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First-Date Etiquette For Content Marketers Pt.2

 

How To Sweep Audiences Off Their Feet…

Hooking up with a new potential someone over a romantic dinner? Well, in a manner of speaking – this is actually an ordinary day in the office for the content marketer.  Creating content is strikingly similar to going on a first date. There’s pressure before the deadline.  You must put your best foot forward in order to stand out in a sea of other brands that seek your prospect’s attention.

In the first installment of this post, we looked at a few of the first date essentials for content marketers. Having a fresh voice is like popping in a breath mint.  Fine-tuning your content to perfection is making sure every hair is in place. Content that grips the reader right off the bat is your best pick-up line. In this post, we’ll cover the next set of first date rules for content marketers:

  1. Ditch the small talk
  2. Show genuine interest
  3. Don’t cross the line

Tell compelling stories

Storytelling is a great way to engage people, whether it’s around the dinner table or online. If your blog posts tap into life’s essential truths, you’ll have better success in capturing your prospects. Topics you choose to incorporate into your storytelling can be captivating, funny or educational. But, as long as they draw upon what James Lush calls the TRUTH test, you’ll have an audience willing to work with the content you create.

  • Topical –The story is important in the context of recent events
  • Relevant –The story is interesting to a group of people or a specific audience. In this area, focusing on the quality over the quantity is key. It’s better to have a smaller, targeted audience than reaching a large number of people who don’t care about your story.
  • Unusual –With a story, the aim is to provoke an ‘I didn’t know that’ reaction from your audience. What can they learn from your story? What separates this story from the others in the pack?
  • Trouble –This is what makes a story interesting, finding a conflict in the story. Showing a “problem – solution” format engages the audience in the journey of your narrative.
  • Human –Put the people into your story. How can your audience relate to your characters? Will they feel empathy? What makes your characters real?

Ask good questions and listen to what they’re saying

A date can quickly go downhill if neither person showed interest in the other. Every moment spent together would be painful and by the time the night is over, there probably wouldn’t be a second date on the cards.

This is not different in content marketing. Brands who do not ask questions come across as absent and consumers are quick to fall out of love with them. Brand-consumer relationship is built on mutuality and only by asking the right questions can brands achieve lasting and meaningful engagement.

Social media and newsletters are the best platforms for engaging your audience. You can use these techniques to encourage more interactions and content engagement.

  • Post quick surveys
  • Post fill-in-the-blank questions
  • Post Did-You-Know questions
  • Ask a question related to their interests
  • Request for tips & input

This way, you can gather a lot of valuable information that can guide your future content creation

Make a move when the time is right

As mentioned before, your content shouldn’t just be preoccupied with selling. This doesn’t mean you should steer clear of call-to-actions in your content; however, timing is important if you want your content to hit the target.

You’ll generate more leads if your content describes the benefits of using your product rather than the features it possesses. Call to actions shouldn’t be too intrusive in your blog post. Only when your readers are done consuming your content, should they be presented with an option to:

  • Comment
  • Start a free trial
  • Subscribe to the blog
  • Make a purchase
  • Join the mailing list
  • Connect with your brand on social media

 

Some final thoughts

These are some of the things with content marketing you should consider essential to making that first encounter with your content a great experience for your audience. The way you approach every piece of content can determine whether or not consumers will click with your brand (no pun intended).

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