Avoid the Circus of Internet Gurus

Everywhere you go these days you will find people who claim to be asocial media expert' or an 'internet marketing guru'. Almost all of them have more knowledge than the average business person because the internet has caused sweeping changes to the way our customers decide about products and services.

You probably need help from someone who knows the newest tools. Keeping up with the latest changes can be time consuming and take you away from your core value to clients.

Here's the Problem (as I see it)

I have talked to dozens of people who make this type of claim. Almost every single one is a tech-geek. They can make your head spin as they describe how you can link this software to that software and set up messages to be delivered automatically. They are being truthful. But from my Point of View (POV), all these geeks completely miss the point.

Getting at the top of the search engines and linking all your media accounts to one another is meaningless to your customers and (POV) it should be meaningless to you too.

The entire purpose of having content on the web is to engage with your current and future customers in a meaningful way. That's it!

Anyone who tells you their whiz-bang strategy of automating everything is the BIG answer to your marketing challenges is not Customer-Centric.

Customers Drive Priorities

Since future customers may find you with a Google search or a social media outlet, the tools are important. Don't get me wrong...you need the techies in your life. Either you learn the tech tools or you hire someone to help you.

But first you must look at why the customer was searching for you in the first place. They found you because they wanted useful information about a product or service you provide.

Useful Information = Content!

Content as Royalty

You've probably heard 'Content is King', 'Content is Queen' and 'Content is Currency'. They are all right in their analogies. But if you think your content, as King, can rule over your future clients, you've got too many monkeys in your circus.

While content sits in an important place in your website, email marketing and social media strategy - the CUSTOMER is the ruler sitting on the throne. Your content serves the ruler by offering up gifts of knowledge they appreciate.

In my first LinkedIn Post in February, I confessed to being a NON-Geek. So, perhaps my perception (POV) is skewed a bit.

So - rather than taking my word for it - I want you to think about the last time you did a Google search or checked out a provider in social media.

These are the things I think you will discover:

• The only reason why being on page one is important is because you are too lazy to dig further or there was so much good information on page one you didn't need to dig further.
• If the provider offered to give you something free in the way of content in exchange for your email, you complied because you wanted to learn from them.
• As long as you were doing research - gathering information - you didn't mind thoughtful, useful, relevant emails from the provider. In fact, you appreciated they took the time to offer good information to you.
• If the provider (you found on page one) started pushing their products and services, you either ignored them or unsubscribed. Being on page one is now absolutely a waste of money.
• If that same provider left you hungry for more information, you went back to search some more. You sometimes found the provider's best competitor.
• Conversely, if the provider offered great information to help you make a decision about their product or service, you searched less.
• You may have even stopped searching because you felt a Know, Like, Trust relationship with the provider because of the useful content.
• When you reached the point you were ready to purchase, you gave your money to the company who offered you information in an easy-to-read, relevant and generous way.

Content Attracts and Nurtures

If you follow my drift of this article, you might be able to tell why I get a little aggravated by all the tech-gurus who see software as a substitution for great content.

In fact, a ton of tech-gurus offer to write content for their clients (as if it is less important than the tools). If they were smart enough to make good grades in college, they think they can write for you. They can. But it's not good enough.

These circus actors cannot be convinced content is too important to be left to amateur hour. I even had a tech-guru try to sell me on the tools today. She had really poor listening skills as she proceeded to tell me what I needed to do with my technology. I'm not sure she heard a word I said.

Do Yourself a Favor...

Put the quality of your content first! The technology to get your content to the top of the search engines can come later. While I make my living helping businesses with content that connects with customers, I don't want you to take my word for it.

If a techie says they can write your content, say "Great! Send me some samples. Then contact me or another professional copywriter to request samples from them. If you see no difference in quality, the next question will be about price.

Protect Your Business from the Circus!

You deserve great content that converts visitors into profit.