Give Advice for Free
Published October 25, 2019
You should be giving out professional advice for free. To many professionals, this statement does not make sense at the surface, but it is one of the strongest tools for marketing your business. Why would you want to give away your valuable opinions or techniques away for free when people pay for that information? This is a form of marketing called content marketing — a strategy many businesses use to reach their customers more effectively.
We live in a digital age where limitless information is accessible online. This shift has forced many businesses to change the way they think about sharing valuable information. In the past, someone needed to hire you or your company before they had access to your ideas or techniques. Now, potential customers can search for and likely find that information for free. Why not be the source of this information? Customers will be drawn into your website or company’s social media page, and you will gain trust in their mind as a reliable source of information. This new line of thinking is called content marketing. Content marketing is all about being a relevant and reliable source of information to ultimately attract new customers.
How can you start including content marketing into your marketing efforts?
Easy! Content marketing is all about answering common questions that customers ask. What are questions your current customers frequently ask? By answering these FAQs about your profession, your brand will come across as an expert and your material will get in front of the eyes of potential customers. Plus, people are more likely to share posts they find helpful, so you can have an even greater reach due to good engagement. Content marketing provides the easiest road to set yourself apart from the competition. The best part about this marketing strategy is it’s free at a basic level. Social media accounts are free to set up and can be a great platform to post your thoughts and content.
If you’re just getting started with content marketing, keep in mind that many people in your industry are already using this effective strategy. You won’t become the top option in your market overnight. Think outside the box and go a step deeper than your competitors. Answer questions your competitors haven’t answered. Don’t just post market reports, add your insight to the findings. Don’t just post a video of your clients’ workout, give voice-over instructions to help viewers get the right technique down. Content marketing will challenge your knowledge and force you to keep up with common hot topics in your field.
Content marketing is a very effective strategy that many brands take advantage of both knowingly and unknowingly. It gives you a stage to stand apart from the competition, show off your knowledge, and produce relevant, quality content for your various communication channels. It also incentivizes you to stay engaged with hot trends and is more likely to attract engagement from your potential consumers. So, open up Microsoft Word, ask yourself what information customers have asked you recently, and type up some content!
