The purpose of business is to create and serve customers for a profit. This is easy to forget in a world brimming with new methods for delivering marketing and service messages. When the focus of management shifts from acquiring, serving, and retaining customers to conversations, things start declining. Acquiring views, fans, followers, and mentions becomes top priority, replacing proven growth and profitability strategies.
Creating a successful marketing strategy requires the blending of the best of every channel. The finished product has to meet customer expectations and match the corporate culture. Wildly successful campaigns for one brand will fail another because each company has a unique personality.
Traditional and social marketing have been in two distinct camps as if they are adversaries. This is the equivalent of a civil war within the organization. It doesn't matter who fired the first shot or the last. The channels are different. They complement each other. When marketing campaigns are designed to include the best of both camps, they deliver a one-two punch that converts shoppers into buyers.
Content created for the social platforms is designed to stimulate conversation that converts instead of chasing meaningless metrics. The online chatter changes from:
"Did you see that video company XYZ did? Wasn't it hilarious? I laughed until I cried!"
Or:
"Can you believe what that company posted? Talk about controversy!"
To:
"Did you see that video where they showed how to use product ABC? How cool is that? I think I need one of those!"
And:
"I read that you could use product ABC to solve the problem we have. Who knew it would do that?"
The content that delivers conversions is always focused on using the company's products and services to solve people's problems. It can be done with humor or drama. Orabrush uses humor with the dirty tongue videos that have generated tons of views, inspired fan videos, and generated sales for the company. Blendtec's "Will it Blend" series uses drama to showcase the power of the company's blenders. When the product is the star, conversations lead to conversions. How can you make your products and/or services the star of your social platforms and generate conversions? Here are some questions to get the creative juices flowing:
- What problems can we solve? Featuring new solutions to existing problems attracts prospects and retains customers.
- How many different ways can our products be used? (Or not?) Showcasing the ways your products work (or don't) can provide an interesting twist on commodity items.
- What is a unique way that we could feature our products? Providing a different perspective makes content interesting and worth sharing.
- Why do people buy from us? Knowing the reasons people buy and what moves them from shopper to customer helps define the way information is presented.
When creating content designed to generate conversations that convert, always remember to add a call to action. Telling people what to do next moves them along the purchase path.