If you have a business then I going to go out on a limb and make an assumption: you want to make money.
Shock. Gasp in horror. Swoon if you must.
I know in modern times the statement “I want to make money” seems a bit of a faux par, with businesses instead talking about their missions and how they want to change the world.
But to have a big impact, you at least need to be making a living wage. And generally, that means making sales or securing clients.
One of the best ways to do this is to get strategic with the type of content you are producing and sharing, focusing on four main types.
Marketing mastermind Dave Chaffey has created the RACE framework to make this even simpler.
A word of warning though, you will need to understand how your customers find you and buy from you to use this framework successfully.
Type 1 – Reach
This type of content is all about building brand awareness.
You can do this on your own site with a focus on search engine optimisation. However, its also worth thinking about places like your social media platforms, other websites or even offline marketing if you fancy going traditional.
Success Indicators For Type 1
- Unique visitors to your site/profile
- Fans or followers on social media
- Audience share.
Type 2 – Act
This type of content encourages your audience/potential customers to take action.
This could be adding your products to their basket for example.
Similar to the content in ‘Reach’ you can share it both on your website or other places you have an online presence.
Success Indicators For Type 2
- Bounce Rate
- Product page conversions
- Pages per visit
Type 3 – Convert.
It should be no surprise that this type of content is all about those conversions – kerching!
When the customer reaches this content, they should in an ideal world already be familiar with your brand due to your ‘Reach’ content and be ready to commit, after your ‘Act’ content has helped move them through the sales funnel.
Success Indicators For Type 3
- Unique visits & fans
- audience share
- revenue or goal per website visit
Type 4 – Engage
You may be thinking that the hard work is done once you’ve made the sale. However, now is not the time to rest on your laurels!
Instead, work on building your customer relationships as this can help transform them into repeat buyers and brand advocates.
This is important as retaining customers is a lot more cost-effective than finding new customers. Also, word of mouth from previous customers can be a great help in marketing your business.
Success Indicators – Type 4
- Repeat purchases
- Brand loyalty
- Advocacy.
So in conclusion, when planning & creating content for your business it is important to target your ideal customers all the way through their buying journey – and even after they have made a purchase.
By targeting your content in such a way, you are giving your customers the best chance of converting and your business the best chance of making sales.