How to use content to promote your business
Content, content, content - yes, it is everywhere! We know the different uses of content, we know it can help create value for our clients and potentials and we know it can help with SEO.
BUT how can you use content to promote your business? How can you use the value you offer to sell? Mastering the art of this isn’t super easy, but it takes strategy and TIME!! Don’t expect your content to go from 0-100 - that doesn’t happen.
Most of the time “overnight” successes have been chipping away for longer than you realise!
So let’s go through the ways you can use content to start promoting yourself, your offers and your business.
Video series
A video series is a great way to engage with your audience and to connect as they can easily relate to something they watch.
The video series could be as simple as a lead up to the launch of your new product or series using IGTV, IG stories, TikTok, LinkedIn, YouTube, or Facebook.
What you would do is talk about a topic related to your offer and in the end on your video, make a call to action explaining what your offer actually is and how people can buy.
Jan last year I wrote this... never knew I'd need this quote too!
For example, you might have a coaching service you are launching, so you can use the week leading up to your launch to explain different aspects of coaching, with the call to action being a sign up to your early bird offer.
It could look something like this:
Day 1:Topic - What should you look for in a coach
Day 2: Topic - What types of questions should you ask a business coach
Day 3: Topic - Why business investments will help you level up your business
Your final few days might just be solely talking about your new coaching program.
When it comes to making a video series, make sure you are still adding value and your videos get to the point of your topic.
Podcast and third party collaborations
Building a business for yourself starts off very organic. You set the framework and use your social platforms to promote your business.
Once you are ready to start promoting more offers, you want to generate more clients. One of the best ways to do this organically is to collaborate with other entrepreneurs and business owners who have their own podcast or blog.
Working with other people in similar industries or who have a similar audience is a great way to generate new leads.
Firstly, make a list of the people who you could collaborate with and list them under the topics “podcast”, “blog” or “collaborations”. Once you have your list, think what you can offer them and their audience.
Do you exchange blog posts for posting of each others site, or do you have a podcast you can have them, guest, on? As for a collab, this can help with future offers and offering programs, products or services together.
You also want to think about what you can offer their audience. What information do you have that you can discuss on the podcast or blog? You don’t want to be talking about your business the whole time, you want to be talking about a general topic and add value.
Then you just want to connect with them and go in with a good pitch! Showcasing what you can offer on a third-party platform is a great way to share your new offer or just your business and message as a whole.
Call to actions
A call to action should be used in ALL the things you do! Whether it is a social post, a blog post or a podcast, you should have an action at the bottom or during the sharing of your message.
You want the call to action to relate to the post, but also to give your audience something to action as part of that piece of content.
It could be as simple as, a question relating back to your new offer, or a call to action for them to read your latest blog post. Whatever it may be, a call to action is a great way to promote your services and your new offers.
Have intention with all the posts you put out there on social media, in your emails and as part of all the content your produce! Even if you are creating an engagement piece, asking your audience for input, that is a call to action.
Email sequences
The use of email marketing can be VERY effective, as you are targeting your aligned clients. If you already have your audience signed up to your email list, you can use the topics similar to a video series to put together an email sequence as an educational piece.
You can use the last few emails to offer your new offer. These emails only need to have five parts to it, and it is just a way to connect with your audience instead of being super ‘salesy’.
But what if you don’t have an email list? Create a free offer.
FREE offers
Free offers are a great way to build an email list. But ALSO it is a great way to offer your audience something that will actually provide them with value.
Don’t just pull something together for the sake of it. Provide them with something which will show them what you can offer. Like my “creating a voice for your business” guide, it offers a full plan for my audience for free. They can then become very aligned with their voice to create content.
Once you have your offer, you can start generating a list to then start your email sequence!
Final thoughts
Whether it is promoting your business or your latest offer in 2020, you need to have a plan and strategy on how you will be using your content to draw your audience to buy from you.
Adding high-level value is a great way to build trust but also to give your audience more information about why they should engage with your products or services.
The best way to get this organised for selling via content marketing is by having a content strategy! To read more about a content strategy and why you should have one here.
Resources
How to sell to an online audience with storytelling