Entrepreneurs have always believed that their product or service must show real value to customers, but today the smart ones are even able to make their marketing valuable. The days are gone when marketing was all “pushing product.” Now customers seek out people who are willing and able to add value, with expertise and insight, even before they have a product.
Content is King
This new approach is often called “pull marketing,” where the idea is to establish a loyal following and draw customers to your content, and eventually your solutions. Customers don’t even see this as advertising. For example, top bloggers today, including Rand Fishkin and Gary Vaynerchuk, find no need to advertise, as customers come to them for value from content alone.
The impact of the right marketing content, and the principles of providing it today are outlined well in a classic book, “Content, Inc.,” by the so-called godfather of content marketing, Joe Pulizzi. He provides details on six key principles that every entrepreneur needs to practice in building and executing any modern successful startup:
- Fill a need independent of your product or service. For example, Seth Godin’s daily articles online on marketing are so valuable that he pulls loyal customers without ever mentioning his publishing services, consulting services, or speaking engagements. Make your content answer some unmet customer need or question without pushing a product.
- Consistently deliver new and valuable content. The key is consistency. Startups that haven’t updated their website since rollout, or publish a new blog once a month or less, won’t be followed for valuable content. In this context, content is like advertising, unless customers see you every day, they won’t remember anything about you, good or bad.
- Customers relate to other humans and relationships. As a startup, you the entrepreneur are the brand. Customers like to think they know you, so you need to find a voice, and share it. If you have a story, share that too, and invite interaction and comments. It’s more true than ever that people buy from people, not companies.
- Value is in your point of view. Everyone knows how to use Wikipedia, universities, and textbooks for facts and history. Experts and advisors offer new value from their insights, opinions, and experience. Don’t be afraid to take sides on matters that can position you and your company as an expert. People appreciate that, and come back for more.
- Avoid “sales speak” and pushing your product. The more you talk about your solution, the less people will value your content. Pulizzi has measured that page views drop quickly by as much as 75 percent on self-serving content. Skip the flowery phrases and frequent adjectives that make up so much of the advertising copy we all recognize.
- Demonstrate best of breed through actions. Although you might not be able to reach it at the very beginning, the goal for your content is to be best of breed in your chosen domain. This means that, for your content niche, what you are distributing and your recommendations are the very best of what you and other experts have found.
Experiment
Pulizzi argues, and I agree, that great content can be used by entrepreneurs to build an audience of potential customers first, before you have a product to sell. It’s the smartest and least expensive way to test the value of your concept, as well as the potential makeup and size of your target customer set. You then have the opportunity to monetize an already loyal following.
By experimenting with content, every entrepreneur can explore their own sweet spot, where they can comfortably offer value to an interested customer set. They can find their personal tilt that sets them apart, build a base of followers as a foundation to a business, and then harvest the audience for diversification and monetization.
What we call “marketing” has changed from a focus on “selling” customers with push marketing, to a focus on providing value early and in every way possible, such that customers are drawn to you as a trusted provider of value. That’s the loyalty you need, to have them recommend you to their friends, and keep you ahead of the many competitors easily visible on their radar.
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