CTA : ISP – We can help announce your community, build trust, credibility and authority

In today’s ever-changing world if you are serious about growing your business, it is critical to have a clear understanding of the different types of content that make up your content strategy. Not all content is equal, for example, social media content usually caters to a more general audience, while content on a blog or videos tend to be more specialized to a central topic. Finding your audience where they already are, and then providing valuable content in different formats will help you attract your ideal target market.

Not all content is equal, for example, social media content usually caters to a more general audience, while content on a blog or videos tend to be more specialized to a central topic. Click To Tweet

4 Types of Content To Build Your Brand & Attract Your Tribe

1.) Social Media Content Creates Awareness

Once someone hears about your business from a friend, and they find value in your content, they will seek to view more of your content through your social channels. This is why it is imperative that you actively participate and engage in various social media channels.

Again, the goal is to start conversations, build awareness around what your business is about, and then invite your followers to your site. Social media creates awareness through social proof and tells people “these people believe me and like me.” – Maybe you will too! Sharing links to your high quality and informative content on social channels “invites” people to look closer into topics they are already interested in.

Sharing links to your high quality and informative content on social channels “invites” people to look closer into topics they are already interested in. Click To Tweet

While social media is important in assisting you in your efforts to build your brand and community, keep in mind that it is not a good idea to solely build your community on a social media platform. Starting a Facebook group or LinkedIn group community is a great strategy, but your purpose should always be to guide group members to your blog or site.

Social media networks often change the rules, update privacy policies, and the changes could threaten the existence of your community. Also, as reliable and dominant as some may seem today, who knows what the most popular network will be 5 years from now? Therefore, it’s important to start in social, but not stay there.

2.) Blog Content Creates Trust

You need to consistently create and publish value-driven content that gives your tribe a compelling reason to visit your website and stay on it long enough to create an impact, and convince them to come back later to check out what is new. This is the most important part of your content strategy for your blog that you need to focus on, to create content consistently, and build trust.

This is the most important part of your content strategy for your blog that you need to focus on, to create content consistently, and build trust. Click To Tweet

The design, content, and interaction on your website will either say ” I am an expert, and I know exactly what I am talking about,” or not. Give people a reason to stop everything else they are doing online and listen to what you have to share with them.

This is a low commitment step that you are asking them to take, once they read your content, they make they will either decide to read more, and subscribe, or go somewhere else. Be aware that once someone leaves your blog or website without subscribing to ongoing content, the chances that they will return later on their own, are close to none.

It’s a great practice to have various types of content on your blog, like evergreen content that is always relevant, personal stories, new trends, industry news, and how-to guides. This will keep users engaged, and seeing a variety of content may spike their curiosity and keep them on your blog for longer periods of time.

This will keep users engaged, and seeing a variety of content may spike their curiosity and keep them on your blog for longer periods of time. Click To Tweet

Pay attention to topics that people engage with a lot, and tend to share more, and write more content like it. Listen to what your readers are asking and saying, and give them the information that they are already interested in, no need to reinvent the wheel.

This is also where SEO comes into play and allows you to laser target your audience by choosing the right keywords, tags, phrases, and other related content that could spark more interest and conversations. No matter what your frequency is for blogging, daily, weekly, or monthly, over time, this content will help you build trust and enrich your relationship over time.

3.) Video & Audio Content Create Loyalty

Video and audio are powerful channels to build a relationship with your community. Sharing valuable content through live video streams, podcasts, and YouTube, or other major video platform builds your brand and loyalty. People love video and audio because it is personal, and more personal and engaging than other types of media. Audio and video are surefire ways to grow your followership at lightning speeds, since nobody else has your personality and voice, you stand out from the crowd.

People love video and audio because it is personal, and more personal and engaging than other types of media. Click To Tweet

Video is the fastest growing medium of online content consumption. Over time it has become so much easier to create and share, and it will continue to be a dominant factor in the upcoming years. As more users have access to smart phones and access to tools that make creating and sharing videos fun and easy, it will continue to be a key player in online marketing. Having a strategy around video, and what content you will share through video, will help you find more ways to grow you brand and build your business.

Alternatively, if you completely dislike the idea of being on video, podcasts are great alternatives that provide many of the same benefits as video, with less technical knowledge required. Podcasts are increasingly becoming more popular, and producing a podcast is a great alternative for those who wish to share their expertise, but not necessarily interested in being on video. More and more people tune in to podcasts on a weekly basis, and studies show that people who tune in to podcasts are highly educated, have relatively high disposable incomes and tune in for one hour or more. Podcasts are often overlooked, and are a great medium to become a well known expert, without the need to get in front of the camera.

Podcasts are often overlooked, and are a great medium to become a well known expert, without the need to get in front of the camera. Click To Tweet

4.) Email Content Nurtures & Strengthens Relationships

After reading the content on your blog, and seeing that you are active on social networks, the next level of commitment would be to ask your visitors to sign up for your newsletter / updates. They are already aware of your business, they already like and trust you, now they are ready for a more one-on-one connection.

E-mail marketing is that one-on-one personal touch, that makes your readers feel like you are just talking to them directly. Nurturing and strengthening your relationships for long-term business sustainability is possible through e-mail. That is why capturing names and emails, and building your email list is where the money is at. People are much more likely to buy something from you after 7 touch-points, and this is easy to achieve, through email marketing.

People are much more likely to buy something from you after 7 touch-points, and this is easy to achieve, through email marketing. Click To Tweet

The golden rule here is to always provide highly valuable content that is relevant and helpful to them in some way. Over time, after they like you and trust you more, then you can recommend products or services that are meant to help them or guide them in their goals. It is always important to keep their best interest in mind, not just yours. As soon as people subscribe it is not a good idea to start sending them emails with sales and offers right away.

Just as easy as it was to subscribe to you, it takes visitors only one click for them to unsubscribe. Another thing to be cautious about is frequency, it’s usually not good practice to send an email every single day, people will easily get turned off and annoyed. Every industry is different but once a week or twice a week can be subtle, and efficient at the same time. Staying top of mind is easy and can be automated with email marketing. Make sure your email marketing content is clear, concise, and relevant to what you promised when they signed up for your list.

Make sure your email marketing content is clear, concise, and relevant to what you promised when they signed up for your list. Click To Tweet

Having people’s contact information is a privilege, and if you abuse it, it will take you much more time and effort to grow your community. Focus on delivering value, and contributing to their lives, always give before you ask for something in return. Keeping in touch with your subscribers consistently, and answering their burning questions is a tried and true way to strengthen your bond and grow your business.

Using Social Media Marketing to Grow Your Business and boost your visibility

Growing your business will always be one of the most important aspects of being an independent business professional. Because the dynamics of business and the economy in general are constantly changing, it is more important than ever for you to take advantage of every opportunity you have to make individuals aware of the products and services that you offer through your business. The ability to grow your business effectively, even in difficult economic times, may be the only thing that separates the successful business owner from those who have tried and failed. Therefore, learning to use social media marketing to your advantage is one of the most effective ways available of ensuring that your business will continue to grow. There are a variety of social media marketing websites that you can use to successfully increase consumer traffic for your business. These include Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Pinterest, and You Tube. All of these social networking sites are relatively easy to use, especially after you spend a little bit of time working with them. You can also effectively utilize all of the sites without spending any money or by spending a very small amount of money, and you can reap huge financial benefits. If you have an exceptionally small budget that can be used for advertising, using these social media marketing websites to promote your business is one of the most cost-effective ways to drive new customers in your direction.

Facebook helps you gain exposure fast

Facebook is one of the largest and most trusted social networking sites. It is extremely effective in helping individuals to grow a business, in large part due to its ease of use and to the exceptional amount of exposure that is available when you advertise your business on the site. Facebook has an enormous following and simply having the opportunity to get exposure on the website is likely to drive a high number of customers to your business. Due to the large number of people that spend a lot of time on Facebook, it has become one of the most effective marketing tools available on the Internet.

Twitter keeps your business fresh

Twitter is another social networking site that is extremely popular and can be successfully used to grow your business. Gaining exposure on Twitter keeps everything about your business fresh, and because individuals use Twitter only to talk about what is going on in the here and now, maintaining a presence by associating your business with a Twitter account keeps it on people’s minds and continuously drives traffic toward your business.

LinkedIn connects you to other business people

Another popular website that individuals can use to grow their business is Linkedin. Some of the best benefits of using this website involve the ability to develop close business to business contacts and to join different groups that allow you to gain unique exposure in circles that otherwise may not be aware of the products or services offered by your business. This is a great way to expand your clientele and bring your business to individuals who otherwise may not spend money with your company. Using this website helps you to constantly evolve your business, which is one of the keys to building and maintaining a successful business.

Pinterest helps you gain that visual appeal

One of the newer social media networking websites that has gained a great deal of popularity is Pinterest. The visual appeal that exists on this website has caused it to gain much popularity as a means of growing a business. It is very simple to use, as you merely have to take pictures of the products that you sell and post them to the website. Once this is done individuals from all over the world have a chance to see what your business has to offer. This website is especially effective for attracting sales from affluent women. Therefore, if you are marketing products directly to that group of clientele this is a website that may be of particular interest to you.

You Tube helps you deliver powerful and memorable stories Last but certainly not least, You Tube is one of the most effective ways to grow your business regardless of the products or services that you are offering. You Tube offers a unique way to share powerful and memorable messages with the general public. With the technology that is available today it costs little or no money to produce a video that is of good quality which can be posted to You Tube as a means of increasing business. It is truly as simple as shooting a video with your smart phone and then posting it to the website. The more people that see what your business has to offer, the greater the chances are that you will receive additional business traffic as a direct result. Growing a business is always a challenging and rewarding experience. However, methods of advertising have changed a great deal in recent years. Individuals who operate small startup businesses who could not afford expensive advertising in the past can now get the word out about their business to an extremely large and diverse group of people in a matter of minutes. Maintaining a powerful presence on these social media marketing websites is one of the most effective ways of ensuring that your business will be profitable for years to come.