Content Generation For Business: Keeping Customers Informed and Engaged

These days content is everywhere. Gone are the days of heading to the local library, scanning the stacks for information. Magazine and newspaper subscriptions are down and news is delivered to us digitally.

No more scouring books, magazines & newspapers to find great content

It’s never been easier to find and spread great content, but there are still lots of small businesses that aren’t doing it consistently.

I’m a big believer in the premise that a successful business is built around great content and a quality product. It’s imperative that you keep your customers engaged and informed or they’ll quickly move on to another brand.

I’ve already written about the importance of setting aside time to share info with your potential buyers, even if it’s just a few minutes a day. It’s just as important as traditional advertising.

Many of my clients are small business owners who don’t think they have time to scour the web and monitor social media networks, but with a little organization it’s not as time consuming as you think.

For me, Monday is content generation day. It’s a great way to kick off the week, be productive & catch up with the latest information in my field (writing & freelancing). This system benefits me as much as my customers. By gathering up lots of great info and scheduling it to go out through the week, I’m free to focus on finding clients the rest of the time. Some folks argue that scheduling content isn’t genuine social media engagement, but I disagree. You shouldn’t rely solely on pre-planned updates, but by having a strategy you free yourself up to run your business and focus on customers.

So how does it work?

First, set goals.

What do you want to accomplish for the week? Do you want to beef up your blog with new posts? Are you looking to expand your reach on social networks? Are you trying to increase sales by 10%? Knowing what you want to accomplish lets you focus on a strategy for getting there.

Secondly, know your audience.

Who are you trying to reach? Do you want your customers to know about a new promotion, what’s happening behind the scenes of your business, or the latest trends in the industry?

Check out your social networks and identify the different types of followers/ friends you have. What are kind of info are they hungry for? Once you know that, you’ll need to find ways to bring it to them.

Focus on different social networks.

Facebook – The largest and most popular social network, with more than 500 million users across the globe. These days customers expect your business to have a fan page, and it’s quickly becoming one of the first places they look when deciding where to shop and what to buy.

Facebook is a great place to post behind the scenes video and photos. It’s also a great place to highlight new products, weekly deals, promotions & contests. Post coupons for your Facebook friends to use. There has to be an incentive to get new customers to sign up and to keep them coming back.

Perhaps the biggest advantage of Facebook is your ability to interact with your customers and solicit direct feedback. Everyone likes to give their input on a new product and Facebook is a good place to do it.

Ask customers what they like about your brand. Start a discussion on your fan page. It’s  free market research and it keeps your customers engaged. It also lets you get immediate feedback for your business, so you can keep your company nimble and shift gears on the fly.

Twitter – Probably the fastest growing social network with more than 200,000 new users signing up everyday. Twitter lets you post short messages (140 characters or less) and allows you to send and receive up to the second updates.

Twitter is great for sharing links to your website, articles on your blog, industry forums, or your Facebook page. It’s also a useful tool if you want to run a deal of the day or an impromptu special. Send a tweet with a special word or phrase customers can use to get a discount. These type of insider deals carry a sense of urgency that might encourage customers to stop by your business.

For more on getting the most out of Twitter, click here.

LinkedIn- A lot like Facebook, but geared to business professionals. LinkedIn is a great tool for networking and getting advice on what’s happening in your field. One of the most useful tools I’ve found on LinkedIn is the group feature. LinkedIn groups are small networks of people focused on a particular topic. For instance I’m a member of a freelance writing groups, a social media marketing group and an english language professionals group, just to name a few.

LinkedIn groups let you start a discussion, ask industry related questions, or weigh in on a topic that another member has started. It’s a great resource for the latest info on trends happening in your industry.

Once you get a feel for the different networks your customers use, you’ll have a better idea of how to reach them. The most important aspect of social networking is to add a personal touch. Be a real person not a corporate entity.

Okay, so now you’ve identified your target audience and you know what network to use in order to reach them. That’s the hard part. Now you need to…

Find content customers can easily consume and share.

* Make time to gather useful info to share with your customers, even if it’s just 15-20 minutes a week. Once you get into the habit it gets easier and easier.

* Bookmark  web pages that cover topics related to your industry. Link to the latest news to keep your buyers informed and up-to-speed on the latest trends.

* Share the good things customers are saying about you. Compliments and testimonials are great word-of-mouth advertising and let your buyers know you’re listening.

* Find simple, little-know facts about your product or services that your customers might be interested in knowing. I call these fun facts.

* Share a tip of the day related to your business. For instance, a dry cleaner might share tips about keeping clothes protected between cleanings.

* Establish a forum where customers can “ask the expert” when they have questions
related to your product.

* Start a poll on your website where your customers can answer questions you post.

There are a number of ways to keep your customers engaged. Try several different approaches and keep track of what’s successful. Double on the things that work and ditch the things that don’t.

What did I miss? How do you keep your potential customers engaged and up-to-speed? Share your thoughts in the comments below.