Our marketing firm endorses and recommends face-to-face marketing. Being in front of someone enables you to respond to their subtle verbal and nonverbal cues. That’s why expos, trade shows and other in-person gatherings can be great selling and feedback-gathering opportunities. But depending entirely on face-to-face marketing isn’t practical. You can’t be everywhere at once. One solution is to meet people where they spend several hours a day: on their digital devices.
Your website and social media posts don’t replace personal selling. Rather, they should be considered your hardest working personal sales tools because they are available 24/7. And here you have a huge advantage: You can control exactly what they say.
Here are three guidelines we follow when we write for our clients. You can use these to give your digital content a face-to-face marketing advantage:
- Be consistent. Develop a company persona/voice. People buy on emotion. If they like you, they’ll be more open to liking whatever you’re selling. So when they find your website and social content, “speak” to them as you would in person.
- Be thorough. In a perfect world, you could discuss your product’s benefits one-on-one with every client, customer and prospect. You could answer their questions, correct any misconceptions and close the sale. In the process, you might even collect valuable feedback. You won’t be there to answer questions and counter objections when someone lands on your website at 2 a.m. Make sure your digital content is as clear and comprehensive as possible. Invite feedback and engage visitors in honest, friendly dialogue.
- Be responsive. When you’re addressing a large group, you can feel the vibes in the room and make spontaneous adjustments if necessary. You can accomplish much the same thing digitally by monitoring your website’s analytics. Understand how people find your site and where they gravitate once there. Listen to relevant social media conversations. How are people talking about you and/or your industry? Armed with this knowledge, you can write content that addresses and satisfies their needs and concerns.
Too many marketers still think of websites as digital brochures. Once you start thinking of your digital content as an extension of your face-to-face marketing, you will likely see a dramatic improvement in its tone and effectiveness.
We can help you make the shift. Contact us either using the form below or by calling 952-697-5269. Let’s transform your website into one of your favorite marketing tools.
