Internet Marketing Weekly: The Art of Online Sales

As we have moved into the online era of “Content being King” you may have asked your self what exactly is Content Marketing. Furthermore you may have also wondered how would that increase my bottom line. The definition is, “Content Marketing is a marketing technique of creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire, and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience-with the objective of driving profitable customer action.” This concept has been around for many years. It was once labeled search visibility. The concept that quality content increases your visibility in search engines.

In a Nut Shell

Content Marketing is the art of communicating with your customers without hard selling. Instead of pitching your product or services your are instead providing information and resource tools to potential clients that will make them more intelligent and informed. The theory behind this strategy is to deliver consistent, and ongoing valuable information to our customers. In turn customers will reward us with purchases and brand loyalty.

No One Likes a Snake Oil Salesman

The rule of thumb when it comes to content marketing is the 90/10 rule. 90 percent of the time you are informing and providing useful information to your customers. The other 10 percent of the time is spent selling products that support the information you are providing.

The Package Sold Itself!!

A great example of this is a three part blog series I currently read and responded to. I had signed up to receive a newsletter from one of my favorite out of the area golf courses that I play. I noticed that in the newsletter it had a link to a blog post. I read the first post and it was about all “the fun things” to do in the area besides play golf. It was a great post with links and maps to all that the area had to offer. At the end of that post they mentioned this was an ongoing blog series.

When the second post came out it was about great places to stay while visiting the area. It once again provided links and maps to all the areas lodging options. I wasn’t familiar with the area and what it had to offer. I was usually there once a year for four hours playing golf and then hitting the road back home. So I felt informed and interested in more than just golf. With day spa’s and other activities in the area I started to think I could bring my wife and her friend and my golf buddy (my trip planning wheels were turning).

That company sealed the deal with me. The third and final post in their series provided a package deal with some upgrade options for other area attractions. They provided an easy link to book, so I booked the 2 night package and had an incredible time. I’m not one that usually responds to marketing attempts or strategies, but this was done in such a way the package sold itself.

In Conclusion:

After reading this story you should look at your Content Marketing and see if you can work some of this strategy into your efforts. Use your blog, newsletters, social media, email marketing, or video marketing to get your content out to the world. Come up with a unique way to present information to people so they can learn to trust and respect your business. Once you have gained that trust people tend to reward you with their business. I hope you found this post interesting and hopefully will inspire you to take a look into how you are currently connecting with your customers.

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