Content format

Awareness Content

When our target market is not aware or doesn’t have top-of-mind awareness of our company, product, service or the benefit it offers, then the first objective is to create awareness. The key element here is educational content created on a set of keyword phrases and topics that potential prospects are interested.

Awareness can be built through:

• Blogs, articles or infographics published on our site and third-party media outlets

• Testimonials from happy customers

• Advertising that draws attention to our educational content

At the heart of every transaction is TRUST and in general, trust is what’s in short supply. If more people trust us, everything else will fall into place.

There’s a really big gap between someone being aware of us and someone trusting us, enough to buy from us.

Educational Content

As our target market becomes aware of us and the competition increases, prospects will be eager to find out much more about our unique proposition, our solution, our story and our organization. And if we don’t give them something, we'll get compared on price.

At this stage we need to educate prospects that want to learn more and Gore Connect plays a role here:

• eBook — not boring, dry technical stuff, our best insight over all the other typical information

• Newsletter — Weekly or monthly education that nurtures their interest

• Presentation Materials — these allow prospects to learn about our solutions

• FAQs — some people just need answers to their questions and this format serves well

• Case Studies — some people just need to see that others have had similar situations and got the result they desired

People want to be educated not sold. They will sell themselves if you commit to educating.

Sample Content

We've done all this work generating awareness and educating. Now it's time to show our prospect a tangible representation of the end result.

This is where most organizations fall short, but we should continue it if we want to keep the modern prospect engaged.

Help our prospects understand what they’re potentially buying, and create raving fans out of those that don’t ever buy. The experience alone will cause them to share with their network.

• Cheat sheets

• Audits

• Working Sessions

• Workbooks

• Assessments

• Checklists

Purchase & Referral Content

For this stage the focus is on using content to keep the experience high. Think about what our customers now have access to when they say "yes", in the form of content.

It’s also important for us to systematically and automatically integrate referral content into the everyday interactions with prospects and customers.

• New customer kit

• Access to “behind the scenes” content

• Quick start guide

• User manuals

• Result worksheets

• Coupons

• Gift certificates

• Referral video

• Lunch and learn presentation

• Collaborative presentation with a strategic partner

Visual Learners

Visual learners need to see your data, your theory, or your story spelled out in imagery. They want to associate feelings with the photos you provide. They will remember an article better because of the graphic that topped it.

Visual learners like whiteboards. They prefer to diagram and map out the idea they are discussing, because they see things as spatial and related. The are pleased when they see Venn diagrams or flowcharts.

Number Crunchers

Number crunchers are logical beasts, preferring that you provide them with facts and data and let them draw their own conclusions.

They are quick to pick out patterns and form connections between data. They love content that provides a systematic way to solve a problem that they can apply in their own situation. They like organization, lists, tied up conclusions, and the use of words like “template” or “data-driven solution” are an immediate attraction.

Text Lovers

Some of us love the written word. Sure, they love a helpful graphic or chart now and then to assist in visualizing some concept, but word pictures do a better job than actual pictures will, in the long run. A great metaphor or simile, or the perfect analogy—those kinds of word pictures will help them understand our content much better than a pie chart.

Social Learners

Some people learn best when there are other people involved. They want to surround themselves with a group, thriving off of feedback. This is the social learner.

The social learner is especially fond of community affirmation, that's why they write blog posts and share content that others have created, quoting and referencing the findings and ideas put forth by others. It is very much a group activity, which helps our brand. When our brand story is told secondhand, it gains authority in a kind of second generation format. It is given validity not only because we wrote it, but because someone else believed it enough to share or base their own content on it.