What are you doing for National Family Caregivers Month?
With National Family Caregivers Month coming up in November, this is a perfect time to start thinking about a content marketing campaign to draw attention to your business.
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Content marketing is a way to promote your company while providing education to clients (or in this case, their families) and referrers. It's different from advertising and direct sales—although it certainly leads to sales. Instead of "Look at me, I'm the best. Hire me," content marketing takes the more gracious approach of, "Let me share my expertise to help you with something difficult in your life." You give a little to get a lot.
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What you may not know is that people need to see your brand seven times before they even REMEMBER THE NAME OF YOUR BUSINESS (!), let alone what makes you unique among your competitors.
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The advantage of content marketing is that it gives you an elegant way to get your brand in front of potential customers and referrers on a repeated basis (e.g., a monthly e-newsletter or blog for family caregivers) while also creating trust and confidence in you and your business.
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What you may not know is that content marketing is best done as a multichannel, integrated campaign.
What is a multichannel integrated campaign?
It means getting organized so you have a consistent message using and repurposing the same assets across a wide range of media. It's both effective and efficient.
Here is a sample campaign plan:?
November is when we honor family caregivers.
Message: ABC Care Management is THE local expert in family caregiving.
Consider a "gated offer": A form requiring their email address before they can download the .pdf. Do this so you can sign them up to receive your monthly e-newsletter for family caregivers. Also because it positions you to be able to interact with them, the next step in the Customer Journey as you move them toward a phone call and eventually a contract. There is a trade-off: Fewer people will download it, but you get their email and can start the conversation.
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You'll notice there are several "media" represented in this campaign:
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What you may not know is that adding print media has demonstrated a fourfold increase the effectiveness of online campaigns. For one, it hangs around a lot longer than mercurial social media posts by themselves. (For perspective, most Facebook pages reach only 6 percent of their fans on a given day. That means 94 percent won't even see your post.) People devote more time to reading a printed page. They also give it more credibility. (Anyone can create an email or social media post. A person who goes to the trouble of creating a polished printed piece has invested more resources and is assumed to be a professional and to know what they are talking about.)?
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Plus, you now have ways you can "cross-pollinate":
What you may not know is that individual meetings with referrers build the framework for a lasting relationship. Online-only, asynchronous connections may be quicker (e.g., email, a LinkedIn exchange about a post). They are good for casting a wider net for initial leads. But they are more casual and extremely low commitment on both sides. They don't allow you to develop the same loyalty and continued referring pattern as a real-time meeting where you can discuss your referrer's challenges and ultimately present yourself as a partner for solutions.?
Want to launch an integrated campaign for National Family Caregivers Month?
It starts with our exclusive monthly newsletter for family caregivers.
License the newsletter for family caregivers by October 20 and receive a free Family Caregiving 101 Marketing package including: