Why A Content Marketing Framework Helps Leverage Powerful Results By Georgia Kirke
Do you have a valuable piece of content that you’d love to share to support and attract prospective clients but have no idea how best to leverage it for optimal results?
Creating content without a strategy to maximise it is a waste of time.
We use a content marketing framework which repeatedly helps our clients get results.
What is a content marketing framework?
Think of the framework as an ecosystem where each piece of content (blog, podcast, book, or social media post) connects and interacts with the others. It helps you (or the people that you outsource to) to create an efficient, progressive customer pathway.
When you create content in multiple formats you give your audience the power to choose their preferred medium rather than going elsewhere to find it.
For example if you are working on a laptop you might choose to read a blog, but if you are out for a walk you’re more likely to pop on a podcast or an audiobook.
As you can see from the diagram, each piece of content will direct your target audience to another. It’s a fantastic way to help them benefit from the knowledge and experience you have to share while they get to know, like and trust you.
The power of books, blogs and podcasts
Books are likely to outlive any other form of content. Some of the most high-profile ones, for example Think And Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, still sell hundreds of millions of copies each year decades after they first appeared in print.
Blogs can add up to 434 per cent more traffic to your website. A good blog can turn your site into an online hub that acts like a resource centre people repeatedly want to come back to.
Podcasts are a great opportunity to motivate, inspire and educate. It’s easy to be conversational and interview guests where you both benefit from exposure to each other’s audience (share relevant links to your blog, book, social media, or freebie in the show notes). A podcast brings people closer to what it’s like to work with you; they can hear your voice, your intonation and get a real feel for who they are.
Together as a content triangle (or a circle depending on how your mind works) books, blogs and podcasts are incredibly powerful. They empower your audience to get in touch when the time is right for them, and you can help accelerate that process by sharing relevant content that helps them tackle whatever problems they are facing.
Having recognised that books, blogs and podcasts work best together and all other content moves around these three fundamentals, it’s time to map out your customer journey. This is often an eye-opening experience for our clients!
The customer journey
What happens when a prospective customer lands on your website?
Ask yourself the following questions:
- How easy is it for a new person to navigate my website? (nominate a friend and find out!).
- Do I have a personal brand statement that instantly tells people who I am and what I do?
- Do I have an introductory video so people can see and hear me?
- How much social proof do I share there? Do I have enough testimonials?
- How easy is it to identify my services or products?
- Is there a clear call to action on every blog and throughout my site?
- Do I collect customer data with an opt-in form or sign up to a free resource?
- Do I have a chatbot?
- Is there a pop-up to lead them to another piece of content or a free download (our top-performing lead magnet is a personal brand scorecard).
- Do I share the most read blogs or most listened to podcasts of the year?
- What more could I do? What will I action first?
Additional mediums to consider in 2022
Video
Video is often referred to as rich media. It has a good reach and engagement, and it doesn’t have to mean lots of extra effort! Why not record a video chat with a guest and share that on YouTube while using the high-quality audio for your podcast? You can use tiny snippets of the video to share top tips.
Sales funnel
Everything we have explored so far is organic content; it is the best way to build trust and meaningful relationships, though you do need to be patient to see results. You could also invest in a paid ad campaign, but although you might increase initial leads you still have to have systems in place to qualify the leads (and since they don’t know you or your work it could still take time for them to buy-in).
Social media
What channels are you optimising? There is little traction to be gained from a scattergun approach. Why not maximise one channel (choose the most appropriate for your audience) and all its features so you create a strong brand presence, and then move onto the next?
PR
Even if you pay for PR support you must have the other steps in place for people to inch closer towards you. It’s helpful to have a speaker pack and pitch bio available on your website so that people can instantly see what you contribute and who you are. Make it easy for people to invite you to be a guest on their podcast or at their event.
Industry awards
My eyes were opened to the opportunities that awards offer this year; we won the Ultimate Entrepreneur 2021 and we were finalists at the Growing Business Awards in the Micro Business of the Year category. I was also a finalist for the Woman Who Achieves & Solopreneur Awards in 2021. Awards help give your business a stamp of credibility, and give you and your team well-deserved recognition from the outside in. Nominate yourself for business awards and see what’s possible in 2022.
Courses
If you’ve created a book, blog or podcast you could consider creating an online course or a series of mini courses which is another fantastic way to support people to progress on their journey and come closer to working with you at a higher level.
Email marketing
It’s brilliant to have all of this amazing content in place, but once someone has been willing to share their email address with you you must deliver consistent value. Your newsletter or email sequence is not just a “nice to have” feature. Share interesting, well-written, compelling content that helps people move forward.
As you can see, there is enormous scope for you to nurture your community with your content once you have a strategy and framework. Your first goal is to create content that helps your audience move forward with their specific challenges, and then figure out how to keep them coming back into your business so that it’s a symbiotic relationship.
10-second takeaway
Are you inspired to find out more about how a content framework could support you to take your business to the next level? Hop into the Facebook group and ask me about it, or why not book in for a free discovery call so we can dive deeper into what’s possible for you and your business?
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