Keeping Content Strategy on Target

It began like any great relationship – you and your prospects were completely in sync. You knew what their challenges were and provided content that drew their interest and kept your product top of mind.

Then, things changed. Suddenly, you just weren’t on the same wavelength anymore. One day, they found someone else — your competition — and took their budgets away. How do you develop a content strategy to ensure that your organization and your prospects can keep the love alive?

Today’s consumers are very sophisticated when it comes to how they find content on the Web. Marketers need to be responsive and adjust their content strategies around the vehicles used to generate leads and traffic, such as search engine marketing (SEM), search engine optimization (SEO), registration and lead follow-up. By creating an approach that meets the way your customers and prospects seek and value content, you can avoid getting the “it’s not you it’s…ok, well, it is you” reaction.

Search
Most customers begin their hunt for information on a major search engine. This isn’t news. What is news is the fact that how consumers do their searching is changing, making some conventionally held views on SEO and SEM as obsolete as the stick on car cell phone antennae.

For example, if your site appears in the first page of organic search results, wouldn’t you consider that successful SEO? How successful would you deem your efforts if your site showed up in the second — or even third — page? Would you start reconsidering what you’re paying the person in charge of SEO?

There’s good news on two fronts. First of all, most people don’t stop at the first, or even second page of search results. According to a recent study from KnowledgeStorm and MarketingSherpa, 53% of technology buyers scan, on average, three to five pages of search results. Only 11% typically don’t go beyond the first page

The second piece of good news is that your customer or prospect is probably not searching using simple (and typically expensive) terms. According to the same study, buyers are, in fact, using more complex terms. Fifty-six percent use a phrase consisting of three or more words. Just 7% use one word or an acronym.

Simply put, people typically search for solutions, not for products or services. Adjust your SEO and SEM strategy accordingly. Let your competition spend a fortune on, for example, “CRM” only to be drowned out by a field of competitors. Stand out by knowing your customer well enough to appear in searches using the words and phrases that the more qualified prospects are using to find you. A focus group or customer survey can be instrumental in discovering those gems.

But pay-per-click is still an effective tool in the online arsenal to get noticed on the Web, according to the KnowledgeStorm research. Fifty-three percent of buyers “sometimes” or “frequently” read the paid ads that appear in search results. Thirty-four percent “sometimes” or “frequently” click on them.

Content distribution
While a good SEO or SEM strategy helps boost your visibility online, it is also important to have a content distribution strategy that goes beyond Google. There are plenty of marketers who believe the best quality leads will be generated by people going directly to their site. Unfortunately, the “build it and they will come” mentality only worked for Kevin Costner in “Field of Dreams” and online for the creators of YouTube. A more realistic plan is to target the online destinations your prospects already visit for content, either on your own or through a content syndication service. By establishing multiple gateways to lead prospects to your content or Web site, you increase the likelihood that your content will perform better. And, you will improve your organic search results – another key component in your online toolkit.

Registration and lead follow up
Requiring registration for content, such as a webcast or white paper, is a common lead generation tactic to drive leads. At a strategic level, this is probably one of the first make or break points to gain ground with prospects and reinforce a positive brand image.

The good and the bad thing about registration is the contact information. It’s great to obtain, but sometimes it is an arduous process to determine what’s valid and what’s not. Any marketer who has gone through the lead qualification process will relate to the frustration of receiving bad phone numbers or fake names. The aforementioned KnowledgeStorm study found that prospects do want to hear from vendors. They also want to be in control of the conversation and respond when — and if — they were ready.

The fact your prospect craves greater control in your relationship is demonstrated by what information they are willing to give you. According to the study, the majority of the buyers “always” provided accurate names (72%) and e-mail addresses (68%) when registering for content. Significantly fewer, 38%, claim to “always” provide a valid phone number.

The way to your prospect’s heart is simple – show interest, give them some space and don’t come on too strong. Be aware of what phase in the buying cycle you’re reaching them in and plan your response strategy accordingly. In Issue three of the Connecting Through Content study series, when buyers were asked how they prefer to receive initial follow up communications from a vendor, 53% said they “always” prefer to receive a courtesy e-mail from vendors, versus the 52% who said they “never” prefer to receive a sales call.

These preferences really do matter. Seventy percent of technology buyers said that the vendor’s follow up approach either “moderately” or “significantly” impacted their impression of the product or service.

Help your relationship with your prospect flourish by understanding what they are looking for and how you can deliver that through your content marketing strategy. If you are able to get on their radar and meet their needs, you will find that you are more likely to have a long, happy and profitable relationship.

Jeff Ramminger is an executive vice president of KnowledgeStorm, an Atlanta-based online lead generation and content syndication service provider for business-to-business technology vendors.