Creating Conversations by Sharing Your Expertise

Welcome to our June issue!

While the goal of your marketing efforts is largely to elicit your desired response, whether it’s brand recognition or follow-through on a specific call to action, it’s also often a springboard for conversation between you and your audience. Particularly with the value of: 1. Storytelling in gaining and retaining interest and 2. Utilizing content to establish expertise and credibility, both of which we’ve covered recently, and of course the integration of online resources and social media into the media mix for a campaign that reaches folks on a multitude of different platforms and devices, using these opportunities to inspire dialogue between the two parties is one of the critical building blocks of a solid relationship.

By extending valuable content that is also thought-provoking and encourages a response, it creates dialogue between you, the business, and your community of followers. This group consists of current clients, potential clients, and last but not least, those who may not fall into either of the first two categories but will still provide word-of-mouth referrals when a need arises to which you offer a viable solution. In exponentially increasing your points of contact through marketing efforts that are interactive and responsive to feedback, you’re also establishing a bond and encouraging that person to place their trust in you as a go-to resource for any future needs and inquiries.

Sourced from an article by Carl Friesen published by the Content Marketing Institute, “The 5 Types of Content That Grab Attention for the Best Content Marketing”, the following are ways of engaging your audience if employed as conversation starters.

The Trend: A changing situation that’s affecting your customers. This includes anything that brings about problems or opportunities – or both.

The Meteor: Responding to a sudden change or similarly, reinforcing that you’ll be there whenever there’s a problem. To do this effectively, you’ll need to “keep your eye to the sky”, staying on the pulse of your industry and what’s going on in your community. Watch for news of sudden changes that will affect people in your market and be prepared to move fast to create content that addresses the issue.

The How-To: Exactly how it sounds, but this must also be something that those in your market care about; it’s practical and they have the need or desire to learn more.

The How-To-Work-With: Adding a twist on the last principle, instead of educating on something it’s focused on the “someone” or specific party involved. This may include factors and circumstances that are likely to lead to the best outcomes, or alternatively, roadblocks or problems that can get in the way and suggestions on how to deal with them effectively.

The Case Study: Providing insights that your audience can use in their own reality. When properly developed, it provides compelling facts based upon real-world situations. It then includes the lessons that were learned and/or steps to follow should you find yourself in that scenario.

Arguably, the best part about all of the five types of content listed is that they can be used, and highly effectively at that, in virtually any medium you choose. In our publication, for example, the Ask The Expert column provides the opportunity for our clients to explore an impactful topic in their industry in any one of the five ways we’ve listed. It is then placed online and can be shared across any number of platforms, making it an excellent conversation piece with legs.

In this day and age, consumer engagement is highly interactive and therefore, driven by responding to your audience as they speak to you. As conversation is a two-way street, make sure you are spending just as much time listening as you do talking. Conversation is personal and by establishing a relationship that focuses on empowerment through the exchange of knowledge and ideas, both parties are able to better understand one another and grow together.

To learn more about how Strictly Business can help you, contact me directly at (402) 466-3330 or visit www.strictlybusinessomaha.com/connect.

Paige Zutavern – Omaha/Lincoln President | 402-730-0096 | Paige@StrictlyBusinessOmaha.com