How To NOT Turn People Off With Your Content

Gone are the days of intrusive and deceitful marketing. “But then how does it work?” you may ask. How do you reel in customers and achieve a brag-worthy ROI? For starters – and most importantly – your content cannot turn people (prospects) off. And, what’s the biggest turnoff? Intrusive and deceitful marketing. It’s simple, really: People won’t fall for it anymore – which is a step in the right direction for the business world. Yet, this notion of creating helpful, transparent marketing content, that readers actually want to have in front of their eyes, is still catching on. So, how can your company gain traction on the road paved by inbound marketers? These tried-and-true points will help you make nice with your customers, for the long haul.

Don’t Cold Call in Disguise

Inbound and content marketing are nothing like outbound, or traditional, tactics like cold calling, right? "I am calling you because you downloaded an ebook." Wait – cold calling is exactly what that is. Maybe the person on the line found your ebook to be relevant and worth reading, but your call was unsolicited and comes on strong. No matter how you package it, it’s salesy and, frankly, sketchy.

Instead of making cold calls in disguise, try converting your contacts with a consideration stage offer that organically works as a follow-up to the awareness stage offer they chose to access. The reader wants to learn and you want to be that trusted source that they voluntarily seek out. So, don’t blow it!

Pump Out Purposeful Content

In this era of digital Darwinism, only the strong content survives. You can improve your site’s ranking in search engines via blogging, email marketing, social media marketing, and content offers like case studies and white papers – but that’s merely skimming the surface. Google rewards original, valuable content, and pumping that out consistently is what will really skyrocket your SEO.

Aside from regularly producing awesome content, you need to ensure it’s purposeful. Create a content strategy that outlines who you’re trying to reach (your buyer personas), how you’re going to attract them (keyword research and content creation), and how to best amplify your message in the long term (social media and email marketing). Start by constructing a solid content calendar and then deliver actionable content that will jumpstart lead conversion opportunities on your website.

You should also have clear performance benchmarks in place before you launch a new campaign or marketing strategy. Develop measurable Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). By defining what “success” really means for your company, you’ll be able to effectively measure the success of your efforts.

After developing a strategy, setting clear performance benchmarks, and committing to producing great content, your deliverables will truly make sense for both your audience and your brand. 

Always Dish Out Realness

Today, it’s imperative that you use your content to develop trust. A recent blog post on Harvard Business Review hit the nail on the head when it comes to serving up honesty:

"Organizations and their leaders need what we call radical honesty. This goes deeper than the modern injunction for organizational transparency. We characterize it as follows: it is proactive rather than reactive; it is speedy; it surprises people with its candor; it encourages dissent; and finally, it means engaging with employees and with a wide group of stakeholders – shareholders, customers, suppliers, regulators and the wider society. There is really no choice. In a transparent world, the truth – and the data – will get out, and more than likely already are out."

Organizations need to regularly share information on their website, blog, or other online platform that helps them develop an “open book” culture. Some keys to making this happen include:

• Posting your pricing on your website - Don’t worry about turning people off by posting your pricing. When you do so, the only people who will be turned off are those who can't afford your services – and aren’t qualified prospects.
• Openly discussing issues - You should share the problems you've encountered and the mistakes you've made before someone else does. Explain why they happened, what you’ve learned from them, and what you're doing to prevent them from occurring again. This is the ultimate way to ensure your audience trusts the information you share about what you're good at and what you did right.
• Admitting when your competitors do something better than you - Many companies talk about why they're better than the competition, but few are willing to address when competitors trump them. Admit that you're not as good as the competition in certain circumstances. People will respect your candidness.

Marketing is no longer a spin on the truth; successful marketers need to always tell the entire story, blemishes and all... 

…which leads into the last tip (for now):

Tell a Good Story

The reality is that digital has transformed. The Internet has made information more accessible, faster. With this monumental shift, we are required to not just follow the story but to tell the story. The problem is: many people have forgotten how to tell a good story.

A good story is told with integrity.

Today, marketing content is often phony and lacks the genuine objective to answer people’s questions honestly. Helpfulness isn’t rooted in selfishness. Integrity makes business long-term.

Think about the story you’re telling with every piece of content, every post, and every interaction. It’s the deceptiveness that has led many to view ads as “evil.” You know that inbound marketing is rooted in helpful knowledge sharing and trust-building – it’s meant to be done morally. Don’t let yourself be influenced by the robotic drones calling people to take action, just to leave them with nothing, really. Tell your story in hopes that it reminds people what everything truly comes down to – doing good for others.

So, how can you avoid turning people off with your marketing content? Simply give them something good. People tend to know a good thing when they see it.