Increase Conversions from Content

While it may be nice to get lots of social shares, comments, and publicity when you create quality content, your real goal as a business should be getting a lot of conversions/Leads. We've talked about developing buyer personas to help create content that converts. Now, let's look at some ways to make your blog, infographic, and video content convert into new leads and new sales.

Content Conversion Tips for Blogs

For most businesses, a blog is the primary source of content. Here are some ways you can ensure that your blog leads to conversions for your bottom line.

·??Write content that will draw in customers. First off, you need to make sure the content you create will attract potential customers. Once you've developed buyer personas, you should be able to fill up your editorial calendar with posts that will lead to sales.

·??Add a banner graphic highlighting your top product or service to your sidebar and at the end of posts. The last thing you want is for your visitors not to realize you offer products or services, especially if your blog isn't on the same domain as your website. Make it obvious with a well-placed banner in your sidebar and at the end of your posts for a free trial, initial consultation, or another offer that your readers won't want to pass up.

·??Include an opt-in form for your mailing list in the sidebar and at the end of posts. Even if you can't get immediate buyers, you can still get leads. Try to also include an opt-in form for your mailing list in the sidebar and at the end of posts.

·??Try HelloBar. Don't like popups but want to draw attention to something special like a product, service, upcoming webinar, free ebook, etc.? HelloBar allows you to easily place a color-customized bar on your blog with a link to whatever you choose. It's popping up all over well-known blogs like Unbounce to talk about new product features, KISSmetrics to highlight product benefits, and Convince & Convert to introduce a new weekly podcast. The best part is that it won't irritate your visitors, but it will follow them down the screen, so they don't miss the message.

·??Include a link to your products or services within your post. Along with having the banners in the sidebar/end of posts, include an internal link within your post for your products or services if they are relevant to the topic. If someone were to scrape your content and post it on another site, at least you would still have the link back and the conversion element intact.

Content Conversion Tips for Infographics

Infographics are great for content marketing due to their shareability. Here's how to maximize your chances of getting new customers from infographics on and off your website.

·??Create infographics about topics of interest for your customer base. While there are great infographic topics that will go viral in a heartbeat, those topics will not necessarily lead to customers for your business. So just like with blog posts, think about the issues your customer base is interested in and create infographics to match.

·??Make it easy to share. Marketers are wild about infographics for their link potential, and the more your infographic is shared, the more likely your potential customers will see it. So be sure to include some embed code that people can use to share your infographic as quickly and efficiently as possible.

·??Go with static images vs. interactive infographics. There are some awesome interactive, Flash-based infographics out there. But unfortunately, you can't share them as quickly or see them on some mobile devices. Therefore it's better to go with the traditional image file that can be easily shared and viewed by everyone.

·??Include your brand logo and link prominently on the infographic itself. Although you would expect everyone to link back to your website as the infographic source, not everyone will. Hence, it would help if you made sure that people could find the basis of the infographic on the image itself.

·??Include a call to action at the bottom of the infographic itself. If you've done an excellent job of creating an infographic tuned to your customer base, it can't hurt to include a call to action like a free trial or another message at the bottom of your infographic.

Content Conversion Tips for Video

Video marketing is an excellent way to take your content to the next level and cater to those who would rather watch than reading. Here are some ways to make sure your videos convert no matter where they are viewed.

·??Create video content that will be appealing to your target customer base. Viral video is a popular term, but having 1 million visitors for cute kitten sneezes will not necessarily lead to more business. A good video that fits your industry's interest may draw fewer visitors but lead to more customers.

·??Include your brand name and website at the beginning and end of the video. Assume that people who watch your video may not be on your website or YouTube channel if you allow for embedding your video on other websites (which you should). Hence you'll need to make sure it is correctly branded so that people know who created it and what website to visit to learn more.

·??Include a call to action at the end of your video. Speaking of how to learn more, be sure that you tell visitors to do something specific during or at the end of your video, like take a free trial, sign up for a newsletter, or other related offers.

·??Try to keep the video under 1 minute for the best results. The attention span of the average video viewer is pretty short – usually no more than 30 to 60 seconds, depending on the content of the video. Hence you will want to keep your videos as quickly as possible to ensure that people make it to that call to action at the end.

·??Syndicate your video across multiple video networks. The more chances people have to find your video, the better your chances of getting more customers. Post your videos on various networks, including YouTube, Vimeo, and others, to ensure the most eyes on your call to action.

Do you have more conversion tips for different types of content? Please share them in the comments!