Is Your Content Selfless? Or Self-Serving?
Posted by Beth Hrusch on Thu, Jan 27, 2011
One of the things we like to mention when talking about effective content marketing is the importance of “it’s not about you”. Why do we make a big deal about this? It’s a very common mistake that people make when writing content, either on their site or in their other content vehicles.
It’s easy to lose perspective. Marketing is, after all, all about eventually getting the sale. You want to talk about how your company can bring the solution—how it’s the best choice, etc. The way you do that makes all the difference, and doing it the wrong way is sometimes simply a matter of:
Who comes first in your marketing content?
Who are you focusing on? Do you think your readers are interested in your vision of what they need? Or are they more concerned with their needs as they see them? Would they like you to tell them about your products and services? Or give them the information they need to help themselves? Can you facilitate a solution, even if it means not pushing your company?
Selfless content pays off in the long run. Just ask anyone who’s engaging in social media marketing. Everyone knows that social media users have a low tolerance for the pitch. They want relationships, feedback and cooperation-- not salesmen knocking at their doors. The advantage to using social media for marketing is that it allows you to develop relationships with potential customers. This type of marketing strategy creates stronger bonds of loyalty than strictly sales-oriented behavior.
But, these relationships can’t happen if you put yourself first, because no one cares about what you want them to do. They probably don’t even care about what products and services you offer. And they don't want to hear you talk about yourself.
What they really want from you is help in reaching their goals and solutions for their problems.
So put yourself in their shoes. Focus on them. Don’t sneak in your company name wherever you get a chance. They get it. Just listen until you understand what your customers want, then offer suggestions and information that you think will get them where they want to be.
Seriously, it’s not about you. At least not to them.