5 Questions Your Audience Really Wants to Ask

16 June 2015

To cut through the clutter, communicate effectively and boost engagement, you need to know and anticipate the questions that are really on your target’s mind.

After working in corporate communications for 15 years, I’ve noticed common questions that audiences want to know – but don’t always ask for directly.

Build brand trust by proactively answering these common questions in every communication you prepare:

1. So what?
Share how your message is relevant to your audience’s needs. Specifically, how will your ideas impact their lives?

2. Why should I listen to you?
Establish your credibility up-front to encourage your audience to pay attention to your message. State how your individual experience or company’s expertise make your ideas meaningful for your audience.

3. What’s in it for me?
State the benefits your audience will gain from making time to absorb your message. By including specific benefits, you may compel your audience to act.

4. What do I need to do?
Include a clear, concise call to action. Be specific when telling your audience what action you need them to take, such as subscribe, contact us or download now.

5. Why now?
To motivate your audience to act, include a deadline — even if it’s arbitrary. People will respond more promptly if you give them a time limit. Timeliness is particularly important if your audience includes editors or journalists, as the media thrives on new information.

Using these tips will help you connect and engage your customers; however, they also apply to internal communications for your colleagues.

What other questions does your audience really want to know?

Lisa Goller helps businesses tell their story. As a Strategic Freelance Writer & Editor, she helps executives and entrepreneurs stand out, look good and save time. Learn more at lisagoller.com

27 Ways to Take Your Content Further

14 April 2015

1 Comment

Let’s say you just delivered a powerful presentation that your audience loved. Or you created a compelling case study or blog post that proves you add more value than your competitors. Now it’s time to honour your hard work by maximizing the number of people who see your brilliance.

Get better mileage out of your ideas by using these 27 content marketing tips:

Digital Media

1. Add a link to the content on your website
2. Share the content on your blog
3. Send it to your email list and ask them to share it
4. Email it with a special note to anyone who inspired you to write the copy
5. Email it with a special note to anyone you mentioned in the copy
6. Include a blurb in your e-newsletter for customers
7. Post it on your intranet so your employees use consistent messaging
8. If it’s a presentation, add it to SlideShare
9. Add a link to it in your email signature
10. Send a personalized email to 100 bloggers who cover your sector

Social Media

11. Post it on your LinkedIn company page
12. Post it in the most relevant LinkedIn groups
13. Send a LinkedIn message to 3-5 contacts who may benefit most from the content
14. Add the content to your LinkedIn summary as part of your portfolio
15. Share it in a LinkedIn Publisher post to position yourself as an expert
16. Tweet a compelling one-line “teaser” once a day for a week, using relevant Twitter hashtags
17. Pull out practical tips and share them through tweets
18. Post it on your Facebook company page
19. Post it on your personal account on Facebook
20. Send a link through a Facebook message to your supportive friends and family
21. Share it on Google+
22. Reach out to influencers on social media and share it with them

Multimedia

23. Add testimonials or results to your sales collateral
24. Reuse the anecdotes or findings in senior executives’ future presentations
25. Send it to people you meet at networking events if it can help them
26. Rework the content as an article and pitch it to business and trade publication editors
27. If it’s a hot topic, send it to journalists and say you’d be happy to be a source for their interviews

How do you make your content “go the distance” to attract your target?

Lisa Goller helps businesses tell their story. As a Strategic Freelance Writer & Editor, she helps executives and entrepreneurs stand out, look good and save time. Learn more at lisagoller.com

Position Yourself as an Expert

31 March 2015

4 Comments

Think about it: Right this minute you’re already a goldmine of valuable industry insights. With more than a decade of progressive experience in your industry, you’ve seen it all. You understand consumer and market trends better than most. People look to you for answers and you feel energized when you share your wisdom with others.

Now it’s time for you to raise your profile even more and become top-of-mind as a go-to expert in your field.

Gain credibility and stand out from your competitors by sharing your expertise with a broader audience, including your ideal customers, industry peers and the media.

Use these tips to position yourself as an expert in your field:

1. Lead with your strengths:
What makes you stand out from your peers and rivals? Start there. Perhaps your thorough, meticulous approach to leadership allows you to always exceed expectations. Or you’re a visionary who spots market trends before they make headlines. Whatever sets you apart, build your marketing strategy around your greatest talents.

2. Be socially active:
Create – and consistently use – personal accounts on LinkedIn and Twitter. (Consider Facebook, too, for its power to fuel word-of-mouth marketing.) Show, don’t tell, by sharing case studies, e-books and videos that inform your connections about how you help others. Answer questions in relevant LinkedIn Groups. Generously tweet valuable tips your target can use. The more you interact, the more people will get to know, like and respect you for your expertise.

3. Get published online:
Start a business blog as a communications hub that showcases your expertise. Guest post on relevant blogs in your industry. Use strategic keywords to boost your rankings using search engine optimization (SEO). Give your presentations greater mileage by adding them to SlideShare. The more high-quality content you publish in your area of expertise, the more you will be perceived by your target (and Google!) as an expert.

4. Offer to give interviews:
Build your personal brand as an expert by using the third-party credibility offered by the media. While mainstream business publications are ideal platforms, consider trade magazines for your industry, too. Sign up for Help a Reporter Out (HARO) to offer your industry expertise and opinions in return for opportunities for flattering media coverage to boost your visibility among the masses.

5. Speak up:
Gain influence by taking the stage at industry conferences or participating in panel discussions your target market attends. Public speaking is a powerful way to command attention and engage the right audience. To gain momentum, start local, then build up to speaking at larger, national events.

However you choose to position yourself as an expert, keep your messaging clear, simple and memorable. Giving away your wealth of knowledge can help you position yourself — and profit — as a successful industry expert.

How else could you position yourself as an expert in your industry?

Lisa Goller helps businesses tell their story. As a Strategic Freelance Writer & Editor, she helps executives and entrepreneurs stand out, look good and save time. Learn more at lisagoller.com

Resources
Fleiss, Will. 6 Tips for Crafting a B2B Thought Leadership Marketing Strategy. Outbrain. August 27, 2014.
Patterson, Maggie. 5 Tactics for Positioning Yourself as an Expert Starting Today. Female Entrepreneur Association. August 7, 2014.
Riklan, David. The Top 10 Ways to Position Yourself as an Expert Using Social Media. Early to Rise.

Lisa Goller

I help businesses tell their story

Tag Archives: media

5 Questions Your Audience Really Wants to Ask