content marketing strategy

Champion And Conquer Your Content Marketing Strategy

, ,

Early in my digital marketing career, I read something that had a lasting impact on my approach to marketing — an essay published on the Microsoft website by Bill Gates called “Content is King.” Bill Gates is a true visionary. What amazes me is that content marketing has taken many different forms over the last decade or so, but it is still king. Content marketing is a cost-effective way to bring in a steady stream of new leads and keep your customers coming back for more. That essay continues to inspire me to reinvent my content marketing efforts and conquer them like a champ.

One thing that I always make a priority is keeping track of my goals. When I’m not getting the results that I’m looking for, I revisit my original marketing goals so I can reground myself and rework my plan step by step.

Knowing Your Market

Do you know who your company’s audience is? If not, you have some homework to do. Send out a survey, create reader personas, ask for feedback and monitor your content to learn more about who needs your products or services. Use analytical tools like Google Analytics and Facebook Audience Insights or review the demographics of your current customers. It doesn’t really matter which method you use, as long as you do something to find your target audience, so don’t get bogged down with semantics.

I like to think that I know my company’s audience pretty well, but I’ve also learned that audiences can change over time. Even seasoned marketers need to spend some time conducting market research from time to time to keep their marketing efforts sharp.

There’s another reason I like to reassess who my target audience is. Our current clients are already hooked, but I like to continually challenge myself to expand our customer base. In addition, new products and services call for new analysis of the target market.

Establishing Your Goals And Objectives

Two very important steps follow identifying your target market. First, you need to be clear about what they need. Second, you need to learn how to quench their thirst for information. To sum up, relevant content is a valuable commodity.

Once you’ve acquainted yourself with who your customers are and what they need, you’re ready to establish your marketing goals and objectives. Do you want to spark the interest of your current audience? Do you want to build a new audience? Expand your current audience? Promote a new good or service? Increase brand awareness?

It’s important to establish goals and objectives so you know how to move forward. It’s also essential to define successful marketing campaigns. Have you thought about how you’ll know when you have achieved your goals? Think this through before you put your marketing plans in motion. Will you measure it by increased revenue, lower marketing costs, targeted customers or some combination of benchmarks?

Creating The Content Of Champions

Unless you are at the starting gate of your marketing plan, chances are good that you have some existing content to work with. Take a hard look at the work you’ve already done and decide whether you can reuse any of it. Can you update past articles to make them more relevant? Can you add to existing content so that it better enhances your brand or becomes more engaging? Can you beef it up by embedding links to products or services?

Putting The Plan In Motion

With the basic framework in place, it’s time to build on the cornerstone of your efforts. Determine your main formats and advertising channels and develop an overall marketing strategy.

I’ve found that even when my marketing strategy is complete, it helps to leave a little room for experimentation. I like to experiment with a variety of advertising opportunities like sponsored content, social media advertising, infographics and videos. Your marketing plan might include podcasts, e-books, workshops or webinars. Whichever formats and outlets you use, don’t forget to investigate your competition’s marketing efforts to make sure that you’re differentiating yourself.

There are a few different ways that you can manage your content marketing and publication schedule. I like to use a master calendar of what I’m publishing and on which outlet. You can control all the posting and publishing yourself or use an app on which you can load your ads and articles and schedule them to appear at specific times and dates. If you’re working with a marketing team, develop a plan for who will be responsible for creating, posting and publishing content.

Final Tips For Content Marketing Strategy Success

Keep a pulse on how well your marketing plans are connecting to your goals. If you’re not getting the results you want, review your marketing strategy to make sure that you’re following it exactly as planned. You might find that it only takes a few tweaks to get things moving in a better direction. And don’t fret if you’ve made a mistake or two. Learn from them and make better changes moving forward.

/0 Comments/by
artificial-intelligence-help-marketers

Artificial Intelligence Will Make Marketers Even Smarter In 2018

Each of us has a comfort level with things that we know and understand. That’s why artificial intelligence scares us so much. It’s new and unfamiliar. Knowing that someone out in cyberspace learned something about the items we need and the services that we buy makes our palms sweat and our hearts race with fear and trepidation. The very thought of big brother watching our every move makes us uncomfortable. The unknown is a scary place and we feel threatened by it.

A Scary Concept, But We’re Learning To Like It

AI was still a fairly new concept in 2017. Guess what? While it still scares most of our customers a little, they’re also starting to see how AI can make their lives easier. As I was thinking over my marketing plans for 2018, I found myself mentally toying with how I could incorporate AI into my company’s marketing strategy. It forced me to think about how I’ve developed my own comfort level with AI.

When I have a question, Siri gives me an answer at the sound of my voice. Siri is pretty smart. And Siri can be a little snarky and sarcastic at times, too, which makes me believe for a scant moment that Siri is a little more human than I thought.

And what about those self-parking cars? The very idea of it scared me in the beginning. Why? Because I like to be in control. But enough auto manufacturers are now producing self-parking cars with good results that I’m starting to get more comfortable with it. Why not take a little stress off and let my car park itself?

Have you seen videos of people wearing virtual reality headsets? They’re fully engrossed in the virtual reality experience. To an outside onlooker it’s a comical sight, but at the same time it gives us a greater comfort level with AI.

Giving AI A Fresh Look In 2018

The un-virtual reality is that we’re on the tip of the iceberg when it comes to learning about how AI can assist digital marketers in making stronger connections with customers. We have to help our customers have a greater comfort level with AI before we can make it work to our advantage.

When I’m browsing on social media, ads of items that I’ve purchased or considered purchasing sometimes appear on the page. Is it a coincidence that Facebook never shows me black blouses? Not really. I never search for black blouses and Facebook is tracking that, so they know which products I’d be interested in buying.

It freaked me out a little in the beginning. Then I thought, “What’s so bad about seeing blue blouses in ads? I love blouses in every shade of blue, and it saves me the time of scrolling past all the black blouses.” I’m starting to like those ads because I’ve suddenly realized the value that they bring me.

AI On The Backend Of Marketing

As digital marketers, AI not only gives our customers a better experience, but also tells us about their buying behavior, likes and dislikes and helps us predict their future buying behavior. Now that’s information we can use. Data gleaned from AI will help narrowly define our target markets. Past digital marketing experience tells me that the more narrowly you can define your target market, the greater return on investment you can expect to see.

AI As An Enhancement To SEO And Website Traffic

Just because I’m becoming a believer in AI (or at least less of a skeptic), doesn’t mean that I’m ready to abandon my digital marketing plans for SEO and increasing website traffic. What it does mean is that I plan to be more open-minded about testing AI strategies in 2018 and evaluating the results.

2018 is the year to challenge yourself to be increasingly innovative in your marketing strategy. Look for ways to align content marketing plans with AI tools such as chatbots, augmented reality, image optimization and social media outreach. For example, my customers may enjoy chatting online with a simulated customer service representative. Prospects may respond faster to augmented reality techniques where customers can get acquainted with our professional in-home caregivers before they schedule our service.

Images will take center stage in 2018. Already, the internet shares billions of photos and images per day. As part of your 2018 digital marketing strategy, use AI to mine data and combine it with images to create customized content campaigns for each and every customer. This will allow you to deliver faster response times and increased revenue.

In 2017, AI took us partially out of our comfort zones by showing us that it’s not totally artificial. It’s possible to incorporate just enough personalization and humor in AI to make it believable. Progressive companies that took the plunge and got their feet wet with AI in 2017 reaped the rewards for any perceived risks. 2018 will give us plenty of new opportunities to experiment with big data, the Internet of Things and machine learning as they relate to digital marketing. It will take us and our customers some additional time to develop a stronger comfort level, but the new year is ahead of us and we have 12 months to work on it.

/0 Comments/by
b2c marketing strategy

A Three-Tier B2C Marketing Strategy That Gets Results

As new marketing channels continue to emerge, technology provides us with an endless array of marketing strategies. In my work as a digital manager, my competition in the senior in-home health market is strong. While it’s great to have so many options at our disposal, I’ve found that the best way to approach B2C marketing is to select a few approaches that really work and dedicate the majority of your time and energy to fine-tuning them.

Tier One: Make your clients your ambassadors.

Providing care to seniors in their homes is a personal service, one that requires a respectful and trusting relationship between our service professionals and our clients. We serve many clients who have Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. They’re looking for assurance that the senior care service they choose will be attentive and safe.

Referrals and testimonials from other clients are meaningful to new clients who may be skeptical about receiving quality care. That’s why the first tier of a solid marketing strategy is to turn current clients into ambassadors of your brand. Our tier-one strategy includes emailing coupons out to current clients and asking them to refer friends and other family members to our company.

Testimonials from current clients speak volumes in a business-to-consumer marketing strategy. A personal testimonial like this one does more to motivate consumers to contact us than anything we could write ourselves:

“I want to thank you and the whole team for doing such a great job for my mom. She loved her home health aides. Your service was really top notch and I appreciate how much easier you’ve made things for her in the last couple of months.”

Tier Two: Inform them with regular content marketing.

As people become older and are less able to do the things they once could, the prospect of losing their independence is frightening. A large part of our business-to-consumer approach is using information about senior care to help potential clients have a greater level of comfort with the notion of receiving help at home.

Well-written articles answer all the probing questions that keep your customers awake in the middle of the night. A question that weighs heavily on our clients’ minds is how to pay for in-home care. We try to relieve that burden by using content marketing to inform potential clients about ways to pay for care that they might not have considered.

This content strategy positions companies as trusted experts, while at the same time priming consumers for client conversions.

Tier Three: Focus on the social media channels that your clients are most likely to use.

Tier three of our B2C marketing strategy is the most active because it brings all the other strategies together. Potential clients want information that is fast and easily understandable. We’ve found that our target market spends a lot of time on social media channels like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, so that’s where we focus. By using articles, videos and infographics, your consumers can get the information they need quickly and on the social media channels they use every day.

Our clients are interested in tips like how to set up trusts for senior-aged parents and how to make improvements to their homes to keep them safe. Social media channels give us the opportunity for our clients to get acquainted with the friendly faces of our staff. We recently added photos to our Facebook page of our employees taking supplies to senior citizens affected by Hurricane Irma. Content marketing articles shared on social media informed seniors on how to prepare ahead of time to stay safe during the hurricane.

Photographs on social media give you the chance to make deeper connections with the greater community. We recently advertised that we created a drop-off site in West Delray Beach to accept donations of bottled water, non-perishable food, baby items and pet supplies for those affected by Hurricane Harvey. These types of events enhance our branding because they show clients that caring for people is more than just our name — we embed it within our corporate culture.

Wrapping Up The Three-Tier B2C Marketing Strategy

Take the time to research which social media channels your clients spend time on. You don’t need to use them all. Through the most effective marketing channels, provide answers to their questions and give them tips they can use today. Make your clients ambassadors of your brand so that your business-to-consumer strategy will turn into consumer-to-consumer referrals.

/0 Comments/by
marketing baby boomers

Marketing To Baby Boomers: Five Things You Need To Know!

Generational marketing is a key issue in the field of senior in-home care because our target market is the senior population and their adult children caregivers or guardians. The baby boomer generation, which encompasses people between the ages of 53 and 71, fits both generations.

As the digital senior manager for a 24-hour senior home health corporation, I’ve discovered some key factors about how to market to baby boomers that have helped me attract the attention of our target market. Baby boomers are abundant, affluent and more tech-savvy than you might think. They’ve worked hard all their lives for all they have. They’re healthier and more active than their parents were at the same age, and they’re all about themselves.

1. Baby Boomers Are A Big Audience

Baby boomers make up one of the largest sectors of consumers, so every marketer should be paying attention to effective marketing strategies for baby boomers. Generational studies show that about 70 million people fall into the category of baby boomers. The baby boomer generation is the largest segment of consumers, comprising about 40% of the market share.

2. Baby Boomers Are An Affluent Generation

Employers who seek hard-working candidates will still find them among the baby boomer generation. Baby boomers hold a strong reputation for being diligent, hard workers who have saved and spent wisely.

Studies show that the baby boomer generation controls about 70% of all disposable income in the U.S. The baby boomers are also nicely situated to gain even more wealth. As their parents pass on, studies predict that baby boomers will inherit about $13 trillion to enjoy during their retirement or pass on to their own children.

3. Baby Boomers Are More Tech-Savvy Than You Think

Baby boomers remember the introduction of the first black-and-white and color televisions. It’s important for marketers targeting this generation to remember that baby boomers have grown up with technology over recent decades. They’re more accustomed to technology than you might think, and they use it in different ways than millennials.

During my years of marketing to baby boomers, I’ve learned that the baby boomer generation spends as much time online as they do watching television. It might surprise you to learn that 96% of baby boomers use search engines, 95% use email, and 92% shop for products and services online rather than shopping in stores and shopping malls.

About 60% of baby boomers spend time reading blogs and online articles as a source of information and intrigue, and about 70% enjoy watching videos about products and services. If you’re looking to market via social media platforms, you’ll find an active audience of baby boomers on Facebook, where they’re happy to post news and photos of their grandchildren and latest vacations.

4. Baby Boomers Are The “Me Generation”

Baby boomers are considered the “me generation” for their self-centered, individualistic attitudes. In marketing to people looking for in-home senior healthcare, I know that seniors want to enjoy their independence as much as possible. In-home senior care lets them have as much freedom as possible while maintaining their dignity. Adult child caregivers and guardians want to be able to care for their parents and still be able to work, enjoy their own families and have some well-earned fun. In-home senior care allows them to take care of their responsibilities and take care of themselves, too.

5. Baby Boomers Are Healthy And Active

A large majority of baby boomers are in the pre-retirement stage of life. They are still working full- or part-time and looking forward to life as empty-nesters. They are working hard to pay off mortgages and other debts and maximize their returns on investments. It’s prudent to pay attention to these baby boomers’ characteristics in marketing. They’re looking for senior care that is reliable, trustworthy and offers a reasonable cost.

Baby boomers have been more health-conscious than their own parents. Medical technology makes it possible for them to live healthier and longer. Unlike their parents, who desired to relax during retirement, the baby boomer generation wants to get out and do all the things they’ve always dreamed of doing. Many seniors can remain active with some help from an in-home caregiver.

Many people are starting to think of the age of 50 as the new 40. Baby boomers aren’t yet thinking of themselves as an aging population. Terms like aging and elderly are a big turnoff, although they don’t mind the terms “seniors” and “senior citizens” as much.

While baby boomers are healthier and more active than their parents, their eyesight is starting to deteriorate. When marketing to this population, I stay mindful of the size and color of fonts. If my target audience can’t easily read our ads and blogs, they’re likely to click on a competitor’s ad quickly.

Because of the size of the baby boomer population, nearly every industry has an audience in this marketing sector. When marketing to baby boomers, it’s important to understand who they are, where they come from, and where they hope to be in the future when getting their attention for your business.

/0 Comments/by