and points they mainly look for. 
2. Content Strategists: They prepare the answers to the questions like what to write, where to write and how to write 
3. Website Architects & Developers- They take care of technical issues involved in developing the website at the server side.
4. UX & Visual Designers - They take care of look and feel of the content. They create the webpage with a dummy content. 
5. Content Writers: Create the content as per the design and satisfying the content strategy.
6. SEO- They take care of search engines. 

Content Generation Ideas for the website.

The content generating for the website should address the problem and solutions provided by the business to the ideal buyer without neglecting the purpose of business.  You create a smarter content focusing on design for better user experience.  The main goal of the website content is :

" To produce more useful and more usable content to online audiences, meeting the business objectives."

There are two components to consider- People Components and Content Components.

                                                                             By Deepika Rallapalli

• The substance is all about tone, style, topics, working titles, subheadings etc.,
• The structure is about content breakups, the building blocks etc.,

These two components are considered as content components as they only deal with content. 

• Workflow is about the process & procedure of resources involving in the entire process, best content management tools and website building platforms a company can use.
• Governance is to figure out the maintenance and consistency of changes happening to the content or design. The website needs continuous monitoring of its performing. 

These two components are considered as people components as it involves human resources and their activities.



Allow me to give an example to explain above two component. SmartSocialBrand is an Inbound marketing company that provides marketing services to the clients and training to experienced and non-experienced marketers. Their homepage looks like this:

The content components involved here are the main menu and internal pages. The images and background colors used, content and its position. The call-to-actions and landing pages. etc. 

Once these things are done. Now, it's time to inform the Google about the website.  My SEO team has done all the required on-page and off-page SEO activities required. 

Finally, It is time to promote the website. 

The winning hook of Content Marketing Strategy.

This requires 5 W and 1 H mapping.  The 5 W's would be : 

• Why – Why are you providing for this service/business/product?

• What – What is that you want to deliver? What is the message?

• Who – Who is the ideal audience?

• Where – Where will the message be read by the audience (which location, on what device, situation/context)?

• When – Time required for creating the process and publish.

The single H will be: 

• How – How should you present the website and structure the content?

You can answer these questions by drawing a simple website content planning worksheet. 

            The Web Content Strategy Planning template is also available to download

The Fruits of the Website Strategy are the sweater with proper marketing.

Once you get the answers and all the people, content components, it is easy for you to follow the process and develop the content. Once, you publish the website the actual process of Content Marketing begins.

Only after the proper implementation of content marketing techniques, you will enjoy the beauty of online marketing. 

Remember one thing- there is no shortcut to success other than hard work with smart move. Similarly, content marketing requires a lot of planning and strategic approach and it takes time to get ROI/ results.

Time Involved In Practical Implementation

Time Involved in planning the strategy: mini 3 months ( preparing Buyer personas, content mapping, topics and working titles, and editorial calendar ) 

During this process, you need to have complete co-operation of your sales & marketing team. You need to maintain documentation of each process involved. A lot of companies neglect documentation. But, they are important to keep yourself tracked on the work done on daily basis and help you follow the procedure one after the other. 

The Time required to seeing the ROI: mini ( 8-12 ) months after implementing the content marketing plan without any obstacles and deviation.

In content marketing, there is a formula called HER formula. It states that the online customer need to get habituate with reading relevant content provided by you. They need to start engaging  with you and discuss the issues they have so that there is a bond/relationship is built. Finally, they react with an action desired or required like contacting you for business. 

Unreal Expectations from Content Marketing 

I would like to discuss this point because, during my professional working with clients, I come across these unreal expectations from management making the weather hotter. 

         #1 Myth: If a blog is maintained which is non-relevant content and stuff with keywords and do SEO, you get ample of visitors. 

Have you observed anytime about the bounce rate? People leave your website within no time if your content is not relevant.  For example refer the blog post on The 10 Best Apps For Medical Conference.  This blog shares a title as which conveys to that it is going to provide information about those mobile apps which share information about Medical Conferences. When you observe the body , it gives general mobile apps that are helpful when you plan a trip abroad. 

It is not relevant to the Title given. It is expected to give information about those mobile Apps that give details about Medical Conferences.  Refer: the blog post about same topic you will observe the difference.

        #2 Myth: My Facebook posts are seen by many and I am getting views. 

Increase in the number of views for the post you published on social media doesn't mean that your post is liked by them. They just saw it. 

      #3 Myth: My marketing people and sales executives manage the customers and get the sale. We don't need emails and sales pitch for them.  And they give price quotes on spot.

This is the most common dialogue the management uses. But, let me tell you, the sales and marketing executives are your brand ambassadors.  You need them to represent your company not only professional but also need to handle the clients carefully even at rejections and objections. Your email represents your standards. So, email marketing should never be neglected. 

       #4 Myth: I don't need landing pages and content offers on my website. Why does someone need to download my content and info-graphics?

Well! they store them and refer to them whenever needed. And when they are storing an information provided by you that means you are providing helpful content and thus helping them to solve their problems.  Moreover, there is a possibility of distributing the content offer to others. Thus, your company is mouth spread and hence helps in branding, promoting. 

      #5 Myth: We don't need buyer personas. We know everything about our leads.

This is the biggest myth the management have. Online shopping trends are so volatile in nature. Their change in inevitable and unpredictable. You need to constantly upgrade your marketing and sales approach as per the changing trends of online shopping. 

• 
  
• People who generate the most revenue
• People who get along with your team
• People whose projects challenge you
• People who share your beliefs or convictions
• People who are passionate about what you do 
• Are the people who take every step wisely and use Inbound Marketing Approach. 

How to write a Marketing Material that Grabs Attention? [My Experience]

Most of the marketing materials include brochures, postcards, videos and lead nurturing email campaigns.The real question is Does Your Marketing Materials Sell?. 

I am sure you must have questioned in the same direction. This blog is all about approach/practice I follow before I generate a content. 

Try to analyze yourself these five questions before you begin:

1. Are you defining the business objective of your product and/or service? Or Are you briefing the features that would be of interest to your prospective/customer?
2. Have you touched on the pain points or pleasure points that your product and/or service eases? Why do the customers need you? why you are different from others?
3. Is your collateral easy to understand making the reader read with inflow smoothly without causing confusion?

How to write a Marketing Material that Grabs Attention instantly?

Two main reasons, you prepare a marketing material is :

1. To address potential customers with your unique business model/solution.
2. To address the customers with a solution.
3. To make them buy your product/solution.

The Strap-line -Your Foundation Stone.

Address the unique feature of your product/solution.  Highlight the single most important feature or benefit. In one sentence, what are you selling?.  The best formula to write a strapline is AIDA to emphasize the brand and its core products/services.

It is an acronym for 

• Attention - an attention seeking headline.
• Interest - creating an interest in reading.
• Desire-  activating a desire to buy or approach your business
• Action- provide a clear action call to make after reading the material.

For example, Prodware -IT Solutions company's brochure has the content that grabs attention to their core services specific to the buyers.The buyers are vendors and integrators of any industry. The solution is to provide a role-based tailored workflow solution for them.

Prodware brochure

Overview- The Profile

You need to give information about your company shortly covering the roots and tips. This gives confidence about your company and draws a perfect impression. 

If you are a startup, then focus more on the team, business model, and company vision & mission.

Prodware Software Solution

Objectives and Key Focus Areas

Clear and concise solutions you provide. Value Momentum  is another It services company into Insurance, healthcare and finance domain. They have a quick glance of key focus areas as given in the below figure.

Value Momentum IT services

There is a link to the landing page. Instead of wasting this space, adding the link improves the chance of readers visiting the sales page. Remember, most readers won’t get to the final page

Guidelines to follow while working on Marketing Material

#1 Headlines in Marketing Material

1. Write headlines in the form of a question or points to Poincare.
2. Create headlines promising- How to you will be helped with?.
3. Use “you” in your headline to personalize your copy.
4. Be brief. Get your point across in the fewest number of words possible if you want to grab and keep the reader’s attention.

#2 Visual Effects in Marketing Material

1. Use sidebars to draw attention to important points.
2. Use attention-grabbing words or buzzwords like  ENABLES, EMPOWERS, GIVES YOU, MAKE YOU, HELPS, GRANTED,  EASY, SIMPLE, and GUARANTEED to get excited.
3. Use white space to focus attention and use metallic ink in black which can draw the eye of the reader.
4. Understand the Color Psychology before choosing the colors for your marketing materials.

#3 Materials to use in Marketing Material

1. Use colored paper to make your printed material stand out.
2. Use new ways to fold mailers allowing readers to open it up.
3. Sending postcards shaped like your product is most attractive way followed nowadays.

Try writing the best selling copies for your business today. Good Luck!

How I searched for ideal leads that will help in building the right customers?-My Success Story.

One of the clients I worked is Autism Help. It is a disorder that impairs the ability to communicate and interact. This syndrome generally occurs in early ae of children. They have a website basic one at the early stage. They approached me to generate leads. As usual, I used the below four techniques and rebuild their website.  

1. Created a list of NGO's, Schools who would be interested in promoting an awareness of the problem. This is called Buyer Personas. 
2. Created a series of blogs, social media campaigns etc.
3. Optimized the website, content and landing pages.
4. Created pop-ups, email marketing campaigns etc.

But, I have noticed the flow of customers coming through these ways is very less. I find most of the time empty. If there come any leads, they are irrelevant.

I have looked for options that generate leads. I have come across a technique called Growth Hacking.  I don't' want to define what it is because you are most bothered about the technique and tools, not the definition. So, getting to the point - here is the list of tools to generate leads. Before I give them, let me give you a disclaimer. These tools do not give your customers, they just provide leads and ways to find leads.

The best ways to find your ideal leads online through Growth Hacking Tools.

1.  #Growthhacking Tool- Anewstrip 

The best Public relationship tool. You find most of the top influencers, affiliates, niche specific bloggers and journalist in the world.

It is simple to use and is available for free. If you go for a premium plan you can contact them directly. I have picked a free account. And given my niche keyword in the search bar. I found many who provide the information about this specialization.

                                                                                                                                          Growth Hacking Tool- Anewstip

I have contacted them all the means of social networking sites, blogs etc. Some of them replied to publish my blog posts in theirs. Some affiliated. Some approached for paid affiliate marketing. Many gave me a chance to publish my post on their blog. Within a week time, the visitors increased, the quires raised. 

We never know where your ideal buyer would actually come from. It is important to let the people of that division know about you that you are also exciting.  They all are from different regions of the world. But the leads received are Indians. 

I did not stop with this one tool. Simultaneously, I used other tools. The list is below.

2.  #Growthhacking Tool-Hey Press 

This another tool where you can find the most relevant journalist. 

Growth Hacking Tool- Hey Press

This tool helped me to write blogs based on the real-time success stories. I have made educational content and shared with NGO's, schools and other medical influencers. They turned back with positive replies. 

3. #Growthhacking Tool- Muck Rack

This is a place to find the right journalists to pitch and Monitor the news buzz. A resource bank for niech articles. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                               Growth Hacking tool- Muck Rack

I have created a journalist profile of one of the associated doctor. It let her profile known across the world and she is now started to get queries from doctors across the world. It acted as a reference marketing tool for her. 

And the Last but not the least. 

4 #Growthhacking Toll- Just Reach Out

Discover relevant journalists & bloggers specific to your niche. You get the best email templates to write sales/ introductory pitches to reporters. Best for startups. It's a 7-day free trial based tool. I used it to prepare email templates and find bloggers on Autism. It helped me to promote the brand. Now. after 8 months of vigorous content marketing efforts, The healthcare center is well-known at its own circle. 

You need to dig deep creatively, and relentlessly test new ideas that will figure out quickly and go well out of business. And this is what Growth Hacking is all about. 

I tend to use these tools frequently to get my job done. You can do either. 

Try them. Good Luck!

The Best Formula for Lead Generation.

Lead is generally generated if " Someone trusts you enough to provide their personal contact information in exchange of your offer."  

Lead Generation is an art and science of getting a person to give "YES". No matter how good you design your website and develop value-added content, if it is not generating leads -It is not a good work to be done. You need to build trust and confidence with every single lead that connects with your website.  This is one of the best strategies I have used for generating leads for my clients. Hope this would help you too.

The H.E.R Formula for Lead Generation:

                                       H - HABIT, E- EXECUTE AND R- REWARD.

HABIT and STIMULI:

Look for the common habits people have for buying or considering a product to buy.  For example, software vendors have these #10 questions in common when evaluating and selecting a #SaaS solution. 

Common questions asked for selecting and evaluating a SAAS product.

Try giving the questions raised generally. Remember, the question should be appropriately written in words exactly in their( buyer) words. For the above example, some of the most appropriate #QUESTIONS could be as follows:

1. What protection mechanisms and techniques are utilized in your data center?
2. What are the policies regarding your Data portability?
3. How is your service protected from disasters? 
4. What are the ramifications if you don’t meet your SLAs? 
5. What are the available support team or mechanism you profile.?
6. What are the hours of support operations & SLAs.? 
7. What is the subscription mechanism? 
8. Can I pay as I go? 
9. Can I get special terms with a long-term contract?
10. Can you give us some references?

Now, generate content around these questions that naturally attract the attention of buyers.

EXECUTE AND FILTER OUT THE NOISE:

Generating the content just around the questions raised will not work directly. You should provide answers by creating a stimulus that they are looking for interesting things around your content.

6 killer formulas for writing blog posts that drive traffic and convert new leads for your business.

Start building your content across the above 6 types of content. To elaborate, 

1. Product Tips  could be #How-To questions relating your product execution, usage, and special features
2. Case Studies could be the #success stories in the same industries. Remember, write facts, not stories. 
3. Industry news could be new technological innovations. Sometimes, it is good to appreciate the newborns. They could help us in #affiliating yours in return.
4. News & Stories is all about your own achievements. Just like any other film starts, you need to be in news to grab an opportunity.A controversy can create an opportunity to film stars but not for you.  So, be good.
5. Issues play a key role in grabbing the attention of many. Because we live in the world of problems and we are here to solve them. Any product or service is built for the sack of either decreasing the pain or to increase the pleasure. You pick both. You need to tell your ideal buyer about your #software product is prepared to decrease the pain points or increase the pleasures. 
6. Sweepstakes increase your #product #visibility. It keeps you update about your #ideal #buyer needs and requirement. Keep interacting with people of the industry to know the real time problems. Once the problems are known, you can then figure out the solutions through your product. 

REWARD, LIT THEIR FEELINGS

All your content piece has to whet your ideal buyers' appetite. All you need to do is to sell the prospect of your product or service Reward them with an offer to sell the sizzle of your product, not the stack by providing an appropriate call-to-action. For example, a "submit" on the button could be changed as "Get Quote Now"  which is telling your ideal buyer exactly the next big thing to do. Use an action word that matches the physical human actions.

Visit: Deepika For Writing