It’s Friday. You’re finally going out with that person you met online. You’ve been talking for weeks, and you’re excited to see them in person at last. The outfit you’ve chosen is perfect. That fresh haircut is serving you well. One spritz of perfume, and then you’re out the door.
Only, when you get to the bar, your date isn’t who you thought they were. They don’t look anything like their picture, you can’t get a word in edgewise, and you can’t get out of there fast enough.
Sound familiar? This kind of interaction is all too common in the dating world, and unfortunately, it happens a lot in the world of content marketing too.
5 Main Reasons Content Marketing is Like a First Date
Marketing is about building relationships. All too often, marketers treat it as an opportunity to hijack the conversation and aggressively pursue the customer. But this doesn’t work in dating and definitely won’t fly in marketing.
The goal of marketing and dating are the same: a long-term, mutually beneficial relationship. But more than that, there are five main reasons content marketing is like a first date.
- Gradual Connection. Like two people on a first date, it takes time for your customers to get to know your business. Sharing openly and honestly is the only way to build that connection over time.
- Fostering Engagement. Allowing your customers to join the conversation is crucial for making them feel valued. It’s like a conversation with a date where you ask them more about themselves.
- Building Credibility. It takes time for people to believe and trust what you say. Credibility is built slowly by sharing valuable information in conversation or online content.
- Gaining Trust. In dating and marketing, you have to share about yourself and show that your actions match your values before dates or that customers will trust you.
- Succeeding with First Impressions. Your date wants to know they aren’t wasting their time with you, and your customers want to know they’ve come to the right business for the help they need. To reassure them, you need to give a good first impression that puts them at ease.
The similarities don’t end there, and there are many steps you can take in your content strategy, so your brand doesn’t get ghosted.
Understanding Gradual Connection
Long-term relationships are comfortable, but first dates can be anxiety-inducing and awkward. It can be difficult to find common ground and build a connection when you don’t know someone. The same is true of marketing and customer acquisition.
Your content needs to make a good first impression. When potential customers come to your website or see your social media posts, it’s about building a gradual connection with them. Here’s what you need to remember when it comes to that connection.
Building a Bond Takes Time
While love at first sight may exist in romance novels, it’s not so common in marketing. Building a connection takes time. Your customer needs to get to know your brand through your content. That’s why creating quality content is important – you’re sharing why you’re trustworthy.
Your brand voice and the information you share show your customer that you know what you’re talking about and they can trust you. You can’t build this connection with just one blog post. Showing up consistently and sharing high-quality content is the only way.
Don’t Rush Expectations
You wouldn’t expect a marriage proposal at the end of the first date, so don’t look for your customers to purchase after seeing your content for the first time.
Creating high-value, search-engine-optimized content is crucial to getting your customers to your website. But once they’re there, don’t assume they’ll buy immediately.
Instead, give them opportunities to continue the relationship. Encourage them to follow you on social media or sign up for your newsletter. Give them some space to get to know your brand. And while you’re doing that, continue sharing information that answers all their questions.
Focus on the Audience
A common break-up cliché is, “It’s not you. It’s me.” But in content marketing, it’s not about you. It’s your audience. Focus on their needs as you’re creating content. Think about what questions they have. What resources will help them most?
Once your SEO content brings them to your website, how will you nurture the relationship? It would be a shame to bring your audience to your site only to lose them once they’ve found the answer to one question. Ask yourself how you can continue to serve them once they find your content.
Fostering Two-Way Engagement
You’ll get the first date if you have a great online dating profile. But if you spend that whole first date talking about yourself, you’re not going to get a second one. The same is true for content marketing. Fostering two-way engagement is how the relationship is built.
To Keep the Conversation Going in Your Marketing:
- Inspire Engagement from Your Audience. Ask questions in your content and encourage readers to comment or interact with your posts. Create interactive content like quizzes.
- Don’t Just Talk About Yourself. Instead, think about why your audience came to you. Answer their questions, solve their problems, or simply entertain them.
- Connect with Mutual Interests. Share your company values in your content and actions. These will help you connect with your ideal customer.
- Listen to Your Audience. If you find you’re getting a lot of similar questions from your audience, it’s a sign you need to make some content around those questions. Don’t be afraid to survey them to find out what they need from you.
- Use Emotional Language. Your audience found you online because they have a problem they need to solve. Their problem may be business as usual to you, but it’s something that’s a concern for them, and they want to feel like you understand where they’re coming from.
- Appropriately Respond. Whether they’re leaving comments on your posts or their feedback shows they need something that hasn’t been addressed, make sure you respond.
Want to get certified in Content Marketing?
Leverage the tools and channels to predictably and profitably drive awareness, leads, sales, and referrals—EVERYTHING you need to know to become a true master of digital marketing. Click Here
Building Credibility
Have you ever noticed that “be yourself” seems to be the go-to advice for dating, brand building, and pretty much everything else? There’s a good reason for that, which all comes down to credibility. Your audience needs to be able to trust you, and you have to build credibility with them for that to happen.
To Build Credibility:
- Be Authentically You. Being yourself is important because your audience knows when they see a faker. Share openly and honestly about your brand and what it stands for.
- Don’t Sugarcoat Your Business. You don’t have to make your business overly attractive or acceptable to people who aren’t your ideal customers. Focus on sharing the truth about what you do with the people who need your product or services.
- Don’t Undersell. You work hard, so don’t price your services cheaper than they should be or undervalue what you do. Part of being yourself is knowing your worth.
- Be Honest & Kind. Keep your messaging true to your company and what you do, and be nurturing and generous in the information you share.
Gaining Audience Trust
Once you’ve built your credibility, you can finally gain the trust of your audience. Think about trust in a relationship. You don’t just give it on the first date. That first date is probably in a neutral location because of how little trust justifiably exists. People earn trust over time through actions and authentic connection. The same is true for building trust with your audience.
To Gain Your Audience’s Trust:
- Be Respectful and Understanding. Show your audience you know where they’re coming from. Listen to their feedback.
- Respond Quickly. If they come to you with a question, they respect your knowledge. Hiring a community manager to respond to their questions quickly can help you become their go-to source of information.
- Be Consistent. Make content consistently by following an editorial calendar and regularly responding to questions and comments (including those on social media).
- Backup What You Say with Actions. Anyone can hop on the internet and say whatever they want. The brands that do what they say they’re going to do are the ones people trust.
Succeeding with First Impressions
Now, back to the first date. It’s your one shot to make a good first impression. The same is true for your company’s content. So, how do you get your audience to return after the first impression?
Ask for Continued Interaction
Encourage your audience to comment on your posts, follow you on social media, and sign up for your newsletter. Make it clear that you have more content on the way to answer their questions, and they won’t want to miss it.
When creating your editorial calendar, think about how to make one post into a series. It will get your audience to keep coming back to learn more.
Link to your older posts in your newer posts where appropriate, and continue to give your audience more reasons to stay on your site and learn more about your brand.
Using Calls to Action After Trust is Built
After you’ve built trust with your audience, they’re more likely to follow your calls to action. So don’t worry about selling in your posts. Instead, focus on giving your audience more valuable information.
Not many customers purchase after reading one blog post. Focus on putting your calls to action where you’ve already built trust. A newsletter is a great place for that. Those subscribers are already interested in what you do, and they trust you with their email addresses. They’re more likely to follow a call to action than a casual blog reader.
Follow Up & Reach Out
When you receive questions or comments from your audience, respond quickly, and follow up later to see how they’re doing. Ask if they need more help or how applying your advice went for them. Follow-up shows that you care about how they’re doing and that they aren’t just nameless followers to you. It shows your brand truly cares and can be a game-changer in building trust.
Get the Second Date
Every business can and should use marketing, but it’s not all created equal. Your audience wants authenticity and a connection before they open their wallets. Taking the time to make a good first impression is the first step to building customer loyalty and mutually beneficial relationships.
[TAG6]The post How Content Marketing is Like a First Date appeared first on DigitalMarketer.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the benefits to being entrepreneurial?
Being entrepreneurial has many benefits. First, you are more self-reliant. You stop relying solely on other people.
You can be independent and pursue your dreams. It helps you make connections with other entrepreneurs who share similar interests and challenges.
You gain confidence. You learn new things as an entrepreneur. This gives you the ability and flexibility to change quickly. You won't be stuck in a rut if you think outside the box.
When we all start our businesses, we're no longer bound by the rules and regulations placed upon us by society. We have the freedom to decide what and how to live our lives.
We can choose to follow the crowd or go against it. We can choose to be successful or not. We can choose to fail or win.
It's exhilarating to have freedom. But it comes with its fair share of responsibility. This is because you are accountable for everything happening within your company once you have taken on this role.
To succeed, you have to learn to manage risks. Don't be afraid trying new things. You can reach your goal if your willingness to learn from past mistakes
These lessons will help you to stay on the right track when you embark on your journey.
Remember:
- Entrepreneurship can be a way to live your life.
- If you manage your own business, you are the boss.
- Be cautious about following the trends.
- You don't measure success in money. It is in freedom.
- You need to balance your personal life with your professional life.
- Set clear expectations.
- Always be truthful with your team.
- Remember, if you want something to happen, you've got to do something about it.
How do entrepreneurs motivate their employees?
Motivation can come anyplace. It doesn't matter where it comes from, just make sure it motivates them to action. No matter what approach you choose, motivation is crucial for any business.
The more motivated employees feel, the better they will perform. To make your team more productive, empower and engage them.
They must feel valued. They should feel encouraged to grow and learn. Where they can contribute ideas without fear of punishment.
You create a culture that allows employees to thrive and achieve their goals. This is how you keep your best people happy, loyal, productive and satisfied.
To maintain a positive culture, you must reward the people who make it happen. This means bonuses when goals are met, offering training opportunities, increasing pay raises, and providing perks such as health insurance.
Also, you must communicate clearly with everyone. Ensure everyone knows what's expected of them and why.
You must ensure that policies and procedures are clearly written and communicated. Make sure there's someone responsible for making sure they're followed.
Communicate frequently, but most importantly. Keep your employees informed about the current state of the organization. Let them know what's happening and what's next.
Communication is vital,, and looking after your team is the best way to ensure you stay ahead of the competition. They will take good care of you.
If you don't build a strong relationship with your employees, it could be costly. Research has shown that companies with high levels in employee engagement are more productive and profitable than those that have difficulty keeping their top performers.
It's important for employees to recognize that not everyone wants to work at a similar pace. Some prefer working independently, while others like to collaborate. There are many motivational methods that can be used to motivate people. It's up you to choose the one that works best for you.
Some people may be more responsive to rewards than others, and some might prefer recognition. Whatever works for your company, ensure that it is consistent with its goals.
Ultimately, it's up to you as the leader to set the tone. Open-minded. Listen to your team. Remember, you have to do it yourself if you want it done correctly.
How can you motivate yourself to be an entrepreneur?
Find someone to motivate you. Ask someone who has worked hard towards achieving his goals to tell you how he did it.
Ask for advice, listen to others, and then, most importantly, do it. You can emulate someone who has succeeded if you find them.
Be the person you want to be. Take their advice. Take their advice. Follow their example.
But above all keep pushing forward. Keep moving. Never stop learning. Never give up.
Never let anyone tell you that you aren't capable. You don't have to believe that there is no way.
You might fail, but it doesn't necessarily mean that you have failed. Failure is an opportunity for growth. To learn more. To push harder.
Failure is just another step on the road to success.
Get started today! Start today to move closer towards your dreams.
Why wait?
What is your best motivation in life?
Do you want to know my top motivations? Let me tell it. Helping people feel better about their lives is what motivates me the most. They will be amazed at how amazing they truly are. They are worthy and deserving of love.
They deserve happiness because they are.
I'm here to remind people that there is nothing more important than feeling great about yourself. Nothing. And I'm going to do whatever it takes to find out how we can change our world for the better.
Being happy with ourselves makes us more open-minded and compassionate towards our fellow humans. You can stop judging other people based upon superficiality, and instead see the person inside. That's really cool.
Motivating someone by showing them they have everything within themselves is the most effective way to get them to do so.
It may be something they didn't realize, but it's why they've been struggling for so long with something. Because they knew deep down within they had the power and ability to heal themselves.
They only needed the right environment and support system. This was something they somehow lost sight.
It's not hard to see why they lost it. Because they were too busy trying figure out what the problem was. They were trying to fix it all they could, but they didn't realize they had all the tools to do it.
They didn't realize they were the ones who had the answer.
This is why I remind you that you can create something entirely new. To tap into your inner genius, all you need is to learn.
Once you do that, everything else will follow. You will be amazed at how simple it is to achieve your dreams.
You see, every person has their unique superpower.
All we need to do is learn how to use them.
What motivates entrepreneurs?
Passion is what drives us. But we also have an innate desire to create something meaningful that makes a difference. To make a difference for ourselves and our loved ones.
To give back. To help others. To leave a mark.
Most importantly, we love doing this. We are driven to live a full life and enjoy success in the ways that matter.
We are motivated by a sense if purpose and mission that cannot be achieved through money alone.
Find a way for business to be enjoyable. Entrepreneurship can be more than a career; it's a lifestyle.
Because of this, I am passionate about helping entrepreneurs succeed. My goal is to help them achieve financial freedom, and leave a lasting impression on the world.
I am living proof that creating value is better than anything. The sharing of your knowledge and expertise to the rest.
It doesn't suffice to have a great product. It is essential to understand your customers' motivations and what they want. What they're looking for.
If you do, you'll always know how to improve your offering. You will always be able to provide more value.
If you can offer more value, customers will come back. If you have more customers, you can sell more products. More customers will mean more revenue. Plus, if your revenue is higher, you will eventually be financially self-sufficient.
Money is not everything. It's the end in itself. It's not an end in itself.
To truly live a rich, fulfilling life, you can't focus on just money. Making a positive contribution is what you must do. Contributing. Leave a lasting legacy. Create something unique. Unique. It adds meaning and purpose to your life, as well as those of others.
Entrepreneurship requires risk-taking. However, this does not mean you should have any rules. Flexibility is what it means. Adapting. Adjusting. Improving.
As long as you stay true to yourself, keep your values intact and maintain integrity, you won't fail.
Entrepreneurship is a calling. A vocation. An opportunity to contribute. To create wealth. To shape history.
All of these are key to being the best version possible of yourself.
You will never stop.
What are the 3 motivators of an entrepreneur
Entrepreneurs have three primary motivations: freedom, money, knowledge.
- Freedom means the freedom to do anything you want at any time. When our lives or jobs are restricting us, we can become entrepreneurs.
- It is important to have money. Without it, we wouldn't even think about starting a business. While we can survive on food, water, shelter and money, it is not possible to make ends meet without money.
- Knowledge is the third motivation. Entrepreneurship requires us to constantly learn more and more, which is why we often find ourselves reading books, attending seminars, taking online courses, and learning how to create products and services.
This is what drives us to succeed and achieve goals. It gives us meaning and purpose.
These are the three main reasons we started our business. These three factors are the key to our success day after day.
If we don't have these three things, we may pack up our bags and head home. These three essentials are what will make us truly happy.
Statistics
- “Effective communication is 20% what you know and 80% how you feel about what you know. (americanexpress.com)
- Our 10 years of research also shows that 75% of mentored entrepreneurs increased their revenue, and 82% of their businesses survived the first two years. (carolroth.com)
- "Most of the time when people ask me about motivation, 80 percent of the time, I attribute it to gratitude. (entrepreneur.com)
- “If you look to lead, invest at least 40% of your time managing yourself – your ethics, character, principles, purpose, motivation, and conduct. (americanexpress.com)
- “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.” (oberlo.com)
External Links
oberlo.com
inc.com
twitter.com
kabbage.com
How To
Are You a TRUE Entrepreneur?
A true entrepreneur is a person who creates value for himself and those around him. He is willing and able to take risks.
He doesn’t wait until someone offers him an opportunity. He is self-motivated and can do anything.
An entrepreneur is able to take decisions quickly and efficiently. He sees the problem clearly and finds creative solutions.
His view is that there is no distinction between business and life. He sees entrepreneurship as a way of living.
True entrepreneurs never fear failure. Failure is an essential part of being successful. True entrepreneurs are open to change and can thrive under pressure.
They are persistent in their pursuit for growth and success. Most importantly, they love what they do because they enjoy creating value.
They want to not only build successful businesses but also create happy lives for their families.
So next time you feel unmotivated or confused about whether you should start your own business, ask yourself this question...
"Am I a true entrepreneur?" If yes, then take action. If the answer is no, it may be time to rethink what you are doing in your career.
