Giving the gift of content: Don't harm your reputation!

 

Content marketing is a wonderful way to engage your customers and build your brand’s credibility. I love the idea of being able to give customers tools to educate themselves in order to entice more business. Some organizations do this very well; others do not.

 

One of the pitfalls of content marketing is that some who use this approach do it badly and make people wonder if they are going to be duped into buying something useless. If the offering is not presented well, and not highly useful, then you are doing more harm to your business than good.

Here are some things to bear in mind as you develop your content marketing products and strategies:

1. Avoid having your customers read through long, convoluted messages or watch long videos that make no valuable point. I see that a lot among those trying to become gurus of their profession.
2. Make sure you deliver the information you are promising!
3. As you develop your “gift” ask yourself if what you are giving away is genuinely useful to your customer.
4. Don’t be afraid to help your customer more than yourself. It goes without saying that the product you are actually selling will be much more valuable than the one you are giving away.
5. Try to offer something unique. This can be a little tough sometimes, but if you are able to do what nobody else is doing, your offering will automatically be perceived as having more value and your credibility will rise as well.
6. Don’t use your offering as a way to collect email addresses and spam people endlessly. Ask people if they would like to receive regular email from you and let them choose the frequency. If you respect your customers, they will respect you.
7. Avoid using hyped up language urging people take action. Find another way to generate excitement. Hype will lead people to doubt your credibility.
8. Be creative! Content marketing can be everything from videos, games, e-books, charity drives, microsites and more! Even your blog can be a form of content marketing. The more unique your approach to content marketing, the better.
9. Check out this site for some really cool examples of content marketing! http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/wp- /uploads/2013/05/Ultimate_eBook_mayrev.pdf