Why wait to build your content platform?

Posted on February 19, 2012 by admin

When you are building your B2B content you should focus on two clearly defined objectives.

First, you want to capture the attention of your customers, potential customers, peers and opinion formers.

Second, you want to give them a call to action.

That’s it.

Websites, blogs, news releases, feature articles, videos, podcasts, webinars, e-cards – they are all simply different ways of targeting people you want to reach.

The trick is ensure your content is interesting, relevant and authoritative. Show them how you can solve the problems they face in their business world with your expertise, products, services and consultancy advice.

How do you do this?

As an established business owner manager or experienced professional, you have unrivalled expertise in your niche market sector.

This just waiting to be exploited when you create your content.

You already have a wealth of anecdotal stories, empirical evidence and sector knowledge, all of which is unique to you.

Apply this information and come up with 40/50 different content ideas. They will literally come fast and furious because nobody knows your business better than you.

From all those initial ideas outline around a dozen good, solid quality blogs, articles or videos that you know will be of interest to the people you want to reach (you know this because you’re talking to customers on a daily basis).

Now it’s simply a matter of producing written, video and audio core and spreading it across your  appropriate social media channels.

The best way to approach creating this content is always plan ahead. With B2B this means at least three months in advance (based on distributing new content at least once a week).

When you’re creating, vary your content from news stories, blog posts, promotions, video, demonstrations, question and answer sessions and sharing relevant external content.

Just make sure you remember the objective with all your content is to help your readers and listeners solve real problems that exist in their business worlds.

Your call to action could be to download more information, request an online demo, attend a webinar, book a face-to-face meeting, whatever you decide is the most appropriate way to guide customers towards a sale.

Sounds too easy?

Well yes and and no.

What makes producing content difficult is time and resources.

As you are involved in the day to day management of your business, it is tough trying to allocate time for content creation.

You can delegate in-house if some of your people have the required skill set, use external agencies with a diverse range of resources or independent consultants like me.

I can lead you through the entire process described above and produce your content, quickly, efficiently, without any fuss – leaving you to focus on running your business.

I am always happy to talk to people about content creation. Simply call me on 07850 933350 or email me and let’s chat.

 

 

 

 

Posted in Blogging, Communications, Social media, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

When to take the social media plunge?

Posted on February 19, 2012 by admin

Social media for the uninitiated – and this applies to lots of busy B2B professionals – is like diving into the unknown.

Pretty scary and intimidating.

And once you’ve taken the plunge, it’s very easy to swim around in circles expending a lot of effort without knowing where you are going.

Fortunately, there are numerous resources out there to help you understand. And help you evaluate how big a splash you want to make.

Two sources stand out for me.

Hubspot provides a great series of social media to market its all-in-one marketing software. (I’ve combined some of Hubspot’s guides and other good stuff for you here).

And Michael Stelzner’s socialmediaexaminer.com provides superb easy-to-digest social media context, which is both fun and informative.

Here’s a quick common sense snapshot for busy business owner managers, SMEs and start ups.

  • Social media is simply a means of sharing content to either complement or by-pass traditional marketing and media platforms – and allows you to engage directly with customers, potential customers, peers and opinion formers.
  • Whatever else you do, make sure you plan properly with clear objectives and success criteria.
  • Once you take the plunge, make sure you maintain your social media presence.
  • Business-to-business social media usage should revolve around calls to action – buy, book a demo, download a White Paper or your e-book, arrange a visit or subscribe to your lists to receive e-cards, offers and updates.
  • Lists are at the heart of your social media activity. Build them.  Customers, potential customers, peers and those you want to influence should be invited (although you should always ask their permission).
  • Because social media involves two-way interactive engagement content is less who you are AND more what you can do for your customers – ‘what’s in it for them’ if they engage with you.
  • Your B2B content should be created in batches in advance and distributed via social media platforms once or twice a week.
  • Think like a newspaper editor when you’re planning content – keep it relevant, focus on problem solving, practical benefits, advice and news.
  • Think like a publisher – make sure your social media channels are also used by the people you want to reach.
  • Don’t rely on your the people you want to reach finding you – proactively go and find them and hook them.
  • Track your social media presence (something as simple as Google Alerts) and respond to positively to comments about you.

That’s all you need to know about social media at its most basic. Define objectives. Create and distribute content. Build a list. Engage and interact. Drive towards a call to action and an ultimate purchase.

For those of you already successfully employing social media in a B2B context, why not share your knowledge. Let us know what you’re doing together with how and why it works.

If you want help with reviewing your current social media presence or making a start, give me a call on 07850 933350 or email.

Posted in Blogging, Communications, Public Relations, Social media | Leave a comment

Want to blog without the weekly headache?

Posted on February 15, 2012 by admin

Does this sound like you?

You are successful in your own chosen profession, business or industry, having accumulated a wealth of knowledge, expertise and experience in your niche market.

Now you want to share what you know with your peers – and existing and potential clients -  to highlight your status as a trusted expert.

Obviously know all about blogging. Read lots.  Like them.  Especially those that made relevant points quickly and succinctly. Helped you with your business. Your thinking. How you view your work/life balance.

You’ve heard blogs help generate leads. Are a smart and cost effective to take your expertise to market.

Search engines love them. There are great for attracting attention.

You definitely like the concept of blogging.

Except you’re not a writer.

And you don’t really have the time.

After all, you didn’t become a thought-leader in your sector by bashing away at a keyboard!

But you want to blog!

This is where I come in. I can help you produce blog campaigns. Create clear decisive calls to action. And list building incentives.

My fixed-fee blog writing service (dependent upon discussing your exact requirements) enables you to use the blog communication channel to generate and direct lots of attention towards you and your business.

It’s a very simple process.

We talk about you, your business, your expertise, your market and what you want your blog to achieve. And agree the fixed-fee costs.

I draw up a plan for a series of a dozen 500/750 word blogs.

These will be written at the same time to give you core blog content that encapsulates the benefits your business provides to your customers.

When the plan is agreed we talk some more.

I write.

You approve.

We publish.

The blogs are distributed once or twice a week.

We assess the impact as your blogs establish relevance and authority – and you build a list of followers.

Sounds like a common sense way to start a blogging campaign without giving yourself a mountain to climb?

Does to me too.

Once the first cycle is completed, we can start the process again, drilling down deeper into the way your business benefits customers.

All the time, you’re building up loads of great blog content that merits publication as a book. But that’s another story.

Contact me on 07850 933350 or email to discuss how we can work together.

If you’re already a successful B2B blogger (and not involved in marketing/communications) why not share your experiences. It would be great to hear from you.

Posted in Blogging, Blogtobook, Copywriting, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Why do journalists love press releases?

Posted on February 15, 2012 by admin

Forget all about the Leveson Inquiry into the culture, practices and ethics of the British press.

There are two key things you really need to know about the vast majority of journalists and their editors in the UK, especially those working in the B2B sector.

First. They want stories from you.

Busy journalists are under constant deadline pressure to research and write stories of beneficial interest to the readers of their print and online publications.

They want as much help as possible to be able to do this.

If they are supplied with all the facts presented clearly and logically they are more than happy.

And if they can follow up the story easily and quickly they are even happier.

Second. They like good well written press releases that make their job easier.

What they don’t want are poorly written press releases riddled with spelling mistakes, typos and grammatical errors – and the actual story hook buried deep in the fourth paragraph, drowning in waves of flowery self-promotion and self-congratulation.

They do not like receiving press release that are totally unrelated to their publications.

And unless your brand or company is the story (Apple, Virgin, Google, Facebook), journalists are solely concerned with the benefits to their readers rather than creator of the press release.

If the story is worth telling, the press release will metaphorically write itself.  And will invariably be covered by the media.

Want help to write and distribute your press release?

I have a fixed fee press release writing service so you can take your message direct to journalists and the media.

This costs £250 for creating a news or feature release.

This one-off price includes:-

  • briefing session prior to drafting and approving the press release for distribution.
  • short attention-grabbing headline and the first paragraph (no more than 15-30 words).
  • short and punchy (maximum 250/350 words) ’who, what, where, when, why’ release OR
  • feature article to disseminate factual, accurate and objective information.

Call me on 07850 933350 or email afcuk@btinternet.com to discuss your requirements.

Together we can discuss:-

  • Why your press release is newsworthy?
  • What you want it to achieve with it?
  • Decide where it needs to be distributed?

I’ll be honest with you too and assess the chances of the story being picked up by your selected media.

We can also discuss ideas to generate press coverage and social media attention.

And if you’ve got examples of good or bad releases why not share them? We can all learn from what has gone before us.

 

Posted in Blogging, Copywriting, Press releases, Public Relations, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Common sense c-words that get you out rather than in trouble

Posted on January 5, 2012 by andrewfield

Here are some C-words (and their explanations) that will get you out rather than in trouble.

Creative: communications should always excite and motivate the people, no matter who they are.

They should entertain and inform in a voice  audiences can identify with and understand – whether it is chatty, corporate or a happy medium inbetween.

Channels: there is an enormous spectrum of media platforms for us to use.

They are all relevant, depending upon what needs to be achieved.

Channels include:-

  • hard and soft marketing collateral such as brochures,advertising & direct mail
  • WWW and social media population
  • press releases, features, ghosted articles, speeches
  • magazines, newsletters and white papers
  • video, scripts and speeches and business plans, reports, presentations.

Context: the strategy/thinking (aka consultancy) behind our communications decides how, when and where we communicate with our various audiences.

An integrated, seamless approach is essential to ensure everyone shares the same voice and sings from the same hymn sheet.

The real secret to all strategy is to be proactive.

Decide what you want to do and then do it.

Content: the captivating ideas, words and images that we need to populate brochures, websites, press releases, social media and business presentations.

All the time focusing on what makes us special, why we stand out from the crowd and how people get engage with us.

Our content should be fresh, informative, relevant – even fun.

Channelling: the key to taking full advantage of social or sharing media is to re-purpose core content across all the channels relevant to you.

Consistency: our tone of voice drives the personality of our brand and propositions.

It needs to be consistent so people recognise and trust its relevance and authority.

Consistency embraces frequency as well so we don’t end up saying too much and are seen as mundane.

Or too little and become invisible.

Creative collaboration: partnership or teamwork is crucial to ensuring communications gets the results we want.

From identifying, defining and articulating key messages and benefits to creating and developing the content, a collaborative approach gets us there faster than everyone operating in isolation.

Have you got any C-words you’d like to add to the mix? Let me know your thoughts? Comment is absolutely free and it’s always healthy to exchange ideas and views.

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Why keywords are the catalyst for content creation?

Posted on January 4, 2012 by andrewfield

While there are numerous other SEO drivers (such as inbound marketing, relevance and authority and PPC), keywords are still important.

However, picking your keywords and flooding your communications with them does have drawbacks.

The problems are obvious:-

  • search engines are very sophisticated and don’t like be fooled
  • customers want regular added value updates – they don’t want to read the same keywords over and over again

The following criteria will help you select the right keywords, which should:-

  • have sufficient volumes (number of people using them to look for products in your business sector)
  • be relevant to your business
  • give you a) competitive advantage b) profitability of the services/products linked in with the keywords.

As a word of caution, remember big money/trophy keyword phrases are the hardest to gain ranking spots as they are the most competitive.

So be creative.

All search terms have variations – related modifiers should make your text feel natural while subtly covering a variety of keyword options.

Common variations include:-

  • singular versus plural
  • alternative word order
  • synonyms and acronyms
  • keyword modifiers

Although keyword phrases are the initial building blocks, it is a site’s ‘authority/relevance’ that creates a highly visible online presence and drives the traffic you want to you.

Generally, on-page optimisation creates relevance while in-bound links generates authority while external (in-bound) links from other sites are the single most powerful ranking tool amongst search engines today.

There are three key factors influence the latter:-

  • the number of links to a site, where generally more is better…
  • the number of links to a specific page which will be ranked in terms of a question asked
  • anchor texts (the clickable text of a link) connects to specific questions

Link building tactics divide into three areas:-

  • ‘manual’ (achieved technical activity such as comments, social networking)
  • ‘editorial’ (building relationships and third party endorsement with the goal of achieving unprompted high value links)
  • ‘combo’ of the two.

The greater your relevance and authority, the more you will gain from your investment in strategic copywriting.

 

 

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How social media is changing our approach to copywriting

Posted on January 4, 2012 by andrewfield

In the good old bad days before very smart but literal search engines copywriters could run riot.

Play with alliterations, metaphors and similes under the creativity banner, revel in guilty pleasures unique to the unofficial union of wordsmiths (sad but true).

We could lap up the ingenuity of the Cream of Manchester slogan, even though comparing a diary product to frothy hoppy beer is the antithesis of today’s fascinating SEO world.

Today, as writers our craft not only includes content creation (research and writing) but also embraces context consideration (publishing) and integration (how words complement keyword/SEO strategies and ultimately deliver buying customers).

Core copywriting disciplines, skills and experience remain but we have new triggers point:-

  • thinking of words/copy in relation to search engines and keywords
  • creating unique content for each media platform
  • ensuring words/copy perform seamlessly across different media
  • maintaining tone of voice, brand perception and the effectiveness of the key message.

The content has to be well written, accurate, relevant and entertaining AND look good on the page/screen. This means changing how we present copy.

  • shorter paragraphs
  • more bulleted or numbered lists (like this)
  • focused relevant headers and sub headers
  • conversion focused links within the content areas of the page (this applies to all hard and soft collateral).

The phenomenal growth of the www and online social media has changed the way we communicate personally and professionally. Research from HubSpot shows that companies with blogs get 55% more website traffic, and that number goes up exponentially in line with the number of times you post as long as the content is credible and relevant.

From our own personal experiences of the web, watching TV and films and reading newspapers and books we want content to be timely, accurate, relevant, considered, informative and fun. What it cannot ever be is boring, predictable or rehashed.  It has to be original, innovative and created fresh for each media platform.

Traffic-attracting content can be driven by:-

  • news stories
  • blogging
  • e-cards
  • podcasts
  • videos
  • on-line demonstrations
  • webinars
  • tips and advice
  • existing content evaluations
  • content sharing share
  • professional advice
  • showing thought leadership

Whatever the format, your call-to-action is essential to collect information, start a dialogue and take the first steps to generating transactions.

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Why good simple communications will always count

Posted on January 4, 2012 by andrewfield

Communications are evolving at an unprecedented pace.

Today’s explosion of social media, mobile platforms and blogs are as influential as TV, newspapers and magazines.

A clever viral campaign can literally sweep across the globe in a matter of hours, packing a punch as powerful as traditional advertising – at a fraction of the cost.

However, while these new media platforms present us with a whole host of dramatic new challenges, core writing disciplines, skills and experience remain.

  • Clear thinking.
  • Good English.
  • No abusing the apostrophe.
  • No tangling up tenses.
  • No confusing complement with compliment.
  • Plain speaking.
  • Simple, honest messages delivered concisely.
  • Using a voice they understand, like and can trust.

To achieve this requires investment in communications consultancy and professional copywriting.

In my opinion, Twitter and Facebook contributions need the same careful thought and consideration as press releases, corporate brochures or important media interviews.

WWW updates have to be relevant and interesting if they are to capture the imaginations of the people you want to reach.

And they all need to seamlessly integrate as part of one cohesive communications package.

If you want to discuss how I can enhance your communications call me on 07850 93335o or email afcuk@btinternet.com today.

Look forward to speaking to you.

 

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