First, I read this post from Seth Godin that made me think about the lost opportunity by many marketers, so focused on new media, that they forget the content marketing tactics that customers are actually engaging in. But more on that in a second.
Second, I spent the evening talking to HVAC contractors about our small-business blogging service SocialTract. I had individual conversations with over 30 owners and managers about their social media efforts (or lack there of).
Across the board, these small business owners were asking about how they could leverage the bright, shiny objects such as Facebook and Twitter, but weren’t doing the blocking and tackling of content marketing.
Question: How do you communicate with your customers on a regular basis?
Answer: We used to have a enewsletter, but we haven’t done that in years.
Question: Why did you stop producing it?
Answer: We just didn’t have time to create the content.
Question: Do you already have a Facebook page set up? If so, what do you talk about on it?
Answer: Yes, we just set up our page, be we aren’t doing anything with it.
Question: Do you have a content plan for Facebook?
Answer: No.
This is typical of many small businesses that are working the business. For small and large businesses looking at the bright, shiny objects of social media, we advise them to focus on the blocking and tackling.
- Continuous Content Creation – Articles and posts developed (most likely through a blog) on a consistent basis can serve as the core of your content marketing program. Informational posts just a couple times a week can fuel your search engine optimization strategy, can be your source for social media content, and can be the center of your enewsletter content. Start there.
- Enewsletters – What if your prospects come to your website but aren’t ready to buy? How can you touch your customers on a continuous basis without selling them? Even with all the spam clutter, relevant and consistent enewsletters are still opened and read.
- Print – As long as there is a dedicated channel called the Postal Service that distributes to business and consumer customers, the print channel should not be ignored. Almost any size company can afford a print newsletter or print custom magazine to consistently deliver to customers and/or prospects.
So, as you and your marketing team navigate through Foursquare, Quora, Mobile Marketing, Gaming and more, don’t forget that blogs, enewsletters and print magazines are not dead. Actually, they may be your greatest, untapped opportunity.
