Great Brands That Compete On Value: Leverage Their Expertise

I’ve covered a lot of territory about branding to date, and also about what I’ve found to be the most effective content marketing strategies. The focus has mainly been on setting yourself apart by educating your audience about aspects related to quality of offerings as opposed to getting stuck in the trap of using price alone to create a competitive advantage. Yet there’s still so much I have left to share.

Does that last part sound familiar? For those of us who are experts in our craft, there are two things we’re passionate about doing. 1. Continued professional growth – we want to be the best, so we’re always working at getting better by learning and developing. 2. Spreading the word to others – we fully understand the value of what we have to offer, and want others to know about it too so they can benefit from it.

While that’s all well and good for defining your own personal brand and strengthening your credibility as a professional, it can easily tie into how you promote your business at the same time. Enter Strictly Business! In all of the special features you’ll find in our publication, knowledge is being shared that’s of value to our readers. Whether it’s news, events, and notable happenings here in our community or a number of topics relevant to businesspeople and consumers in our marketplace, what we cover in the publication keeps our readers informed about what’s going on here in our city, learning new things and discovering new opportunities. We even have a feature that’s entitled “Ask The Expert,” which provides our clients the platform to do just that as a columnist depending on the campaign goals.

For those who are considering this option, here are a few questions that will help generate the topic(s) which you’ll expand upon:

What is the problem you solve for people?

What is the most commonly asked question by those who use your product(s)/service(s) or are interested in doing so?

Is there a specific piece of advice you usually give your clients that you’ve found to be most useful?

Is there something going on now, or on the horizon, that people need to know about or for which it will be imperative that they stay informed?

Is there something complex that you are able to simplify when communicating it to your clients?

If you were to offer someone a “How To” guide, what would you cover?

Is there a certain skill you possess or attribute that you’d like to emphasize, but in such a way that it’s conveyed to a broad audience?

For any of these, if there are multiple answers, consider dividing and conquering to address each concisely. Also, when brainstorming about topics and then composing an impactful article, consider the following:

According to an article posted on Forbes.com penned by Josh Ritchie entitled Five Simple Ways to Educate Your Customers Through Content, ”Content marketing is not about talking about yourself; it’s about creating content that delivers true value to your audience — the content they need and want. No matter who your audience is, I can guarantee that what they need and want is information that helps them learn, grow and improve in some way. When your brand provides that information, you’re providing an education — and that is a truly valuable service.

‘Education’ through content marketing can take many forms: practical (how-tos and tutorials), theoretical (deep dives into specific subjects) or brand-specific (product information and features). The important part is that it delivers useful information in the right context, at the right time.

Unfortunately, over the last decade of running my content marketing agency, I’ve seen too many marketers focus on what they want to say instead of what their audience wants to learn. Huge mistake; if you want to succeed in content marketing, focusing on education is crucial.”

Basically, we all gravitate towards people who know their stuff, especially when it’s the stuff we don’t have a clue about. By sharing knowledge that’s of value to others related to your business/organization and profession/industry, you’re effectively positioning yourself as a prominent expert and establishing familiarity. In doing so, you’re attracting them to you, increasing their comfort level to initiate contact and giving them a compelling reason to select you instead of your competitors.

Ritchie goes on to conclude the article by stating, “Remember: Value comes first.

Expanding your reach, exploring new ideas, and fostering a learning community through content can only help your brand, as long as you’re focused on providing value. Remember the wise words of Zig Ziglar: ‘You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help enough other people get what they want.’”


To learn more about how Strictly Business can help you, contact me directly at (402) 466-3330 or visit strictly-business.com/connect. (You can also click on our Staff Letter tab online to view past articles)