The numbers are in: your shiny new website isn’t attracting the volume of traffic you require. Worse yet, your website visitors are arriving at your homepage, but they’re not biting. They’re not engaged. They’re not poking around. They don’t care enough to contact you. Worst of all? They’re not buying. What gives?
I won’t keep you waiting. That number one trick? Think like your ideal customer.
But that’s not all!
The real trick is to learn HOW…
Bull’s-eye That Target
Here’s what ALL ideal customers want when they hit up the Internet: simple, honest information. Today’s web consumers do NOT respond to sales gimmicks. They’re smart; they’re clever—and they have a lot of friends ready to purchase on their recommendation. Therefore, your web content must be helpful and must create an atmosphere of trust.
Everyone will tell you the first step is to define your target audience—and they’re right. Go ahead and ask the big questions:
- Who is my ideal customer? (demographics/location)
- Analyze your current customer base. Who are they?
- What do they want? (features/benefits)
- Analyze what your competitors offer. What do you do better?
Here’s what they might forget to mention…
- THE most important question to ask is: WHY do they buy?
The Why is Why They Buy
First off, a GREAT content marketing strategy attracts customers with great website content that pulls in interest at the exact point in time the demand occurs. Go back and read that again. When your potential customer has a life event that requires your products or services, your website needs to be there and ready to go.
WHY is the most valuable currency you have. You have a WHY. Your customer has a WHY.
The REAL trick is to get BOTH WHYS to work together at that exact point of time that creates demand.
Case in point…
It’s summer in Indianapolis and GenCon is coming up in August. You know your city will soon be mobbed by a significant number of cosplayers, aimed at looking their best in what is often hand-tailored attire. You also happen to be a complete nerd (and proud of it!), who runs a business offering a line of skincare products. You started your business from scratch with a passion for healthy skin, due to your own embarrassing skin problems throughout adolescence. One of your proudest moments was winning a major convention costume contest, dressed as Legolas—a member of the immortal Elf race known for pristine youthful complexions.
What better way to connect your WHY with your customer’s WHY then to tell your story and to offer helpful tips for aspiring cosplaying Elves? That’s your content marketing strategy. With a genuine story, you draw a connection to your audience in a way no other content could possibly touch. You’ve hit an emotional connection, and that’s how most buying decisions are made: when it just feels right.
In short, a successful website is built to initiate action. Develop your content marketing strategy by connecting your WHY to your customer’s WHY—then watch the magic unfold.
Need help finding your WHY or your ideal customer’s WHY? Wondering the best approach to a content marketing strategy that tells your unique and engaging story? Want to troll this post like Comic Book Guy because you think I’m not nerdy enough? Contact Posts By GhostTM or leave a comment below!
Image courtesy of Flickr user pahudson.
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