3 Tips To Generate Internet Traffic With Content

Content marketing is all about solid, high-quality information that your targeted audience will find interesting and informative. Your content is a direct reflection of you and what your business represents. This is why it is extremely important to make sure your content is entertaining and well written. Your content must pull the reader in quickly and maintain his or her attention throughout the entire article.

According to Rupert Murdoch, creator of Avatar the movie and owner of the Fox television networks, the Wall Street journal and the New York Post, “content is not just King…it is the Emperor of all things electronic.” Make no mistake about it, we are still deeply rooted at the heart of the information age. The exchange of information is a multi-billion dollar annual industry. As a small business owner and entrepreneur, how can you use information or “content" to build, grow and maintain your business?

Tip 1 - Place Yourself Into Your Prospects Shoes:
A great way to produce great content is to approach it with the mindset of the consumer. When consumers are searching for your particular product or service, what "information" are they looking for? If you can ask yourself that question and begin to accumulate answers, you will then have a very good insight as to what you should be writing about.

For example, if you owned a local flower shop, you have to be able to put yourself in the consumer's shoes and begin to ask the same questions they are asking. Questions like "I wonder where the nearest flower shop is located?" or "I wonder if their prices are competitive" or "I wonder if they deliver?”

You can also get more specific for people looking for more targeted products or related/complementary products. Some of the questions your prospects might be asking themselves in this example would be "I wonder if they sell black long stem roses?" or "I wonder if they sell custom designer mosaic vases?"

And finally, “ statistics show that as many as 92% of all purchases made online or off line were researched first. The reason why people do their research these days is because they have questions like “I wonder if this company has a good reputation?” or “I wonder if the quality of their flowers are good and how long they might last?"

If you can answer these questions while writing your articles and press releases and creating your videos and podcasts, you will already be light-years ahead of the competition.

Tip 2 – Become the Expert:
One of the main reasons why a business owner would want to market with content as opposed to pay per click advertising or some other form of advertising is because professional content can position you as an expert in your field. Consumers are much more likely to buy from people they trust, and from businesses that appear to be a leading authority in their industry. Content allows you to do all of that and more. It's even possible to build and maintain your image and reputation through good content.

Business is all about creating relationships. And if you can understand that, then you will begin to create content that informs and educates BEFORE you make the common mistake of sending out a bunch of “sales pitchy” content. The "used-car sales techniques" simply do not work like they did 10 years ago. People do not want to be “sold.” People want to buy products and services when they are ready to buy. If someone feels like they were pushed into making a purchase, there is also a chance of a higher rate of refund requests. If your business is strictly online, this aspect becomes very important to you. Due to the fact there is no face-to-face contact when selling online, if the prospect later feels they were forced into buying something, your refund request rates could seriously go through the roof!

Tip 3 – Edit, Edit, Edit:
Most business owners do not have solid writing skills. Writing is a profession unto itself, and should be respected as such. Even if you are a fantastic writer, you should NEVER submit content to the Internet without having an additional set of eyes look at it first. If you are not a good writer and choose to hire a professional writer, it is still highly recommended that you take that content to an editor to review it before you begin your submissions. Once again, the content you put out to the world is a direct reflection of your business. It's worth the extra few bucks to have an editor proofread your materials.