The three things you must have in your content strategy.

There are the three things that every prospect will want to see in your content before buying from you.

A major mistake that we all make is to focus our content on the exciting things we can do and the incredible techniques, functionality and features that we have.

You need a content strategy/plan but it only needs to be a basic one that addresses these three areas but it must be based on what the buyer needs to hear rather than what you want to say.

We are very busy at the moment. We have a number of organisations that have engaged us to help them solve their pipeline, visibility and credibility issues.

The organisations that I personally am working with at the moment cover financial services, legal, technology (a number of different sub-sectors) and logistics. I have previously worked with clients in manufacturing, automotive, supply chain, procurement, government, leisure and many more... there are some universal truths.

Whilst these companies are all in different sectors, I have observed some interesting things about how almost all of their clients buy from them and it works like this.

Do I believe you when you say something? There are a billion people on every social network so you need to stand-out. I need to feel that I know you (and like you) because if I don’t why would I believe what you are saying over and above what anyone else might be saying? So moving yourself to a place where I feel comfortable with you because I “know you” is vital. Without this you are just another person talking about why I should spend money with you.

Do you look like an expert to me? That is not the same thing as “do you work for a credible company” this is about YOU. It’s al very well sharing valuable content that the marketing department has created but if you are my point of contact I need to believe in you and feel that YOU can help me and advise me on the right course of action.

Do you understand my pain? For most of companies I work with their prospects ask “have you ever worked with a company like ours before?” (in this sector, this region, this size etc). Personally I can see this makes little difference to the problem that’s being solved…but the buyer does so we need to be aware of this. So the question is – do you look like you understand my industry and my specific pain?

Buyers are buyers, buyers are inquisitive, buyers are people…so you need to ensure that your content addresses all of these things if you want to stand a chance of building a relationship with the buyer.

So, how can you do this?

Your content needs to address three areas:

1. It needs to explain what you do. When I look at your profile I need to see you as an expert in your chosen field. The important thing is that I need to see YOU as an expert (not the company you work for), so resharing company posts, posts written by the marketing team of your content agency will not cut it. If you are my contact and you are the person I know and you are my account manager I need to see YOU as the person who can help and guide me though the process of buying your product or service.
2. You need to show me you understand me (even if the problem you are solving is a universal one) because that hives me confidence that I am not a guinea pig for your new ideas. Some of your content need to talk about the issues that are pertinent to my industry – perhaps the client is in pharma, banking or aviation…whatever it is commenting on some of these posts and writing/sharing content about these issues is a powerful way of showing that you understand and feel the pain that the buyer feels.
3. Show me who you are. We are all people and bonding on a personal level is crucial. Sharing some insights in to who you are makes you more believable, trustworthy and engaging for the buyer. You should be talking sometimes about who you are as well as what you do and why you do it.

Like a three legged stool, this will always create a stable base for people to get to know you and understand you. Miss any one of these and you massively reduce the impact of your personal brand and its ability to convince people to talk to you.

To discover more about how a balanced content startegy can help you, drop me a message.

#contentstrategy #sales #pipeline #socialselling #digitalselling #personalbrand