Is your content marketing increasing revenues?
Are you choosing the right platforms and strategies?
The amount of content B2C marketers are creating is expected to drastically increase in 2016 and beyond. With this amplified emphasis on content marketing, these marketers have evolved in their approach and strategies.
No matter the reason, content marketing delivers results, especially when it comes to the more traditional end goal: generating leads to feed the sales funnel.
Although many B2C marketers are focused on sales, the most effective among them place more
importance on
- Sales (83%)
- Followed by customer retention/loyalty (81%)
- Engagement (81%)
- Brand Awareness (80%)
LIVE ONE DAY AT A TIME
One of the best ways to stop worrying is to live in “day-tight compartments.” Live one day at a time. Much of your stress is a result of worrying about things in the future, most of which never happen anyway.
Cross the bridge, whenever possible, when you come to it, not before. And not repeatedly.
One of the best ways to stop worrying and start living is to take things one day at a time. Forget what has happened in the past that you cannot change and don’t worry about what might happen in the future. 99% of the things that you worry about will never occur.
Check out this short YouTube video to learn how to better yourself and take life one day at a time
The Worry Buster
You can always use the “worry buster” formula to clear your mind. If there is a problem in your life that is causing you to worry, remember that most things you worry about never happen anyway.
There are four steps to applying the worry buster to your situation to help you stop worrying.
1) Define your problem clearly. Accurate diagnosis is half the cure. What exactly are you worrying about?
2) Ask yourself, “What is the worst possible outcome of this situation?” Be clear about exactly what could happen.
3) Resolve to accept the worst possible outcome, should it occur. Whatever might happen, decide that you will be able to live with it. It won’t kill you. Take it one day at a time. Now you have found how to stop worrying.
4) Begin immediately to make sure that the worst possible outcome does not occur. Think of all the creative things you could do to minimize the worst possible occurrence. Pretty soon you will be thinking positively and creatively again and will be back in control of your life.
MEANING & PURPOSE
What is the meaning and purpose of your business? Surprisingly most businesses don’t know. They think that it is to make money, but it goes beyond that.
What’s your mission?
What are you passionate about?
Most have no clear goals to which they are committed.
In business, a major source of stress is poor time management, which is almost invariably caused by a lack of clarity concerning goals and priorities.
Life is too short and too important to simply punch a time-clock, even if you’re the business owner. At some point in your career there will come a morning when you’ll awake and ask yourself, “What am I really doing?” It’s at this point that earning money by making/selling whatever will no longer be motivation enough. However, if your answer to that question reflects a specific, greater purpose, you’ll have the energy and inspiration to continue, not just that day, but for the rest of your life.
You can’t plan & organize your time efficiently and effectively if you are unsure about what you are trying to accomplish.
Perhaps 80% of all the problems and unhappiness that you experience occur because you are unclear about where you’re going and what your want to accomplish.
What do you want to accomplish with your business and brand?
The very act of selecting a major definite purpose, and making a plan for its accomplishment is often enough in itself to snap you out of the feeling of negativity that you experience in the absence of a goal.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Has the fast pace of business today left you paralyzed?
Is there unfinished business that is still hanging on?
Unfinished business is often the result of hanging on to the old way of doing things, rather than moving forward with your new B2C goals and objectives.
What’s holding you back?
Commitment
When you really commit to something, you give yourself permission to give it your all.
“Winding up unfinished business with another person can give you a great burst of positive energy.” – Brian Tracy
TYPES OF B2C GOALS TO SET
When it comes to social media, there are two types of goals that marketers should be setting.
- Broad goals which help you and your team understand the purpose behind your social media campaigns
- Specific, measurable goals to help track your progress.
They both go hand in hand.
Choosing broad social marketing goals is perhaps the easy part, but it still requires careful consideration.
The top 5 goals of B2C marketers are, in order:
- Sales
- Followed by customer retention/loyalty
- Engagement
- Brand Awareness
- Lead generation
All of the above goals can be accomplished with a good social media campaign. Depending on the market position of your company, you might select just 2 or 3 of the above goals for now, and focus on others in the future as company needs dictate.
For example, if you choose brand awareness and thought leadership, you’ll focus your social media efforts on achieving those two objectives.
- First, focus on creating social content that’s helpful, shareable, engaging, and uniquely styled to give definition to your brand.
- Secondly, for the thought leadership component, make sure your social posts on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook link to your comprehensive guides, ebooks, and white papers on important industry topics.
TOP PLATFORMS FOR B2C MARKETERS
A new survey shows that when it comes to generating leads and sales, Facebook gets top marks among business-to-consumer marketers while LinkedIn does well for the business-to-business marketer. Twitter comes in as a strong second place winner for B2C leads.
Facebook is the top choice for B2C marketers, it’s in third place for B2B Marketers.
LinkedIn is far and away the leader in B2B, business to business, but is fourth when it comes to B2C. Twitter is #2.
The number of B2Cs generating leads via LinkedIn has increased 75% since last year.
EFFECTIVENESS OF B2C PLATFORMS
Facebook is still #1 in turns of effectiveness. LinkedIn goes from 1st to 5th B2B vs. B2C.
Where you spend your time and plan your B2C content marketing is key to your brand success and effectiveness. We live in a time starved world. Not enough time to go around, so be wise with the time you have. Plan and execute accordingly.
B2C CONTENT OFFERS
Most would think that email is dead.
In fact it’s actually increasing in demand. Still works as frustrating as it can be.
Even the most effective marketers and those whose content marketing level is sophisticated/mature tend to focus most on eNewsletters and blogs. This is true whether you are in the B2C or B2B space.
Content marketing works because it starts with what your prospects need to know instead of what you need to tell them.
That’s why content is the way you succeed in lead nurturing, search, social media, email and outbound marketing. It’s what works. The best way to find and influence fans of your brand is to be passionate about the content you’re creating.
Actionable Content Marketing Tips
- Document your content marketing strategy and integrate it into your overall marketing plans. Ensure that they’re aligned with your top-level business objectives.
- Share your content strategy and editorial mission across your organization. Don’t limit distribution to your marketing team and relevant agencies and consultants.
- Welcome input from the people who know your business best. They know what your prospects and customers want to know and have the information to provide.
“Heads up to all businesses: Content moments are everywhere. You just have to know to look for them.”
About Blair
Blair Evan Ball is a Social Media Coach and founder of Prepare1, a company that works with businesses, individuals and non-profits. He is a former executive with a Fortune 50 company, and his national division did $1Billion+ in sales annually.
Blair has written three e-books: Facebook for Business Made Easy, Facebook Pages for Business Made Easy, and WordPress Blog Setup Made Easy.
Blair also educates, trains entrepreneurs and business professionals how to amplify their brand, increase revenues, and raise more funds.
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