Give Value to Your Audience
Add to their lives and see engagement soar.

Whether you
are selling products or providing services, it is always imperative that you
GIVE value in your content marketing. Don’t just promote yourself, your
products, your latest offers, your services.
Give value. Real value.
The point of considering what you can give to your audience, in terms of value, is to ensure that you are engaging them, obtaining and holding their attention. If you can do this, they will listen when you talk. If you take your time to consider your content and ensure it is of interest, your audience will be more likely to listen, engage and take action when you DO promote your products or services.
Content marketing is about conversations. You may not always be in an overtly two-way conversation but this is how you have to imagine your content marketing. If you make a statement, what follow-up questions might someone have from that? This feeds your ongoing content, tells a story and maintains engagement.
Don’t’ just talk about yourself. No one wants to be ‘THAT guy’ in real life, neither should you be in content marketing. Talk about the industry, about the wider world, related issues, concerns and considerations.
The problem with constantly talking about yourself and ‘selling’ is that it can begin to feel like spam. It becomes a one-way conversation and people switch off. Imagine that you go to a party and the person who is renowned for being self-obsessed is making their way over to you; do you think ‘I wonder what gems she has today!’ or do you think ‘oh no, how can I avoid this?!’
Consider this and then think about your content marketing. What are you doing? Are you the self-obsessed sales pusher or are you the inquisitive, thoughtful and considerate one that everyone loves to chat to?
If people feel like you’re just constantly pushing your latest offers and trying to get them to buy your products or services, they will get fed up and tune out.
Your audience needs to leave feeling fulfilled and intrigued for more.
Make sure your content is informative, valuable and insightful.

Think about…
… what it is that your audience might like to know
… what they might find interesting
… quick hints and tips to make their lives easier
… what they’re looking for when they stumble across your content
… are you answering the questions that they need answered?
For example, if you own a print business and you are always asked which file format is required for printing, why not write a blog post about that? Give the answers your audience is looking for, explain which file type and why. This then provides content for your social media channels as well as your website.
If you sell products internationally and you’re often asked what sales channels you use, add it your ‘About’ section on your website, write a blog about it, make a video. You’re answering the questions people are asking.
As a general rule, your content should be 80% value and 20% promotional.
Why not have a look at your content and work out how your stats add up?
If you would like help with creating a content plan for your marketing, please get in touch.


