Tag Archives: targeted content

Create Content that People Gladly Share

Create Content that People Gladly Share

The internet is saturated with content. According to data from Smart Insights, 1,440 blogs are posted every minute, translating to a whopping 2,073,600 blogs every day. That’s before you account for videos and social media posts. This level of saturation presents a new problem for content marketers – difficulty attaining the desired reach.

One way to get around this problem is to pursue sharability i.e. making your content highly shareable.

Look at it this way; if 1,000 visitors read your content and share it with their network (say 30 people per reader), your blog post would have already reached 1,000 + (1,000*30) = 31,000 people. Considering that digital consumers highly trust each other (70% will read posts recommended by fellow consumers compared to those promoted by brands), you can expect to reach a lot more people than you would through direct reach.

Wondering how to create content readers will like and want to share? The following are five tips to get you started.

Understand Your Target Audience

Many marketers begin writing articles and blog posts without even understanding the people these content pieces are meant for. How do you expect to write what they want to read if you don’t understand them? How are you going to address their pain points if you haven’t taken the time to learn about their needs? It’s impractical. Begin by learning the; who, why, what, when, and where of your readers.

  • Who are they?
  • Why are they online?
  • What do they need?
  • When do they need it?
  • Where do they get their information?

If you can successfully answer all these questions, you’re ready to create content your audience will like.

Choose Value-Adding Topics

Now that you fully understand your audience, it’s time to choose topics to write about. Ensure that the topics you choose add value to the reader’s life. If you’re not solving a problem, tell them something new; something they haven’t heard before. “How To…” topics are some of the most shared posts for this reason – they actually solve a problem.

Other commonly shared topics include; “X Tips,” guides, and checklists. Aside from that, content that provides new information is also highly appreciated and frequently shared.

Present Your Content in the Right Format

The content type you choose will directly determine your reach.

Videos, for instance, are on the rise. But, is your audience looking for videos? Do they frequently watch YouTube and the likes? If not, then expecting them to like and share your videos is a pipe dream. Webinars are also very effective and come with a high ROI. But not all audiences are looking for webinars. A consumer looking to buy a pair of shorts online, for instance, won’t be interested in a webinar.

The idea is to choose a content type that fits both the message and the audience.

Optimize Your Posts for Sharing

Yes, you can make your content easier to share. How? By including features on your blog, website, or video channels that reduce the effort needed to share the posts. With blogs, for instance, you can include social share buttons to allow readers to share the content they like in a single touch of a click. Certain types of content such as industry reports can even carry these social share buttons within the content body.

Finally, with certain content types such as videos and infographics, you can include embed codes to allow other website owners to share the content on their blogs.

Oh, and don’t forget to ask for shares. Readers are 150% more likely to share your posts if you personally ask for the share.

Why You Shouldn’t Purchase Leads

Why You Shouldn’t Purchase Leads

The bottom line to a successful business is customers. You need buyers, lots and lots of buyers to make the business you put so much time, energy and money into, successful.  But how do you get these potential buyers who are so important to your business?

The mindset of many business owners is to immediately, get as many leads as they can, even if that means purchasing them to increase their business edge. Warning! They’re not quality leads!

Naturally, as a business owner you want a lead system that gives you qualified buyers. A system that gives you leads that show interest in your service or product and are actually teetering on the edge of making a purchase.  Realistically, you know leads like that don’t just fall from the sky and into your lap.  Those selling lists of leads are not doing you a favor!

Danger They’re Not Quality Leads!

Here is one of the biggest problems you’ll encounter when buying lead lists.

You haven’t the foggiest idea where those names came from.

  • You have no idea if they’ve been used multiple times before they reach your hands
  • They aren’t educated to what you have to offer
  • They have questions about your product or services

At the end of the day, you may realize that you were better off grabbing a phone book and picking out random names.

Here’s another problem you face when you buy leads. It looks like a lead, and it may have a name and telephone number like a lead, but it’s just a meaningless name. The kicker is that you may even buy leads from what you might call a reputable company who convinces you that they are targeted leads. However, once a few phone calls are made you realize the people you’re calling are complaining that you keep calling, even though this was the first call you made.

Buying a list of leads or an email list (other than a list that is a double opt-in list) is cold calling. Your competitor may have called last week. And even if these leads are warm, the people you call have no idea of who you are and what you offer.  What a waste of money.

Can You Buy Quality Leads?

According to Steve Hoffacker, the first question to ask is, “What’s the source of the contact information?”.  Anyone can compile a list and sell names and assume zero liability for the quality of the leads they sell, but does anyone determine their quality? In other words, have they recycled leads from some other company or are the names pulled out of a phone book? And obviously, if the names were vetted, the cost of those leads would be significantly higher.

Qualified Leads Take Time to Generate

Every business owner knows that generating prospects can be challenging. There’s no doubt that it’s best never to buy leads. The best solution is the only solution. Build relationships with those who are really interested in your service or product. To do this, you’ll be traveling on a totally different road than what you’re used to.

  • Use targeted content: Examples are blog posts and newsletters.
  • Social Media: Use your website and update it continually. Attract your customers with things of value.

The basic fact is this: When you begin to attract customers by providing useful, informative info and valuable offers, you’ll forget all about buying lists. It’s so much better than pulling names out of a hat.