How to

Generate Leads

© Prize Content 2019

Using Content Marketing

Welcome to Prize Content’s guide togenerating leads using contentmarketing.

You’ve made a great call in picking upthis guide and having a read. Looksnice too, doesn’t it?

A lot of companies don’t understandthe huge value of content marketing.If they do, they often struggle to use itto generate leads. This might be afamiliar feeling for you.

This guide will help you in both ofthose areas.

If you’ve got great expertise andstories to share in your business, youshouldn’t keep all that goodness toyourselves!

Tell it to your audience and everyonebenefits.

So, read on to discover the ways youcan grow your business throughcontent marketing, and make somechanges today.

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ContentsIntroduction 3

Create Leads and InfluenceConversions 4

Build Trust with YourLeads and Customers 6

How Content InfluencesBrand Perception 8

Introduction

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channels. Rather, it is by far the mostsuccessful means of making yourbusiness visible to new prospects. Ifyou find yourself asking how to getfound on Google, Twitter, Facebook,or Instagram, the answer is alwaysthe same: a consistent, high-qualitycontent strategy.

That’s because the content-surfacingalgorithms used by such platformsaim to connect their users with high-value content. As a result, you need acontent marketing plan thatconsiders the best way of deliveringreal value to your audience.

If you can develop a contentmarketing plan that meets yourcustomers’ need for value, you arewell on your way to establishing theirtrust and influencing them to try yourproduct, subscribe to your service, orcomplete whatever inciting action isvital to your business model.

How to Plan Content thatGenerates LeadsSo, how can you start producing high-quality, valuable content that getsyour business found online andestablishes trust with your audience?

Inbound marketing — marketingdesigned to draw prospects in, ratherthan pushing outwardly via promotedchannels — is fast becoming the mostfruitful method of generating salesleads without cold calling or other,more aggressive sales tactics.

The first step in a successful contentmarketing plan is to understand youraudience. This is an absolutenecessity, and should be done beforeany content is created.

That’s because you need tounderstand where your potentialcustomers are in order to target thechannels they visit most. Further, youneed to know as much as possibleabout your prospects to ensure thecontent you produce is centred ontheir needs — and therefore primedto provide them with the most value.Remember, offering value to potentialcustomers is the only real way tobuild their trust and influence theirdecision-making journey.

Once you’ve researched youraudience, you can begin to plan aschedule of regular content releasesthat address their needs and providereal value.

This is where your company’sexpertise comes into play. Yourcontent should help customers solvetheir problems and provide them withvaluable insight. Before long, you’llbecome their go-to resource, havingestablished your company as anauthority in its field. That’s what willultimately give your prospects theconfidence they need to buy into yourproducts and services.

Next: Building Trust with YourLeads and Customers

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It goes without saying that theunderlying objective of any companyis to generate sales. But, before youcan make a sale, you need to generateleads. That’s what makes a sound leadgeneration strategy so important.

There are plenty of methods,approaches, and techniques when itcomes to lead generation strategy,and what works for one businessdoesn’t necessarily work for another.Yet, there’s one common factor thatunderpins them all: a well-considered content marketingstrategy.

That’s because, no matter yourbusiness model, content is the onlysure way to connect with your targetaudience. When it comes to beingfound online, content truly is king.

A Proven Lead GeneratorThey say the proof of the pudding isin the eating. Well, in the case ofcontent marketing, the proof of thelead generation potential is in thestatistics!

For example:

• Companies who post content

consistently are known togenerate 67% more leads thancompanies who do not (Hubspot,2010).

• Businesses who prioritise theirblogging efforts are 13 times morelikely to see a positive return oninvestment (Hubspot, 2019).

• Content marketing gets threetimes more leads than paid searchadvertising (Content MarketingInstitute, 2017).

You read that last point correctly:when executed well, contentmarketing significantly outperformspaid advertising in producing leadsfor your business.

Make Yourself VisibleIt’s clear that content marketing is apowerful tool in your business’s leadgeneration kit. But, you might be leftwondering: “What good is effectivecontent marketing if I can’t be foundonline in the first place?”

The answer is simple: contentmarketing doesn’t just reachcustomers who have already foundyour website or social media

Using content marketing as a powerful lead generation tool.

Create Leads andInfluence Conversions

to build that trust with your audienceone post at a time. That means thebest time to start is right now.

ShowYou UnderstandYour CustomerThe first step in earning the trust ofyour customers is to demonstratethat you know them well.

Start by building the identity of yourcustomer. By undertaking extensivemarket research, you’ll find out moreabout your customers’ needs, wants,desires, and frustrations. Then, youcan produce content that addressestheir concerns and appeals to theirinterests directly.

When your content marketing plan isbuilt with this information in mind,you’ll put yourself in a better positionto meet customers’ expectations andinfluence their decision-makingjourneys.

Demonstrate CompetenceUse your content as a platform todemonstrate the skill and expertise ofyour company. Sharing insights andhelping your audience to solve theirproblems, even before they’re readyto call themselves your customer,goes a long way in establishing theirtrust.

Be TransparentCommunicating honestly andtransparently with your audience is

essential in building a relationshipwith them. Don’t be afraid to“overshare” when it comes to insightsabout how your company operates,and don’t hesitate to give potentialcustomers something of value early intheir journey. The more you tell, theless they’ll be left unsure about,helping to build their confidence inyou.

Showcase YourAuthenticityConsumers have more choice andmore information available to themthan ever before. That means they canbe picky about the companies theychoose to engage with. Your contentneeds to speak authentically in orderto resonate with customers andinspire them to choose you overanyone else.

Prove You Are ReliableSaying you are reliable is one thing;being reliable is another thingentirely. Yet, showing consumers youare dependable can often be as simpleas doing what you said you were goingto do. Sticking to a consistent contentschedule, such as promising anddelivering a weekly blog post, is oneway to regularly achieve this. After all,it only takes one missed update toundermine the value of your word.

Next: How Content InfluencesBrand Perception

Every successful relationship is builton a foundation of trust, and it’s nodifferent for the relationship betweenyour company and its customers.

That fact is what makes managingcustomer relationships such animportant factor in the success ofyour business. Companies rise andfall through the support of theircustomers — and, by 2020, those whowork to build trust with theircustomerswill generate 20% moreonline profit that those who do not(Gartner, 2018).

Make That Gut Feeling aGood FeelingThe reason companies succeed whenthey build trust with their customersis linked to how consumers behavewhen making purchasing decisions.

The truth is that how consumers feelabout your brand has a far greaterinfluence on their purchasingdecision than, for example,information about your product, orthe details of your service.

To understand this better, you needto think of your brand as arepresentation of your product or

service. If your brand representsfeatures and attributes but leavesfeelings to one side, there can be noemotional link to influence aconsumer’s preference and actions.

In such a scenario, it doesn’t matter ifyour solution is better than thecompetition from a detailedperspective. If it fails to create anemotional connection withconsumers, your brand will beoverlooked.

That’s why your brand needs apersonality. Research has shown thatconsumers perceive the same type ofpersonality traits within brands asthey do with other people. And, justlike people, they are attracted tocertain traits more than others, soyou need to make sure your brand’spersonality is communicated in theright way for your target audience.

Building Customer Trustwith ContentNurturing customer relations in thisway is not an overnight process.There’s no single campaign you canlaunch to demonstrate the reliabilityof your company. Instead, you’ve got

Build Trust with YourLeads and Customers

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recognise that how their messages arecommunicated is fundamental todesigning an experience thatcustomers are keen to take part in.Remember, it’s that journey whichcreates an emotional link betweenyour company and consumers — theessence of your brand’s identity.

Align Your BrandwithConsumersIt’s difficult for consumers to connectwith your company’s brand if theyfeel like you don’t have a soundunderstanding of their problems.

When backed by comprehensivemarket research, content is the mosteffective way of showing that youunderstand your customer’s wantsand needs. By regularly releasingcontent that helps consumers solvetheir problems and provides themwith valuable insights, you can startto build the trust needed to influencetheir decision-making process.

Offer Something of Value— Right AwayIn order to form an effectiverelationship with consumers, youneed to provide something of valuebefore you ask for anything in return.

Content marketing that draws uponthe expertise of your company is anexcellent way to provide consumerswith something of value as soon asthey discover you.

Sharing insights and helpingconsumers solve their problemsthrough valuable content will ensureyour relationship starts off on theright foot.

The benefit of this approach is thatcustomers will begin to see you as anindustry authority and a go-toresource for solving their problems.This is the kind of top-of-mindawareness that will have customerschoosing you over the competitionwhen making a purchase decision.

Give Existing CustomersConfidenceContent marketing doesn’t justinfluence the perception of newcustomers. Rather, content can alsoaddress your existing customers,reassuring them that they made theright choice and ensuring that theyremain loyal customers well into thefuture.

Customer service expectations in2019 are higher than they have everbeen, and consumers have a greatdeal of choice. That’s why yourcompany needs to use every availableopportunity to demonstrate exactlywhy consumers should pick you oversomebody else.

Ben TyrerHead of Communications

linkedin.com/in/benjamin-tyrer/

It’s often said that perception isreality. When it comes to yourcompany’s brand identity, that adviceis truer today than ever before.

The modern consumer is well-informed and has many choices whenit comes to the products and servicesthey use. As a result, they can behighly selective about the kinds ofcustomer experiences they want toparticipate in.

That means your company needs todo everything it can to convinceconsumers the experience you offer isthe right one for them.

Emotions InfluenceConsumer BehaviourAs previously mentioned, consumersare greatly influenced by theirfeelings and emotions when it comesto choosing which businesses theyengage with.

In short, how your brand is perceived,and the relationship consumers havewith your business, is one of thebiggest factors in your success.

The impact emotion has on a buyer’s

decision-making journey is so strongthat it easily overwhelms other, morerational factors, such as productinformation or the details of yourservice.

What that means is you need to giveyour customers a reason to careabout your company. The necessity ofestablishing an emotional linkbetween consumers and your brandis what makes content marketingsuch an important part of yourcompany’s ability to generate salesleads.

Using Content toInfluence BrandPerceptionThe consumer perception of yourcompany’s brand is comprised ofmany things. One factor is the visualidentity of your brand — in otherwords, how key messages and feelingsare communicated on a visual level.

Just as important, however, are thethings your company says and theway it says them.

The most successful businesses

HowContent InfluencesBrand Perception

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“Who is Prize Content? And should I have written‘are’ in that last sentence?”

Prize Content is a group of writers, marketingstrategists, and design creatives, who use theirexperience and knowledge to help businesses growthrough effective content marketing.

We deliver bespoke content strategies backed byexpert professional services such as content writing,graphic design, and digital services. Using our veryown proprietary CMS platform, we integrate withyour company’s comms channels to makecommissioning and publishing content acrossmultiple channels seamless.

We’re also gamers, musicians, techies, sports fansand more, spanning an age range of over 20 years.Oh, and we all love coffee.

So, if you want to find out how Prize Content couldhelp your business grow through content marketing(or just can’t stop thinking about the ‘is/are’ questionat the top of this page), pick your favouritecommunication method on the back page and get intouch.

Thanks for Reading!

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Prize Content helps businesses just like yours toachieve growth through first-class content that

develops your brand and tells the world your story.

Visit us at www.prizecontent.com to find out more.

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