Content Marketing to Conversions: Is It Really Possible?

Content Marketing to Conversions: Is It Really Possible? [GUEST POST]

Content marketing involves writing clear, fluent and high-quality content that will be able to promote the product it describes. High-quality content is likely to archive a high search engine ranking meaning it will be read by a large number of potential customers. The idea in content marketing is that the content should not only be read by a high number of potential customers, but also be persuasive enough to change the readers to customers and customers to fans. The primary goal of content marketing is making money from these contents but it is also possible the contents can lead to conversions if written by an experienced writer. Converting content is very important for successful content marketing. Below, are some of the ways in which you can make content marketing converting.

Avoid vagueness

Exactness is very important in building trust since it shows that your content is detailed and specialized in certain areas. Such content creates the urge to read more since what you are reading is well organized and to the point. Take an example of the titles “Learn about the hundreds of new baking companies” and “Learn about the 4,500 new baking companies in the U.S.”. When searching for information about baking companies, most people would choose the second title because it is specific and it is clear about what it is giving information about. This is the type of content you will read with all your concentration work by word till you finish reading it. In such cases it is likely that the text will provide you with the information you were not aware of before, thus changing your perception about baking.

Related: The Difference with Australia-specific Content to Generic Ones

Clarity

Writing content that follows the rules, doesn’t go outside the topic of discussion, is straightforward and clear ensures your work is understood by all your audience. It is wise not to write the full content from your own personal thoughts since it is likely that you will go out of topic or lose clarity in your content. Such kind of content may generate readers, but it is doubtful those readers will turn into clients. Your content should not only inform your readers but also be clear enough to benefit them so that it can increase the awareness of your brand. To create that kind of content, you should give an introduction of your topic, explain in an easy to comprehend language how it affects your readers, list your recommendations on how to face and benefit from the issue and provide clear gated content as a call for action discussing how the issues will affect your clients in the future.

Clear content is easy to understand and if the content is easy to understand, then readers will continue reading it until they finish it and sometimes even go beyond what they were searching for. Some sites give clear information in financing home improvements that is to-the-point and clear. This way the content may change their standpoint in many ways although the content was initially made for content marketing not for converting them.

Related: How To Manage(and Convert) Your Inbound Leads

Using questions

Questions are a very important weapon to the writers because of their interactive nature and their tendency to hook readers in the content by creating curiosity. They work well for conversion-oriented contents since they give room to the reader to frame a response. Take the example of the following two headlines, “Are you struggling with roofing problems? Here are 5 ways of getting the best roofing for your home” and “5 best roofing techniques”.

The question in the first headline makes it more interactive and persuasive than the second one and it is obvious that majority of the readers will choose the first headline since it looks more informative about roofing. The first impression is very crucial since readers will judge your content by it since there are other contents they can choose to get the information they need from. Questions make your content stand out from the rest thus increasing the chances for it to be chosen by readers and changing their perspective on the topic being discussed in the content.

Related: Dummies Guide for Content Marketing

Cut anxiety

Good content should reduce the reader’s anxiety by providing them with detailed information on the areas they are concerned with and showing them that the content they are getting the information from is credible and it comes from an experienced source who knows their needs and wants. Trust is a vital requirement for you to be successful in content marketing and cutting anxiety by providing high-quality contents for the readers is one way of ensuring that success. In your content, you should be able to describe how you, or a current customer, overcame similar problems that you were facing and what role your company’s products and tools played in addressing similar issues.

You should also share your real life and personal experience that your audience can relate to. This is a quick way of establishing trust between you and your clients and ones it is fully established, a lot of readers will look for your contents which are the aim of content marketing. It is very possible for readers to get converted by such kind of contents since they give the real-life experience and that is what many readers are looking for.

Related: Sales Tips: Interesting Facts About How to Gain Prospect’s Trust

Give advice

In your content, you should give advice on the issues discussed but the readers will only believe you if your content is informative, dedicated to solving your reader’s problems and educational. For example, if your content is about the different types of leather, you should give detailed information about those types and give an advice on the qualities to consider when purchasing a leather item. If in your content you had limited information about those different types, readers will find it difficult to trust in your advice. Detailed content shows you are familiar with what you are writing about and it is very easy to change the reader’s standpoint in the process.

It is without any doubts that I say that in content marketing it is possible to change the reader’s point of view or convert him/her through a well written, persuasive content. Conversion-oriented writing grabs the readers’ attention, keeps them engaged throughout the content and encourages them to click on a CTA (Call to Action) to change readers into paying customers.

The Difference with Australia Specific Content to Generic Ones

The Difference with Australia-Specific Content to Generic Ones

When talking about contents, Google would love to see originality. Something that is fresh and unique.

Sharing blog posts, white paper, newsletter or case studies, email and social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat are a huge help for content marketing success.

However, content marketing in Australia is constantly changing. So it is important for marketing managers and business owners to be aware and adapt to these changes.

But how is Australia-specific content differ from the generic ones?

Whether you’re writing for a specific software company, a mobile audience, or doing a news writing, here are a few guidelines to capture the attention of your audience.

The Title

Contents must have a punchy, attention-grabbing titles.

For example, if you’re targeting people who hate talking to a telemarketer, you can use this title to catch their attention and read your content.

”Fed up with the never-ending calls from an awful telemarketer? Here’s how to make them go away.”

The Body

The body of your content is as important as your title. In your body you should;

  1. Site a problem that your audience can relate to. Make your audience feel like you understand them. Site for their pain points and address them by providing them tips on how to solve these issues. How to do this?
  2. Take your audience through steps. Break your ideas into steps. Use sub-headers and a short explanation to walk them through your idea.

Aussies love to shorten their words, so remember to use casual language/slang such as;

G’day (Good day)

Mate

Cuppa (Cup of tea)

“Ya” instead of “you”

“Pop around” is a casual way of saying “come over”

For example:

“G’day, mate! Would ya like to pop around for a cuppa?”

Also, Aussies want facts. So don’t forget to include references in your body. It could be a statistics found from a well-known site, a photo or an embedded video, as long as it has relevance to your topic or text, they can be an added value to your piece.

Related: 12 Tools to Hack Your Content Creation Workflow [Plus Free Content Calendar]

The Tail

Tails are often a statement relating to your story. It should be completed with conviction. Conclusions are meant for readers to understand why your idea about the whole content should matter to them.  It doesn’t have to be a summary but it should include key points that show your readers the value of your argument. You may also include CTAs at the tail of your content in case your audience would want to find more information or get help.

Related: Top 6 Places Where Bored Writers Get Content Inspiration

This year’s content marketing is all about keeping up with these changes. Not all of these may work with your content marketing strategy, but I hope these guidelines will give you an idea how to write your next article for your Aussie readers.

15 Australian Blogs You Should Be Reading Right Now

15 Australian Blogs You Should Be Reading Right Now

Entrepreneurs are eager beavers when it comes right down to absorbing as much information as their journals and idea books can handle. For businesses in Australia, it really pays to pay attention to those blogs and websites offering an ample amount of relevant information.

For sure, blogs are still a driving force in generating quality leads for enterprises across various industries, and Australian businesses need to make a big deal out of this. B2B businesses, in fact, spend most of their time blogging or seeking blogs that offer something new to the table.

Apparently, only a few of these blogs really do stand out from a sea of rehashed content and bad links. These blogs are excellent in their own right, which makes, even more, sense to follow them on the dot. Who knows? Maybe you’ll consider having a beer with the masterminds behind these stellar blogs.

1. The Bank Doctor

The Bank Doctor

Let’s start off the list with one such website that specializes in the finance and banking industries. The Bank Doctor is certainly your go-to place for anything related to insurance, jumpstarting a business, or buying the right solutions to financing in general.

2. Market Economics

Market Economics

Want you to fill with industry insights and market performances? Market Economics is one such blog that offers a wide range of information on local and global business trends. The articles published on this blog will certainly help you face certain problems ahead.

Related: 12 Tools to Hack Your Content Creation Workflow [Plus Free Content Calendar]

3. Wattsnext

wattsnext

Personnel management and recruitment can be tricky to up and coming business enterprises. Luckily, Wattsnext maintains a blog that gives a lot of information about crucial human resources concerns and issues.

4. The Story of Telling

the story of telling

More than just marketing platforms, blogs also focus on bridging the gaps between organizations and their target audiences. The Story of Telling highlights this in all of its content, focusing mainly on helping businesses improve their branding through sentimental articles and web page design that has the word “intimacy” written all over it.

Related: The Secret Ingredient in Turning Your Social Followers Into Qualified Leads

5. ECommerce Blog

pixc

Want the latest tips in digital marketing? Look no further than ECommerce Blog. The site offers a wide range of knowledge that specifically focuses on improving the digital presence of the business, from conceptualization right down to implementation.

6. Copywrite Matters

copywritematters

No doubt that copywriting is an essential activity in marketing. And this has justified Copywriter Matters’ existence as a blog that touches on making advertisements that resonate with one’s audience.

Related: B2B Marketing Trends that will Thrive in Australia this 2017

7. Bluewire Media

bluewire media

If reading isn’t your thing, then you might find the podcasts on Bluewire Media appealing. From content marketing to grow your mailing list, the blog is an essential way for you to make the most out of your online presence.

8. Socially Sorted

socially sorted

Another important source of all things copywriting and (more importantly) social media, Socially Sorted is basically your best choice for increasing your clout, whether it be via Facebook, Twitter or YouTube.

9. Safety at Work

safety at work

When it comes right down to securing safer working environments to employees, Safety at Work is one such blog that has everything. From news and commentary on workplace safety to analysis of current trends in working environments across Australia, this blog keeps you updated on what you need to secure better working conditions for your beloved employees.

10. Naomi Simson

naomi simson

Being an influencer has its perks. For Naomi Simson, however, it is an opportunity to share important business advice. Ever since she started Red Balloon with just a startup of $25,000, Simson has become the business world’s most sought-after gurus on success.

Related: Top 5 Digital Marketing Tools: How to Use Them to Capture B2B Clients

11. Coping with Jane

coping with jane

Another noteworthy Australian influencer, Jane Copeland has some pieces of advice that you need to expand your brand’s influence and make it reach the top of your industry.

12. Design School

design school

Want to keep your creative juices flowing? The Design School blog is here to provide important tidbits that can help your content stir some imagination in your audience. Check out the tutorials on how to make graphics that are sure to catch the attention of the right people.

13. Hungry Australian

hungry australian

Australian’s love food, which is the reason why Christina Soong maintains a blog that offers recipes. On top of that, she writes topics on how to handle small businesses with finesse, which is something that entrepreneurs should always aim for.

14. Flying Solo

flying solo

What does it take to become an Australian blogger? Flying Solo answers these questions by becoming an important content curating platform for a variety of industries.

15. Valerie Khoo

valerie khoo

We just can’t get enough of bloggers! Valerie Khoo is especially one of those darlings of the Australian blogosphere that has her eye on the aesthetic side of the business. Being a writer and an artist herself, she crafts articles that tell a lot of about translating ideas and passions into profitable ventures.

Hosting an event soon? Seize the ultimate key to triumph with our latest free ebook. Elevate your game, boost registrations, and skyrocket turnout effortlessly. Get your copy for free.

Top Places Where Bored Writers Get Content Inspiration

Top 6 Places Where Bored Writers Get Content Inspiration

As a writer, coming up with an idea is hard. Regardless how much I love writing, there’s always a time when I need to find inspiration from different sources to create contents that are educational and could inspire my readers.

I’ve listed some of the top places where I usually get my content inspiration. If you need to write something but you’re bored and can’t think of anything, go ahead and give these tool a try.

1. instaGrok

instaGrok lets you learn and research about any topic. For instance, I would like to research for topics about Marketing Automation. Please see below.

Where to get content inspiration - instaGrok

instaGrok provides clickable keywords, videos, website and images that can help you understand more about marketing automation.

Related: Lead Generation Sales Funnel: A Guide for Australian Startup Companies

Google Trends has a feature that shows subtopics for you to explore that can give you more insights about your topic.

Google Trends

It even lets you compare different topics and identify which topic interests your audience per region.

Google Trends 2

3. Influence.co

Find out what influencers are talking about. This tool can provide you inspiration and better insights about a popular topic or subtopics you wish to write about.

 Check out this Dummies Guide for Content Marketing!

4. Reddit.com

There are 3 ways to use Reddit

  • Subreddits. Search and find topics related to your content idea to get more inspiration. Review their best content and get insights and ideas on how to create your own content

TIP: Sort subreddits by “top” or “all time” to find specific content related to your topic.

  • Reddits List or Reddit Metrics. It lets you see what niche-specific subreddits are more popular.

5. Quora

is a place to gain and share knowledge and discuss topic ranging from personal to business queries. As a matter of fact we created a blog post based on this question from quora.

quora
Answering Quora: Is there such thing as a good B2B lead Generation Company?

6. I use my personal life experience.

Put yourself in your audience’s shoes and ask. ‘What interesting topics would you like to know about? What questions would you have about that topic?’

For example, Before I became a content writer, I was a salesperson. My years of experience as a sales rep let me create informative topics by providing my readers some tips and techniques that they can apply within their sales team.

Distractions such as mobile, emails, facebook, Twitter, etc will always be there. If you think you’re stuck, you don’t need to feel miserable. These places will help you find inspiration for your next article as much as it helped me find mine.

Dummy’s Guide for Content Marketing in Australia

Dummies Guide for Content Marketing

It’s been around for centuries. An overwhelming 88% of all brands use it. Chances are, the maker of that laptop you’re reading this article from has used it to its advantage, too.

A study showed 25% of marketing budgets are spent on it. That’s $1.8 million per company, on average. Financial institutions, retailers, toys, appliances, and almost all sorts of consumer products have benefited from it. That’s content marketing and that’s how long a shadow it casts on all of business.

Content marketing is, literally (and flippantly), using content for marketing.  Its purpose is to attract and retain customers by consistently creating relevant and valuable content with the intention of changing or enhancing consumer behavior.

Basically, content marketing is the art of communicating with your potential customers in a way that would encourage them to buy your product, now or in the future. But instead of pitching your products or services like a hard sell, you are delivering information that makes your buyer more intelligent.

The point is simple: feed them with valuable information and they will return the favor by patronizing our product.

One classic example is what Procter & Gamble did in the 1930’s. A leading soap manufacturer, it sponsored content – radio dramas which featured related storylines about the lives of many characters. The stories usually focused on emotional relationships to the point of melodrama. These were aimed at women who were cleaning their houses at the time of listening. Thus, “soap opera” was born.

These days, content marketing has become more influential, encompassing all mass media. If you are to take full advantage of its potential, it is important to follow the simple content marketing outline below.

The Content Marketing Framework

What is your Objective?

What’s the most important reason you’re doing this? What do you expect your content is going to do for your company? Is it to generate buzz? Generate leads? Retain customers and clients?

You have to have a clearly-defined set of goals based on your priority. But don’t forget this: the goal isn’t to be good at content marketing. The ultimate goal is to be good at business, and content marketing is just a means to an end.

Who is your Audience?

Your audience should be influenced by your objectives. One of the most common mistakes marketers do with content is when they mistakenly produce them as if they were the target market. Remember: you are not your audience. You are producing content that prospective consumers are supposed to like and relate to.

What’s your Story?

Everybody has a story to tell. Ask yourself: what do I have that is going to set me apart? Do I have something that’s going to put me a cut above the rest?  Your story identifies what your passions are and serves as the foundation for all your future content developments.

Ways to present your story (via Hubspot):

Looking for Inspiration? Stay In your Office
Example: Looking for Inspiration? Stay In your Office

Types of Blog Posts to Write:

Posts that teach readers how to do something; these typically perform very well in organic search if they align with long-tail search terms.

Example: How to Revive a Lead Gen Campaign Gone Dormant After the Lean Season

List Posts

Curated examples that can be informative, and thus also rather search-friendly, or simply entertaining.

Example: Introducing: The Ultimate Lead Generation Kit To Jump start your Business!

Thought Leadership

Posts that explain fundamental shifts in an industry, or ask the reader to rethink convention wisdom.

Example: Running Low on Passion? Remember the First Day Feeling

Infographics/SlideShares

Blog posts that primarily use visual content to tell a story.

Example: 7 Stats That Proves Email Marketing Is Still The MOST Reliable Channel [INFOGRAPHIC]

Premium or Gated Assets

Premium or gated assets are typically longer form, and/or more time-intensive pieces that don’t exist on a blog. They might be used to generate leads or contacts, or for brand-building purposes. These are typically created by the dedicated long-form content creator if your team is large enough to have one, but sometimes bloggers get involved too, as blog posts are good testing grounds for what performs well and are thus worth investing in.

Note: Links on examples below might lead you to a page asking for your email, don’t worry.  All of which are gated content so it will need your email first before giving access to the content.

Types of Premium Assets to Create:

Ebooks

An incredibly popular format typically presented as a PDF and redeemed behind a form.

Example: The B2B Content Marketing Workbook

Research Reports

Often presented as a gated PDF or an ungated microsite.

Example: Market Research Report 

Webinars

Though time-intensive, webinars may feature a guest speaker who brings his or her own audience, which can help broaden the top of the funnel. Recorded versions of webinars can live behind a landing page to extend their lifespan.

Example: Crank Up Your Content Marketing

Tools & Templates

Because they’re extremely utilitarian in nature, tools and templates often prove to be incredible for long-term lead generation despite the upfront resource-investment required.

Visual Content

Regardless of team size, it’s common for visual content to be created by nearly everyone except, perhaps, the SEO specialist. While designers will do the bulk of the advanced creative work, bloggers, content creators, and social media managers will all get involved in lighter-weight design. Often, designers will also create templates for the writers on the team so they can be more independent — like creating ebook templates so premium content can be laid out by just about anyone with an InDesign license.

Types of Visual Content to Create:
Infographics

These can be embedded in blog posts, and shared on social media.

Example: Marketing Infographics

SlideShares

Some social media managers focus a lot of energy on SlideShare as a channel, and create content exclusively for it.

Example: Callbox Answers the 4Ws and 1H of a Qualified Lead

Video

Whether for YouTube or a blog post embed, short videos for the sake of entertainment or education can help you diversify your content portfolio and improve your SEO.

Example: Multi Channel Dialer for Salesforce

Do you know what your audience Needs?

You may have a great story, but you need to understand how you will optimize this for your users. What do your audiences need to know from you the most? Use social media plus feedback from customers and your internal personnel to better understand the requirements of your customers.

Do you have a Content Execution Plan?

Now that you’ve identified your audience, it’s time to know where and how they consume information. But you also have to understand that customers will need different types of content depending on which stage in the marketing funnel they are at. Set a schedule when you will release what content. Is it daily? Weekly? Bi-monthly? Does it follow a theme? When your prospects have something to look forward to, you have already half-succeeded.

Do you know how to reach more People?

Reality check: just creating content isn’t enough. In many cases, you need to amplify it so that more people will “hear“ about it. Yes, you need to market your marketing. This is where social media can help a great deal. Believe the guys from Convince and Convert when they say “Content is fire. Social media is gasoline.”

Where to distribute content:

  • SEO
  • Social Media
  • Email
  • Social Ads/PPC

Do you know if it’s working?

To find out whether your content marketing is a success or not, you have to go back to your objectives and check what results you wanted to achieve. Needless to say, your objectives dictate your metrics. If you’re trying to generate awareness, measure that. But remember, it’s not all just about the number of “likes”, “shares” or “retweets” that matter.

As per Ardath Albee (@ardath421) in the Content Marketing Institute, “Content marketing success takes time. Just because you develop a couple of really great articles or blog posts or videos doesn’t mean you’ll convert a lead into a sales opportunity tomorrow. Give it enough time to make a difference. For example, if your sales cycle is typically nine months, deploying a content marketing pilot across one quarter will not demonstrate the results the program can achieve. Content marketing is not a campaign with a start and stop date.”

“The bottom line is, if it improved your bottom line, it worked.”

Check out: A Comprehensive Guide for Content Marketing in this 2016

Give your B2B Blog in Australia a Major Makeover with these Tips from Pardot
Take a Peek of Callbox Australia’s Top Blog Posts in 2016

Blogs are known within B2B circles as excellent lead generators, accounting for about 67% of qualified leads and an ROI boost, according to Hubspot.

Read: Take a Peek of Callbox Australia’s Top Blog Posts in 2016

christianj

Christian is a Marketing Communications Associate at Callbox Inc. He’s worked with one of the leading TV networks in the country before moving to Callbox. He believes being relatively new in B2B marketing has an upside — it allows him to be an empty sponge thirsty for fresh knowledge, which he is ready to process and share with the world over. Follow Callbox Australia on twitter and Google plus!

The Difference with Australia Specific Content to Generic Ones
15 Australian Blogs You Should Be Reading Right Now
Top Places Where Bored Writers Get Content Inspiration
Content Marketing in modern times - Getting to know the new B2B buyer_DONE

Content Marketing: Targeting 5 Types of B2B Buyers

As it turns out, B2B content marketing is not a one-size-fits-all platform. The substance of the content piece, as well as the manner by which it is delivered, can be a crucial factor in the depth of influence among its readers, especially for B2B buyers.

And besides, lead generation has always been about catering to the needs of the prospects to persuade them to perform an action that would lead to a sales opportunity. To do that, marketers need to have a deep understanding of B2B buyers and how to customize each content piece to attract them.

Rachel Foster, an award-winning B2B copywriter who helps technology marketers create content that drives action, posted at OnlineMarketingInstitute.com the 5 types of B2B buyers that should be targeted for content:

#1 Researchers

Researchers are typically junior employees whose boss has asked them to research a specific product or service. Although these people usually do not have buying power, they have a lot of influence. You want to make it easy for them to find what they need and pass it along to their boss. They may download your white papers or check out your blog to see if they like what you’re talking about. It’s also a good idea to provide them with a PDF overview of your products or services – such as a data sheet – so they can easily forward the information to their boss.

#2 End users

Your end users want to know that your solution works and will make their lives easier. Provide them with case studies and unbiased reviews from customers who have used your products and services. End users may also be interested in attending webcasts, watching demos, participating in forums and joining user groups.

#3 IT influencers

If you sell technology products or services, your customer’s IT team will want to know how your solution will impact their network. Will it simplify things or make things more complex? How easy is it to implement your solution? How will it affect their network security? Be sure that your marketing materials address these concerns. You may need to create separate content geared specifically toward IT to answer these questions.

#4 Finance decision makers

Financial influencers will want to know if your product or service is worth the investment. After all, they are the ones who will sign your checks. Be sure to demonstrate your value in all of the marketing materials that you provide them – such as case studies, ROI calculators, data sheets, brochures, and webinars.

#5 Executives

Executives want proof that your products or services will help them reach their business goals and achieve ROI. Make sure that all of your content discusses the key business challenges that your customers are facing and how your solution helps to solve these challenges. White papers, case studies, and ROI calculators can be valuable when you want to influence an executive.

Read the entire post at 5 Types of B2B Buyers Your Content Needs to Influence