Content marketing is the act of creating the likes of blog posts, articles, and videos that attract and educate your target audience. Further, making them aware of the products and services you offer as a business.
It’s vital to invest in content marketing because it allows you to answer the questions of your target audience. And it also allows you to promote trust and boost the sales of your business significantly.
I will take you through 5 expert tips to help you create content that sells in today’s post. Read on to learn more.
Publish Content That Will Help Your Customers Make Informed Purchases
People will be much more likely to pay for your products or services if they understand precisely what they need and what they will get. Also, this is why you need to create content that can help customers make informed purchases.
One example of this is a buying guide. Buying guides are informative pieces of content that are designed to simplify the decision-making process for your customers. You could also create comparison pieces, which are round-up posts of similar products or services. Additionally, they can help people choose the most suitable option for their needs.
You could also create product demonstrations that help to show off the features and benefits of your products. And, lastly, you could publish case studies that outline how you’ve helped other customers to tackle challenges. But also how you have implemented solutions to get results.
To inspire you, here are some examples of content that other businesses have created to help their customers make informed purchases.
FreshBooks
FreshBooks is a company that provides an accounting solution for small and medium-sized businesses. But not everyone will understand what cloud accounting software is or whether they’ll benefit from it. So, they decided to create a detailed guide that provides more information on cloud accounting software for the people who might be considering using it.
The guide defines cloud accounting software in full detail and provides just enough information to educate people on why they might want to use it. It’s the type of content that sells the company’s services. But in a way that feels subtle and like the brand wants their customers to make the best decision to suit their needs.
Best Value Schools
Our second example is from Best Value Schools, an online resource for people who want higher education. They typically rank educational institutions so people can find out what school is best for them. In this example, they’ve ranked about 75 MBA programs and listed the ones they think will provide the most value to their readers.
They’ve considered factors like tuition fees, credit hours, and the program length of these courses so they can rank them accordingly. However, this is a clear example of a comparison piece that can provide a lot of helpful information for their audience. And further help them make a significant decision.
To effectively create content like buying guides, product demonstrations, and case studies, you need to learn how to highlight the significant pain points your prospects have. And then provide information that directs them to the products or services that can solve those issues.
You also need to be as objective and neutral as possible. Being objective and impartial is especially important when writing comparison pieces that will involve other people’s products. The goal, in this case, isn’t necessarily to promote your products but to help people make the right decision. So, you need to be mindful of that.
Always Include a Strong Call to Action
A call to action (CTA) acts as a prompt for your website visitors and helps to guide them towards taking specific steps on your site. To make sure your CTAs work, try to add them to your content strategically.
To create a strong CTA, make sure you use command verbs to motivate people to take action. For instance, words like; get, subscribe, or sign up are great examples. They already tell the reader what they expect of them.
Also, ensure that the colors of your CTA buttons contrast with the background color of your web page. In addition, this means you should be going for bright and bold colors that can be paired against calm or neutral backgrounds. So it can catch people’s attention.
Now, let’s look at some examples of businesses that know how to create and include strong calls to action in their content.
Continental Message Solution
Continental Message Solution is a company that provides call center and live answering services for its clients. Knowing the effect that the COVID-19 pandemic had on most businesses, they have created a blog post to educate their audience on how to protect their staff with employee COVID-19 screening hotlines.
The post explains how companies can help fight the pandemic spread by creating a COVID-19 hotline for their office. And, to provide more guidance, they include a CTA at the bottom of the post so people can get more information. The CTA is on a bright blue button, which contrasts nicely against the white background of their site.
They also use the phrase “Start Here.” It is a great way to point prospects in the right direction. But also starting a conversation that can result in sales for the company.
Create Content That Will Appeal to Different Segments of Your Audience
Your audience isn’t just one homogeneous group — there’ll be people of different ages, genders, and preferences you need to cater to. Plus, each piece of content you create isn’t going to appeal to every single person you’re trying to attract. So, instead, you should try to keep specific segments in mind whenever you’re creating different pieces of content.
To learn more about your audience segments, try to create different buyer personas. Doing this will allow you to analyze things from your buyers’ point of view. So you can further identify the different types of content that would be most useful to people in your target audience.
Aside from brainstorming on your own or with a team, you can also conduct customer interviews with people from various segments of your audience. You can get a better idea of the type of content that will appeal to them this way. For instance, you might find that young audiences prefer videos and content centered around your brand values.
Make sure you’re working with a well-planned strategy that will help you create content for all your audience segments. I recommend using the useful SEO templates created by Loganix. They will help you plan and document your strategy to accommodate all the different people in your target audience.
Earn Your Customers’ Trust With Content That Positions You as an Expert
People prefer to buy from companies who know what they’re doing and talking about. Also, this means it can help your business publish guides that show you’re an expert in your field.
Expert content can also be great for your SEO because Google pays attention to E-A-T (expertise, authority, and trustworthiness). If the search engine sees that your content demonstrates all three factors, it’ll be more inclined to rank you higher.
To create guides that show you are an expert in your industry, you want to focus on creating long-form content that explains niche topics in your industry. Suppose you can show that you genuinely understand specific topics in your field and write extensively with examples. It would mean that more people will believe that you know what you’re talking about.
Further, let’s give you some inspiration for your site. Take a look at a brand that does a great job of earning customers’ trust with its expert content.
Moz
Moz helps its clients by providing an all-in-one suite for SEO and marketing activities. Looking at their blog, you’ll see a lot of informational content. One of the posts they’ve created is a beginner’s guide to search engine optimization. It’s a comprehensive guide with seven chapters explaining keyword research, technical SEO, link-building, and related topics.
The way they’ve delved into each area of this topic is an excellent indication that they have the expertise and knowledge in this area. Also, this is a great way to pass across the message that they are an authority in their niche. And it can help them make even more sales, as people will prefer to buy from a company that positions itself as an expert.
Prove That You Understand Your Audience by Addressing Their Questions and Concerns
If your customers feel understood, they’ll be more likely to spend money with you. Creating content that answers their FAQs and addresses their concerns will show that you understand their needs and concerns. But also pain points — this will then increase the chances of them shopping with you.
To identify the questions you should be answering for customers, look through the queries or questions that people send to your customer service team. Suppose you notice that many people are sending questions on a particular topic or issue. You can decide to create content that touches on that topic and addresses their questions.
Just like you do when creating expert content, make sure you are providing answers with long-form and comprehensive pieces. They must contain quality insights and information about how to help your customers solve their pain points.
Now, let’s take a look at a business that implements the tactic of using content to address their customers’ questions.
RMIT Online
RMIT Online offers postgraduate programs designed for working professionals, and on their blog, they have a post where they explain the difference between business analytics and data science.
As an online school offering degrees in both areas, they noticed that some people might not distinguish between business analytics and data science. It is clear as they both require similar skills or processes. They’ve created a post explaining each of these professions, their roles, and the skills needed to excel in them. The blog post also allows people in their audience to make the right decision on what course or profession to go for.
If you want to successfully answer your audience’s questions, you need to listen to what they are saying. Once in a while, try looking through the comments you get on your blog posts or social media. Further, discover the questions that people need answers to.
Summary
Sometimes, the best form of selling isn’t the one that screams “BUY.” By creating content that answers people’s questions or provides more information, you can also guide prospects towards deciding to buy your products or services.
To get started, you can try publishing content that helps people make informed purchases, using solid calls to action, and earning people’s trust with expert content that shows you know what you’re doing.
Author Bio
Aaron Haynes is CEO and co-founder of Loganix. The company is an SEO fulfillment partner for digital marketing agencies and professionals. Which further provides the services businesses need to improve their online visibility and grow. If you liked this article, check out the Loganix blog, where you’ll find more SEO guides full of expert advice.
Published on August 26, 2021 under Content Creator, Content Writing, Content Writing Tips. Modified on December 29, 2021.
