When you think about content marketing, do you only think about the content you need to create? Creating compelling content is the first essential step, but if you stop there you’re probably not going to get the results you want.
I like to think about content marketing as an iterative process that I call Connection Cycle Marketing.
It all starts with great content, but there are a lot of other steps you need to take.
Optimize
Most people think of SEO — Search Engine Optimization. This is important, but its priority is changing rapidly as Google, Bing and other search engines change their game and while Facebook makes its major play.
You should also consider three other types of optimization:
An optimized content delivery method (CMS)
Visitor behavior optimization (VBO)
Conversion rate optimization (CRO)
In analytics, a “conversion” is what happens when a visitor completes a desired business outcome at your site. TIP: Think more in terms of optimizing what your prospects think instead of optimizing your “site”.
Connect authentically
Unless your only goal is engagement with content, you need to focus on ways to connect authentically. Far too often, busy content marketers make the mistake of only pushing out auto-links to their content in social venues like Twitter. But being “social” is not about being social with content. It’s about connecting with other people.
Think of the trade show booth analogy. If you only have printed materials in your booth (social venue), then visitors are only engaging with content (flyers). Content IS gold, but you need to make an (authentic) connection with people at a trade show or in a social venue. People buy from people they feel they know.
Test for lead quality
Simply put, a smart testing culture in your company will improve ROI from your website 99% of the time. WhichTestWon.com is a great reference and inspiration for the power of testing. In future posts, I’ll discuss specific ways like using an “A/B” test or a “multivariate” test. But these methods usually end by tracking “conversions” like the number of leads captured.
Don’t stop there. You will also increase sales if you track the quality of those leads. Are your additional leads from tests like those at WhichTestWon qualified in such a way that can help you get more sales? How can you know that? Good question. It leads to the next point.
Lead nurture in CRM
A Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system is not “just for the sales team.” If you think so, you’re missing two opportunities to build sales connections for your business. We’ll look closer at this, but for now consider two things: Your sales team can use help from content marketers on what goes out in social venues, and what your site content causes prospects to think about your products, services and company. Do you have good feedback from sales to your web developers and content managers? How many of your content marketers have ever followed a lead obtained at your site through a CRM to a final sale?
Close sales
You may be wondering why I include something that typically falls in the lap of sales professionals. The cycle isn’t finished until you make a sale. And, too many content marketers don’t track how well their publishing work assists or results in sales. Your creatives, developers, and content marketers need to connect with the sales team and modify their work to optimize results. Own this whole process as a Connection Cycle Marketing team.
In this series, we’ll examine practical methods about how to make Connection Cycle Marketing work for your team.
Comments