“Where do I start?” I get this a lot. And my answer would usually be: content. Preferably video but if you’re like me, and you’re more comfortable with written content. Why? Content provides value for your specific target market and it does this for you:
#1 – It’s basically you declaring to the world (particularly, your potential audience) that you’re an expert in your particular field. If you don’t tell people, how will they know?
#2 – You get to start to position yourself as the go-to person for the solution you’re providing. You do this by building trust and/or raising awareness/providing education on your expertise.
#3 – People will react, especially if they really find value. This feedback is great data on what your target market specifically wants to hear about, and the solutions they are looking for. For example, when I talk about technical stuff of Facebook advertising like the Facebook Pixel, I don’t get much engagement but when I talk about targeting and how to reach their audience, I do get a lot more engagement. This tells me that audience research is something my audience is probably struggling with.
#4 – If you do video content from a page, you can start to create what we call video view custom audience. What this is, is that you are now able to create a set of the people who see your video for particular times so that you can run ads to them only. Imagine running an ad of your product to someone who doesn’t know you vs to someone who watched five minutes of your brand video/infomercial video. Who is more likely to buy?
And #5 – Great value-filled content is goodwill and it is a great start to any relationship, even if it’s a buyer-seller relationship.
Which marketing message do you think would be more effective?
Them: You have a problem. Buy our product to solve that problem because we’re awesome. (Proceed to hard sell on product). vs You: You are awesome! Yes, you have this problem, but here’s how you can solve it. (Proceed to provide a solution up front with potential soft sell on product).
There’s no right or wrong answer, I think. But in my opinion, the second one wins. Do not underestimate the power of great content. Don’t think “I can’t give value because I’m not an expert.” In my opinion, giving value is not a byproduct of being an expert. A person becomes an expert in other people’s eyes when they give value. Being an expert is not solely on what you know but more on what you share.
Have a wonderful day.
