An Example of How Content Marketing Works

I am a huge fan of content marketing – the process of creating and sharing CONTENT to establish your expertise, define your brand, stay on the radar of your existing community and to attract new prospects. I frequently write about why and how to use content marketing to build your business but today I wanted to share an example of how content marketing works.

The other day, a woman reached out to me, from Panama, via LinkedIn. Here is an excerpt of the message she sent:

Dear Lisa,

I found your profile searching some info on the web and I liked your content so much I had to come and visit your LinkedIn page. I was wondering if you provide one-on-one sessions or if you have some upcoming events that I could attend. I am interested in improving my LinkedIn profile and perhaps, also preparing a professional Instagram profile.

Needless to say, I was happy to see the note and quickly responded. We set up a time to talk and she did, in fact, become a client!

So, how did this work?

Step one – I CREATED Content

I regularly create and share content that I think will be of interest, or helpful to people who could be a good fit for my services. Content can come in many forms – blog posts are most common but I also create infographics, e-books, slideshares, presentations, articles and videos.

My ideal client is someone who is:

• looking to set-up and/or optimize their social presence
• looking for information related to why and how social media, email and content marketing work
• looking for someone to EXPLAIN this and help them, one-on-one or in a small group

So I create content with their criteria in mind.

Ideally, I incorporate the keywords they would search on, into the content and use the hashtags they follow, in my social posts.

Step two – I SHARED the Content

Then I SHARED that content:

• on my blog
• on my social profiles
• via email (using my e-newsletter – click here to sign up!)
• on forums and via any other groups I may be involved with

She found me while searching for information on how to improve your LinkedIn profile, one of my favorite topics and one I write about a LOT.

Step three – I Monitor my notifications

This is actually one of the most important steps! I often hear people comment that they never get any leads, only to learn that they NEVER check their LinkedIn notifications or don’t know how to even FIND their Facebook Page or Twitter messages.

You need to give people a way to contact you and then you need to monitor those platforms to see if someone is trying to reach you.

She reached out to me via a LinkedIn invitation and message. People will use the mode THEY are comfortable with, not necessarily the one YOU are familiar or comfortable with so be aware of all the ways people might reach out and then be sure to monitor them all.

Ideally, you should be visiting your social profiles regularly and checking your notifications but if you are not going to do that, be sure to adjust your settings to have notifications pushed to an email address that you check regularly.

I have had prospects reach out via social platform messages, via email, via blog and social post comments and directly by phone. You never know where your next inquiry will come from – be vigilant and receptive.

Step four – I Followed Through

In order to turn a lead into a client, you need to have a plan and follow through.

In this case, we chatted via LinkedIn messages and set up a call. Sometimes, if someone has a specific question, I will send the answer or a link to a post I have written on the topic in addition to setting up a call. Some people set up a drip campaign triggered by an inquiry. Have a plan that works for you and YOUR prospects. And then IMPLEMENT the plan!

Play the Long Game

One of the best things about how content marketing works is that the content keeps working for you, long after your finish creating it!

I wrote the post she found, years ago. Then she followed the links and found more current content and my website. Google had served up my content in response to her query. It wasn’t a quick turn around but it worked. And that post is still out there, working for me.

I have an article that I wrote in 2016 that has had over 73,000 views. And I STILL get comments and questions on that thread. Some of them have turned into clients. Here is a screenshot of the stats for the post:

I certainly haven’t gotten 73,000 leads from this single post but it certainly has helped establish my expertise, reinforce my brand and made all of those people aware of what I do. A pretty good return on my initial time investment!

Content Marketing WORKS – email me at LMD@LisaMarieDiasDesigns.com (or via the platform of YOUR choice) to learn how to make it work for YOU!

Here is the LinkedIn post I mentioned above, on How to Correctly Link Your Personal LinkedIn Profile to Your Company Page

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-correctly-link-your-personal-linkedin-profile-companys-dias

And contact me if you need help figuring out what types of content YOU should be creating to attract YOUR ideal clients.