5 Steps to Use Content Marketing to Gain New Clients
When you think of content marketing, do you think “long play”?
It takes time to rank in Google and even more time to get noticed by prospects. But what would you say if I told you there's a way to gain new leads during the creation process? This post will teach you how to use the content marketing process to build relationships with prospects.
You don't have to wait until you hit publish to make those connections. Let's get started!
But first…what is content marketing?
To start from the beginning, content marketing is educating prospects on how to solve their problems. Begin with understanding your ideal customer.
Answer questions like:
What problem do they have?
How does this problem affect them internally?
Is there a philosophical question they need to solve?
What does your customer's customer desire?
How can you guide them through their problem?
What action do you want them to take?
Once you have these questions answered, you can identify core content topics that matter to your customer. For example, if your ideal customer is a specifying engineer, you might answer the questions like this:
Q. What problem do they have?
A. They have difficulty finding a product that meets their specs.
Q. How does this problem affect them internally?
A. They're worried that they will get fired or removed from a project for choosing the wrong product or for not meeting deadlines.
Q. Is there a philosophical question they need to solve?
A. There should be an easier way to search for products.
Q. What does your customer's customer desire?
A. They want products that are chosen on time, meet specs, and work great.
Q. How can you guide them through their problem?
A. You can walk specifying engineers through each step of quickly finding the right product.
Q. What action do you want them to take?
A. You want them to use your software to find your company's product and add it to their request for proposal (RFP).
With these questions answered, you can now identify topics to focus on in your content marketing. Our example company might choose topics like project management for specifying engineers, guides to choosing the right products, FAQs, testimonials, or case studies.
What type of content should I create?
From blogs to podcasts to live streams, content marketing can take many forms. But, of course, it all depends on your audience and niche. So before you can start creating content, you need a plan. Figure out what type of content is right for your business first. Then we’ll cover how to start attracting new leads with that strategy in mind.
First, go to SparkToro and start doing your research. Type in your competitors and publications that share your audience. Using the example of reaching specifying engineers, your competitor might be XY Faucets and a publication you might research could be Consulting-Specifying Engineer.
What is the top content consumed by their audiences?
Do they prefer written, audio, or visual content?
What are their frequently used phrases?
What YouTube channels do they watch?
What podcasts do they listen to?
Now, visit these blogs, podcasts, and YouTube channels. Which ones have the most followers? Engagement? Activity?
Once you've answered these questions, you can confidently decide what type of content to create.
You can start with one type of content and progress from there. I like to repurpose, starting with one content medium and repurposing that content onto other mediums. For example, you can start with a YouTube video, repurpose the audio file for a podcast, and then write a blog based on the video. But, when you’re starting your content marketing journey - start with one medium.
Now that you understand how to set-up the foundation for your content marketing, how do you create content that generates leads during the creation process?
Generate Leads with Content Marketing
1) Generate leads using podcasting
If you’re looking for new ways to reach out and build relationships with potential clients, podcasts might be a good place to start. Podcasts are an easy way to share your expertise on a particular subject while also delivering valuable content that people will want to consume. With over 57% of U.S. adults listening each month, podcasts have become a powerful means of reaching prospects and engaging in meaningful conversations with them.
Curious how you can meet potential customers before they get pinged about your new episode?
Invite them to be a guest on your podcast! Every C-suite executive dreads seeing a pitch land in their LinkedIn messages, but that's not the case when you're inviting them to be spotlighted on your podcast. During the interview process, you will get to know them, chat before and after recording, and grow your relationship. In this time, they will inevitably learn about your services. And, if they need that service, they're sure to think of you first.
2) Connect with prospects using your blog
One of my favorite ways to reach out and interact with prospects is by writing a consistent, quality blog. When you write useful blogs, you create your own publication — your company’s publication — and can use it as a tool for building new relationships and gaining leads.
Reach out to prospects you'd like to work with by asking them if they would like to be quoted in your article. Offer them a backlink, a promotional strategy, and tagging in your social media posts. By mentioning your prospects in your blog posts, you not only add extra value to your content with original thought leadership, you also have an opportunity to get noticed by prospective customers.
3) Build relationships with prospects with your live stream
Are you creating a livestream?
Livestreams provide a perfect opportunity to get to know your customer while also making them the "hero" of the episode. Invite a prospect onto your show and interview them.
Create an outline for your show with your ideal customer in mind. Let's go back to the example of a company that wants to reach specifying engineers. You might invite a specifying engineer onto your show and ask them questions like:
How did you get into this field?
What does your typical day look like?
What is your process for specifying?
What tricks and tips do you use to find products quickly?
During this interview, you get to know the person better and get answers to many of your questions that can feed other content.
4) Reach out to prospects during the content creation phase
At least half of your marketing plan should be devoted to prospecting. Pat Helmers, founder of Habanero Media, recommends this step-by-step process for outreach:
Step 1: Reach out on LinkedIn
Step 2: Wait a week and follow up
Step 3: Send an email (if you don't have their email address, try RocketReach).
Step 4: Wait a week and follow up
Step 5: Call
This process may sound heavy-handed, but remember, C-suite executives are busy, don't always check their social media, and prefer you reach out to them in different ways. They are likely interested in the opportunity, but your messages got lost in their inbox chaos.
5) Follow up with prospects post-publish
After you’ve published your new piece of content, make sure you follow up with anyone who might find it valuable.
Make a list of everyone involved and group them into target personas: buyers, sellers, influencers, etc. Next, determine how best to reach out to each persona type through email or social media (or both). Make sure to personalize each email. Finally, reiterate why they should be interested in your content. In the context of this post, they are interested because they're featured in it.
If you made a good connection with the prospect, ask the prospect if they'd like to be added to your email list. This will keep you top of mind until they're ready to purchase.
Next steps
Now you know how to generate topic ideas, identify content mediums, and reach out to prospects. So, it's time to get started on content creation! You can go on your content marketing journey solo or reach out to Tiny Marketing.
We create a month's worth of content — blogs, podcasts, live streams - emails, and social media copy — in a week. Our batching process means we save tiny marketing departments 328 hours every month. Schedule a call with Tiny Marketing to get started.
