Forget Claims of Excellence
Traditional media marketing was all about making claims of excellence.
Take a look at any TV or print advertisement:
We’re have the best product in the whole-wide world….
4 out of 5 doctors recommend….
30 day money back guarantee….
All of these messages were trying to convince people that the reward was worth the risk of buying a product they knew very little about.
The Web is Different
It wasn’t the marketers’ fault. They were limited by the technology of the time. The medium was the message. That’s all there was.
But that’s changed.
The web is a new medium. It’s not TV or a brochure or a billboard. It’s new.
- It’s a publishing platform
- It’s a content consumption platform
- It’s a sharing platform
- It’s an interactive platform
- It’s extremely accessible to everyone
- It’s extremely affordable to everyone
All of these unique properties of the web give you a grand opportunity to reduce the risk people feel when considering your product.
Show Them You Know
Instead of simply claiming your expertise, you can now demonstrate it.
You’re good at your job. You know your field like the back of your hand. You’ve got war stories and battle scars.
Why not talk about it?
Client Success Stories
Do you have some great client success stories where you went the extra mile and got extraordinary results? Write up a client profile and put it on your web site. (change the names to protect the innocent)
Client Failure Stories
Do you have some unsuccessful client war stories? Write a profile on those as well. Why? It’s authentic. People aren’t naive. They know not every client experience is a good one.
Write an Opinion Piece
Do you have an opinion on an industry development? Write about it in your blog and encourage comments.
Show Your Niche Expertise
Do have expertise in a particular niche of your industry? Write a white paper and allow people to download it.
Become an Industry Information Source
Do you keep up on industry news? Share the links on your blog or a social network. Become a source of information for your niche.
Authenticity Works
People want authenticity. Show them that you’re good at your job. Show them your company has great experience. Show them your battle scars. Demonstrate your expertise.
Show them and they will come. Just tell them and they’ll ignore you.
Content Marketing at Spark
Are you looking to demonstrate your expertise with content marketing? Do you have questions? Spark has answers. Give us a call and we’ll talk.
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Posted by CristiSpahr on October 24, 2011 |
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