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Better Content Marketing for Improved Social Engagement: Michael Stelzner

Posted on 14. Feb, 2012 by Ashley Zeckman in Blog, content marketing, marketing message, Michael Stelzner, OMS, Online Marketing Summit, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing, Social Media, Social Media Examiner

Does your business need better content marketing like this Social Media Examiner contest participant?

In 2009 Michael Stelzner (@mike_stelzner) decided to run an experiment.  He wanted to see if he could repeat his previous success in a new industry.  That experiment led to the launch of Social Media Examiner in October of that same year.  Michael had been well known in the whitepaper industry and joked “I went from the king of whitepapers to the joker of social media.”

I really appreciated Michael’s insight into today’s customers and the need for change in an industry that is constantly evolving.  Below I’ve provided some highlights from what I learned from Michael Stelzner at the 2012 Online Marketing Summit.

In the World of Marketing Change is Essential

As industries advance, ideas begin to expand, products morph, and customers move on.  With this change comes a series of questions:

• Will my business survive?
• Have I set the right trajectory?
• What is coming?
• Am I ready?

In the rapidly evolving Social Media Marketing industry there is one thing that is constant that business often overlook.  People are the constant; at their core people don’t change.  They will always be looking for great insight, access to great people, and recognition.  If you can keep focused on people and their desires then half of your mission, as a content marketer is complete.

What is Wrong with Marketing Today?

One of the analogies that Stelzner shared is that we often treat our customers like fish.  In order to better target these customers we must create better offerings and promotions than our competitors in order to get our customers to bite.  Marketers should also keep the following tips in mind when creating a content strategy:

• Don’t focus strictly on yourself, products and services
• Instead shine the spotlight on others such as outside experts or successful peers
• When you lift others up, they’ll return the favor

Channel Overload Syndrome

As customers receive marketing messages from multiple sources on a daily basis they begin to tune out and seek a sense of refuge from the marketing bombardment. If you are able to create a sense of trust between your company and your customers it is one of the biggest assets that you have working for you.

Customers as a rule will typically distrust companies. If you can manage to solve your customers initial problems at no cost you open up the possibility that they will look to you to solve their larger issues which could lead to increased revenue for your organization.

What is the Formula for Growth?

According to Stelzner the formula for a great and engaging marketing plan is:

Great Content + People – Marketing Messages = Growth

• Great content is that stuff that everyone wants.
• Other people, means it’s designed not for your purposes but for others.
• When you throw your marketing messages out the window completely in relation to content marketing you can grow quickly.

Creating Great Content

Instead of investing your marketing dollars in ad space consider investing in the creation of quality content.  That content will include personal experience and gathering information about topics customers care about, and identifying where they are spending time looking for answers.  Stelzner also identified two types of content that marketers should be creating which includes:

Primary Content: The type of content that people consume on a daily basis that brings them back for more on a regular basis.

Nuclear Content:  This type of content is harder to produce and includes things like industry reports and contests.  Nuclear content can have a larger impact and draws people to your organization and can get you noticed as an industry leader.

What Have We Learned?

There are many elements to creating a great content marketing plan.  First and foremost we must always remember who this content is for, what their preferences are, and what problems we are trying to help our audience solve.  I also really enjoyed hearing Stelzner’s take on different types of content, when to create them, and the anticipated results when executed properly.  What are your thoughts on adding “primary” and “nuclear” content to your online marketing strategy?

Be sure to tune in this afternoon to Social Media Examiner’s Small Business Summit with Michael Stelzner of Social Media Examiner, Joe Pulizzi from Junta42, Brian Clark from Copyblogger Media and TopRank CEO Lee Odden as they discuss blogging and small business success.

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© Online Marketing Blog, 2012. |
Better Content Marketing for Improved Social Engagement: Michael Stelzner | http://www.toprankblog.com

Precise Client Attraction: And Why the Framing of the Problem Matters

Posted on 12. Dec, 2011 by nardene in Blog, marketing message, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing

I was at the doctor’s clinic one day for a routine check.

“You have to lose about 10 pounds,” he said. “Not that you have any health problem, but you’re kinda on the borderline. And if you lose weight and eat well, you won’t have to take medication for a long, long time.”

Do you recognise the problem in the doctor’s statement?

He didn’t say, ‘lose weight so you can impress everyone on the beach.’ Neither did he say ‘lose weight so you can run the marathon.’ He was specific. Stay away from the borderline and you can avoid having the bother of having to pop endless number of pills.

Most marketing messages aren’t this specific

And the reason why they’re not crystal clear is because the person giving out the message isn’t quite sure how to get the message across. So they put out a message, which soon looks like every other weight loss message. And it doing so, they miss out on the customers they most need to attract and work with.

So let’s take an example here

Christy wants to work with overweight women. But what’s the problem that Christy’s solving? She’s working with women who feel like they’re invisible. These women have put on some weight over the years, and now feel miserable. But more so, they feel invisible. No one seems to notice them as they walk down the street.

As Christy so eloquently puts it, “Women who are significantly overweight feel like social outcasts and are often treated by others as if they are stupid (or have below average intelligence). As a result of being overweight, they feel other people judge them and do not see them for who they really are. They are ignored.

They have to work harder to prove their abilities and overcome the prejudices of being overweight. They find that strangers will often pass right in front of them and not even make eye contact with them. They feel very alone. They are invisible.”

That’s kinda different from what the doc told me, eh?

And we can feel the difference, even though the eventual goal seems to be the same: lose weight. But it’s the framing of the problem that creates enormous intensity. Get the right problem and you’ve hit a home run. Get the wrong problem and you’re just another me-too product.

So how do you go about getting to the right problem?

We need three steps and let’s take this specific example of losing weight.

Step 1: Make a list of reasons why someone would want to lose weight.

Step 2: Pick the top three reasons.

Step 3: Pick one.

Step 1: The list of reasons.

List every single reason why someone would want to lose weight (or in your case, buy your product or service). But let’s stay with the example and let’s say these are the reasons below.

- to feel attractive/special to another

- to feel happier

- to feel in control

- to gain confidence

- to be more popular

- to love self more

- to feel more self-worth

- to avoid needing medication

- to avoid exacerbating a poor health condition

- to gain more self-worth

- to be able to perform activities they are no longer able to

- to feel more important

- to be treated better

- to avoid pain/inconvenience

- to avoid feeling bad anymore about self

- to avoid disappointed feelings that one can’t look how they want to look

- to avoid feelings of disappointment

- to feel loved

Notice how not many of the reasons overlap that much?

Being ‘popular’ isn’t quite the same as ‘being attractive to another person’. ‘Avoid needing medication’ isn’t quite the same as ‘losing your kidney function’. And to belabour the point, ‘being treated better’ isn’t at all the same as ‘gaining more self-worth’.

Every reason is different. And now that you’ve listed all the reasons, you can start cherry picking the ones that most appeal to you or your target profile.*

Step 2: Pick three from the list

So how do you pick three? You guess, I suppose. Or you could be more precise and actually speak to a customer and find out which one appeals to them the most—and why. And no matter how you come to the conclusion, you get three from the list.

And your list starts to look like this:

- to feel loved

- to avoid pain/inconvenience

- to avoid feelings of disappointment

Ah, now we have three, let’s move to the final step.

Step 3: Pick one.

Again you can hopelessly guess you’re right, or you can use your customer’s opinion. But no matter how you go about it, you now have one.

- to avoid feelings of disappointment

Notice how different that choice is from Christy’s choice?

Or from what the doc told me? ‘Avoiding feelings of disappointment’ cascades into ‘why the #%$%4% can’t I lose weight no matter how much I try? What’s wrong with me? Why can’t I just stick to one diet program and finally get over this problem once and for all? Why do some others succeed and I keep failing? Why do I get into this stuff and then fall flat on my face again? And surely, surely there must be a way so I don’t start, only to fail again.

Yes, we’re selling a weight-loss product or service

But unlike what they told you, a rose is not a rose, is not a rose. And neither is a weight-loss product. Even though the end result may appear to be the same for the oblivious onlooker, the result is completely different for the client. One client sees the benefit of never having to go near medication. Another starts to get the odd wolf-whistle. And a third feels that sense of disappointment slither away forever.

So there you have it

It’s a simple formula to send out a precise message and get a precise response from the customer. Frame the problem correctly and the customers flock to you. Frame it wrongly and be banished to me-too land forever.

——–

* Target profile is a concept covered in detail in The Brain Audit (Version 3.2). You should read The Brain Audit often as every reading reveals new layers about the importance of target profiling.

Have you used ‘the problem’ in your marketing message?  How did your customers respond? Share your story here.

“There are marketing books and there are marketing books – I bet there are not many you have read many times over?”

The Brain Audit really teaches you the art of persuasion because it gives an insight into how people’s brains work. I have used the principles in writing WebPages, writing articles, making presentations, networking, negotiating and even writing submissions for a judge!

But the best bit about the Brain Audit is that it actually works.The principles are easy to understand.

Would I recommend it to people serious about getting on in business? Absolutely.

Michael Smyth, approachablelawyer, Auckland

Judge for yourself —The Brain Audit: Why Customers Buy And Why They Don’t

“If you suspect that your business could be bringing in a lot more revenue but you don’t have a clue how to make that happen without hype or hassle, 5000bc is a must-have resource.

I honestly didn’t see what 5000bc could offer me that I couldn’t get from Sean’s books. Besides, how could a bunch of people – most of whom are not business experts – help me build my business?

I joined anyway because the price was right and I wanted the information that came with the premium membership.

The information and support I received from Sean and my fellow “cavers” about a single Web page was directly responsible for selling $10,000 worth of books in less than two weeks.

Unlike many Web communities, 5000bc members are active and to the point. Sean keeps adding content that drills down to specific problems in business and then shows you how to solve them.

Try it. You won’t regret it.”

Molly Gordon, Master Certified Coach

Shaboom Inc, USA

Judge for yourself—How 5000bc can make your business succeed.

It’s Not What You Say, It’s How You Say It!

Posted on 17. Aug, 2011 by Jeffrey Smith in Blog, marketing message, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing

Before you start crying about how your website is getting traffic but few fail to act,  consider that word choice is imperative to coral passerby’s to take action.

Put simply, if your pages lack verve when a visitor arrives (regardless of WHAT keyword they used to get there), then you are only asking your audience to jump ship and:

1) skim, leave the page and go back to search engines to find a more appealing offer.

2) find a website with a more appealing visual flow or design that pulls their emotional purse strings or -

3) find a more informative or interactive website that implements a clearer, or ironically more simplistic message and call to action for them to engage.

The good news, there is a solution; read this post for insights to what you could be doing wrong…

In closing on this brief intro, keep one thing in mind about the current climate of online marketing, it’s not always what you say, it’s how you say it that either converts or is simply ignored by users.

With advertisements, false positives and blatantly manufactured problems and solutions (i.e., three foods you should never eat…  Mom from Illinois used this trick to whiten teeth…  3 things your car insurance company doesn’t want you to know) impacting the masses at a mind numbing pace, your on page copy needs more than SEO to survive, it needs easy to interpret benefits laced with action-words to get users to “take action”.

This post from the past summarizes it well, so I encourage you to read >>> “How to Use Action Words to Increase Traffic and Reader Response” <<<.

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