Choice and the decisions we make are quite often driven by emotions. This applies across the board to many different types of decisions we have to make - what bread to buy, whether to have that last drink and bigger decisions, like what house to buy, or whose financial advice to take. We also look 'around' the product for clues - does the packaging look professional/eco-friendly/reassuring, is the person selling it trustworthy/professional/authoritative - and so on.
Let's return to that decision on whose financial advice to take. What if the choice between financial advisers has boiled down to 2 possible options? Option A and Option B look to be the same on the surface. Their websites (your first port of call) are vaguely similar and pricing is in the same ballpark. However, outside of this, Option A also has a weekly newspaper column dispensing trusted (and free) advice and is also a regular on a radio chat show you listen to where they offer (again free) advice to listeners. You have already built up a 'relationship' with Option A, you trust them and you appreciate the free advice. The choice is clear.
All Option A has done is 'repurpose' existing information and dispense it in other ways. Their offering to the world is richer and therefore has more weight and authority.
Your online presence, for your customers (and potential customers) is often the first port of call when they are making a decision. A well-designed, informative website with plenty of calls to action is a good asset to your company, but with so much competition online, to make your voice heard, you should be more creative with your online content.
Content marketing is the creation and distribution of rich, valuable and relevant information to your target audience. The platforms available to you are there to be utilised: YouTube, Vimeo, blogs, social media and so on. What are your target market looking for that you can offer? An online jewellery store can utilise YouTube to set up a video series showing how to care for your precious jewellery. Our financial adviser could have a weekly blog offering advice and inviting queries. Webinars are easy to set up and can be used to dispense easy tutorials on a subject you are an authority on.
Interesting and useful content is not about selling - it's about the customer. If it's engaging, people will want to share it via social networks. More people will be directed back to your website (where they could be encouraged to buy or to contact you) and the content will boost your visibility to search engines.
What information do you and your company have that you can offer? Talk to us today about how to share that content and engage with a defined audience in order to generate sales/leads.
