Bored With Your Content Marketing Strategies? Try These For A Change
When it comes to getting traffic to your local business website, content marketing has long been thought of as the holy grail. But is there another way?
A lot of people say that content marketing is hard to beat. But when it comes to getting visitors to your page, getting other website owners to share your content, and getting backlinks, content marketing is NOT the only choice you have. There are other options
Consider these strategies that take the focus off of creating a lot of content and instead gets them in the door!
Tactic #1 – Contest Marketing
If you haven’t tried a contest to market your business and attract new customers, you’re in for a sweet surprise. A well-run contest can easily outpace most other forms of marketing in terms of the excitement they can generate, and the number of leads they can bring in.
There are a lot of reasons to run a contest, but these four should be enough to convince you to try:
One: Contests Help Build Your Lists
When you run a successful contest, and you promote it to the right audience, then it’s pretty easy to add a lot of new contacts to your email list, your Facebook followers, etc.
I have one client, Courtesy Auto Service of Tacoma, who picked up over 500 new sign-ups to his email marketing list with just one contest! And now he runs it annually now with similar results each year! Incidentally, he calls his the “Drive Lambo” contest, and he gives away a one-day Lamborghini rental. You would be amazed at the excitement he generates.
Two: Contests Build Relationships
Contests allow you to bring in new people AND deepen your relationship with your fans and followers. Plus, if you have customers who have drifted away, a great contest can give them a reason to come back. One business, Sachi Massage and Wellness in Asheville, NC, found that running a weekly massage giveaway for one month brought 28 previous clients back for a visit. And these were clients who had been inactive for an extended time.
Do you have any clients you haven’t seen in a while? Would you like to have them back? Maybe a contest is just the ticket!
Three: Contests Help You understand Your Customers
Depending on what you’re giving away, you can ask people who register for information you may not otherwise be able to obtain. Collecting different pieces of info as part of the entry process can really help you get to know your customer base on a deeper level, and give you valuable data for future marketing efforts.
Four: Contests Are Very Shareable
Finally, choose the tools you need to make your contest shareable. This is how you go viral and what social media was made for. This can extend the reach of your marketing far beyond what you could otherwise target on your own, and cut down on the cost of promoting your contest. In fact, contests beat most other marketing efforts when it comes down to sharing on social media.
Even though contests have all these built-in benefits, many local business owners are simply afraid to try. It is important that you be familiar with all pertinent local regulations, first and foremost. And if this all seems daunting to you, then you should get some experienced help!
Tactic #2 – Email Marketing
Before you groan and tell me that email marketing is old hat, let me tell you that email marketing is still to this day the #1 way to sell. And also consider that most local business owners do not have such a list. You would stand out in the crowd. I believe that, hands down, an email list is the single most powerful marketing tool most business owners have. If you don’t have a subscriber button your site, you are missing out.
One example of this is my client Salon Cerna, a hair and styling salon in Puyallup, WA. Even though they have a lot of very satisfied clients, not once had they asked them for their email addresses. And they never even considered why they should! One of the first things I did was set up an automatic email collection method on their website, using a simple coupon offer for first time visitors.
And the results?
In the very first week my client had a dozen sign-ups and three brand new appointments. Before you say that doesn’t sound like much, let me remind you that many small, local businesses would give their right arm for three brand new clients every week. After all, what’s the lifetime value of a new customer for YOUR business?
Next step
Providing my client with an easy online form so they could add email addresses to their mailing list was a no-brainer. I encouraged them to collect an email address from each and every customer who walks through the door. Even if they have to offer them something (such as another coupon) to get it!
Once these emails are added to the database, the customer automatically receives a “Thank You” along with a request for a google or Yelp! review.
So with the addition of a simple web form, my clients builds their email list much faster AND they get lots of great, positive reviews at the same time! Now, almost with the push of a button, the salon can send out a marketing message to their loyal clients. If they see that next week is looking a little slow, they can craft an offer designed to get people to call and make an appointment with their favorite stylist. That’s marketing at the speed of email!
Hopefully, these two tactics have whet your appetite for ways you can reach new business without having to produce a lot of time-consuming content. You’re only limited by your imagination!