In today's business customers are subject to a thundering
advertising machine; no matter how loud your business is, there is always
someone else louder.
You have to precisely figure out what do you want your
customers to know about your company? Can you advertise price? Sure, and
there's always someone who'll undercut you. The only real and lasting
expression left to capitalize on and drive sales is the experience you deliver
every time a customer comes in contact with your business.
There's a lot of data and studies that tell us that
quality content drives search results. Whoever we always see businesses rarely taking
advantage of this opportunity. Some are doing nothing at all. Some are paying
for "search-only" content, which is not fit for human consumption.
These are "technical" posts designed with one goal; getting ranked
higher in search.
Businesses that publish "search-only" content are
missing the big picture and a huge opportunity. Why not create content written
by humans for humans and optimize it for search? Well, part of the problem
is that vendors can't really provide that and there're a number of reasons for
that. They don't work within your business, they have no expertise in the
product you sell or the service you provide, and they aren't even familiar with
your customers or local community.
I'm not telling you to spend your time creating meaningful blog
posts and social media updates However, the power does reside within your own organization.
I believe that crowdsourcing content is the quickest, most efficient way to
deliver relevant content to your customers and prospects meanwhile providing
authoritative content for search engines.
Employee-generated content is your best source for quality and
trustworthiness. After all, your employees live in your business at least 8 hours/day
and they typically understand what customers need and want to know about the
company.
Implementing a process to capture employee-generated
content is the ideal strategy to take with your online marketing. In this
article I'm going to show you 6 topics your employees can use in your social
marketing campaigns
1) Personal stories.
Tell me a fact and I’ll learn. Tell me a truth
and I’ll believe. But tell me a story and it will live in my heart forever.
Stories have emotional resonance with
customers and they vastly increase both the employee's and your company's
likability. Employees' stories of how they chose this career, what they like
most about their job, what they do when they're not at work, and of course, how
they serve customers, help humanize your brand and provide an emotional link
between your business and your customers.
2) Cutting-edge expertise.
As we move more into leveraging online platforms as sales engines,
salespeople (and their managers) are realizing that they must become "mentors".
When you blast somebody you just met (online or offline) with sales-speak, it's
off-putting.
Customers are searching for trustworthy answers to their
questions. Upon first interactions, coming from a "Solve Don't Sell"
mindset puts prospects' minds at rest and enhances future sales.
3) Evidence of a great customer experience.
What constitutes great customer experience is how your business is
talked about online. Customers share with each other their opinions and
feedback through places like Yelp, Google and Facebook.
As a business, it's pretty hard to seem credible when you attempt
to tell your audience how great you are. That's where employees' role comes
into play. They interact closely with your customers everyday and the evidence
of a truly great customer experience lies in capturing those moments.
4) Trust.
When we want to obtain reliable information we trust those that
are most like ourselves; your customers are no different than us. That's why
social media and online ratings sites have such an impact on consumer buying
decisions.
In a study asking respondents who they trust most, the data
clearly shows that CEOs are considered less trustworthy than their employees.
Why? The answer is pretty simple, because employees are "people like you".
5) Employees are the beta testers.
Whether you're a new business or you've been around a while, as
times goes on, there will always be new products and services within your
company. Employees serve as "beta testers" to work out the flaws in
everyday conditions, thereby learning even more about what they sell and
sharing that with customers.
In auto retail, for instance, there's a practice of giving
employees "demo" cars to drive, test and share opinions from their
experience. Employees can be recruited to share their opinions by providing
feedback through quality content.
6) Advocacy.
Employees are your business advocates. They publicly support your brand
both online and offline. Of course this all has to start with a culture that
welcomes employees as social media superstars and brand ambassadors.
Employees are the key to
online marketing success. However, employee-generated content is not a piece of
cake to put into action. Its rewards are vast and anything worthwhile takes
time to build.
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