Creating engaging, valuable content that your audience will benefit from can be an extremely powerful way of generating new business. It should not be the sole way you generate business, but it certainly should play a part!

But what do we mean by this and what does spending time creating content do that works? Content marketing is absolutely vital as you become even more important to your customers (whether potential, current or lapsed).

Content marketing can take time to give you results, but we say it’s powerful because of the way you are constantly in your customers’ minds when they need you. Here’s our top tips when developing a plan for success!

Add value, don’t just send sales emails!

There’s nothing more annoying than receiving a constant barrage of sales focused emails. We bet that after a while, your customers will stop even opening them!

Done right, content marketing should be adding value to your customers so that they see you as the go-to person. Understand your customers and tailor your communications.

For example, you may be a mortgage broker and send out regular industry-related news updates to landlords. We bet you that when they buy that next property or come up for a remortgage you will be the first person they call!

Include social media

Your content marketing should include social media as well as email marketing. Here are a few topics to make sure you cover: 

• Educate and become the expert
• Celebrate your achievements by showing results and case studies 
• Celebrate local and national themes (Christmas, mother’s day etc)
• Be professional & human but not too corporate 

Have a plan

You should have a written down plan of what topics or themes you will be focusing on for each post, video or email. Even if it is a loose outline, this will help give you focus and mean that you can develop themes that are so very important.

This doesn’t mean that there should not be room for going ‘off plan’ should anything of note come up! Thinking back to the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, we ripped up everyone’s plans and started from scratch!

Consistency is key

Communicate regularly and keep it up! Consistency is key when developing your content marketing strategy, so no matter how busy you are it should not stop.

Use it as a sales channel

Your customers expect communications from you and you can use it as a sales channel, but only very carefully. Include special offers just for your customers, however also follow up with things like a phone call or perhaps personal email.

You may be surprised at how just by sending out communications, your conversion rates will increase, customers grow in the value they purchase from you and lapsed customers will get back in touch!