There are no boring industries, but there are a lot of boring narratives around them. Marketers managed to move away from the features of the product to the benefits for the customer, but sometimes even that isn’t enough to grab their attention.
Think about the biggest brands you know and all their cool marketing campaigns. And then think about what those brands actually do. Sportswear. Sodas. Smartphones. Not really that exciting, right? Do you think Red Bull would be where they’re at today if they promoted their drinks instead of letting a guy jump from space to earth?
Granted, you don’t need to go that far to get attention for your brand, it does show that you can change the angle of your marketing. Take your eyes away from your product or service for a second and look at what’s around it. Probably things that many more people can relate to. Now, let’s use that. Here are six ideas to boost the content around that ‘’boring’’ business of yours.
1. Make it less about the product, more about the people
Where there are people, there are stories. No matter what you sell or make, the driving force behind it are people. And if there’s anything humans want to know more about or can relate to, it’s other human beings.
By using the people-angle for your marketing, you make your business immediately more friendly. Suddenly customers don’t just see a logo and fancy website. Knowing who’s behind the magic you’ve ordered or paid for will immediately establish a bond between the customer and company.
Think of the story of the founders, or the backgrounds of your team. Is it a family business? Tell its story, of how granddad started the business from his garage. Visuals of the people making your business reality will always work better than dry text or stock photos of smiling customer service agents that are also displayed at dozens of other websites.
2. Become an industry expert
If you want people to notice you, give them a reason. Flaunt yourself as the leading expert they should come to for advice.
If you want people to value your content, make valuable content. Create content about the latest trends, share your insights. Reviews, guides, how-to video’s and the likes will give you a feed that’s worth scrolling through. We bet it won’t go unnoticed by the competition.
You can share your knowledge on LinkedIn groups, or even Facebook. Write articles for LinkedIn, Medium, or any other platforms in your industry. You’ll do your SEO and link-building practices a favor, too.
Do bear in mind that the content should still be understandable and relevant to your audience. Stuffing your posts with jargon will not make you more likable.
3. Use your sense of humor
Remember that your content is targeted at people, and we like to be entertained. Being funny does not exclude being taken seriously. Creating content with a twist will make you more likable, and memorable.
GIF via Giphy
What’s funny about velcro or trademark laws? The combination sounds like an even bigger buzzkill than the separate topics, but Velcro actually made it funny, with a hilarious video on, well, trademark laws.
Now, there are tons of other ways to weave in some humor into your content. Take a look at the tone of voice on your website and social media channels. Could it be tweaked to be a bit more human, maybe even make a pun from time to time? If you want to work on your brand awareness, a recognizable tone of voice is one of the first things to create.
4. Focus on your value to the world
The best marketing advice in California or anywhere in the world is to showcase and emphasize your strengths. Maybe what you do or deliver isn’t as interesting as your mission or vision. If you have a bigger goal, do something for the greater good or have big plans for the planet, make this the subject of your marketing.
Why do you do what you do? How can your consumers jump in on this too? If you can switch the narrative of being a business to an organization that works on social or environmental improvement, surely more people will listen.
5. Reach more people with related content
Not everyone will be directly interested in what you have to offer, but they might be interested in something related to your industry.
If you look beyond your product or service, you’ll find more related topics. Expand on those! Sell wine? Wine lovers will probably also want to know more about tasty cheeses that go well with that one bottle, or trips to vineyards.
Even if it doesn’t directly promote your products, using related content and keywords does help your findability to people who are most likely also interested in your product.
6. Create different kinds of content
Sometimes it’s not what you say, but how you say it. Maybe nobody wants to read about your high-tech, state-of-the-art machines. It doesn’t spark their imaginations. So instead of writing about it, make a video. Show, don’t tell.
The format of the content you use has a big impact on the delivery of your message. Content marketing is so much more than blog posts. With a little creativity and a few extra tools, you can come a long way. Jump on the podcast bandwagon, film that conference or product demonstration, and use User-Generated Content.
Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash
Another way to spice things up is by creating interactive content. That’s right: why should you do all the work? Let your audience engage with online tools like calculators, quizzes, and surveys.
Not only does it get you input from their side, but you’re also able to be more helpful to them. You can deliver the right answers and information based on what customers really think and feel. Plus, you sneak build some lead generation in there.
Be your own kind of boring
Instead of looking at your business as a whole, zoom in on the smaller facets that could spark the interest of your audience. In the end, no company is the same, simply because of the people who work there or the history of the place. So look at why you love working there — it’s probably not just the end product — and spread that energy to your customers.
Author’s Bio: Vicky Frissen is a freelance writer with an itch for giving brands more human voices, online. She’s a writer for Typeform and can’t stop blogging about digital marketing and digital nomad life.
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