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Posts Tagged ‘presentations’


5 Types of Marketing Content That Will Fuel Your Sales

January 23rd, 2013 ::

MoneyWhether your company offers a product or a service, having content on hand that you or your sales team can share with prospective customers is incredibly important. You’ll be able to showcase your capabilities and the value and benefits of working with you over someone else.

Here are 5 types of marketing content you should keep at the ready:

Explainer videos

An explainer video tells a visual story of how your product or service works. While these are especially handy for physical products you can see, they can also be used for virtual products/services, like an app or cloud-based service (check out Dropbox’s video).

If you are a professional service provider, like a real estate agent, consultant or attorney, you can use a video to quickly explain the value you bring to your clients while letting them get to know you a little bit.

Blog posts

Yes, it is OK to mention your products and services in your blog posts – on occasion. You could write about how you use your own product or service in your company, how-to guides, or a list of quick tips. You can also publish news, in which you announce important new partnerships, new products or services, or new features or updates, just like Modus Create did here.

Case studies

These are one of the best ways to market your company and convert prospective clients into new clients. Case studies give you the chance to show the value of your products and services. When I write them, I keep them pretty structured, like these that I wrote for Brighter Strategies. The first paragraph explains the problem, the second paragraph talks about the solution and how it was implemented, and the third paragraph concludes with the outcome or results.

Presentations

If you ever give presentations on your products, services, or company, whether it’s a seminar or at a conference, save them in Slideshare so you can easily share them later – and others can easily find them with a quick search. If you have a sales team, definitely create presentations for them to ensure your products and services are discussed the way you think is best.

Data sheets

Data sheets are full of information – they’re not sexy, but they are important if you sell a product. You can list product features, hardware, software, or other types of  requirements, competitive comparisons, charts and graphs that demonstrate product value, and even return on investment data.  Here’s a really comprehensive one for the Audi A3 (my car!).

What marketing content do you share with prospective clients?

Image courtesy of gurusoftware.com

Content Marketing 101: The What, Why and How of Using Content to Generate Leads

October 26th, 2012 ::

Content marketingContent marketing has become quite the trend this year. If you’re not familiar with the term, it refers to creating digital and print marketing pieces specifically to market your business to your customers.

The benefits of content marketing include:

  • Creating trust
  • Building thought leadership and expertise
  • Building and solidifing relationships
  • Improving search results
  • Increasing Web traffic and leads

There are many pieces of content you can create, repurpose and share via social media and on your website. In my opinion, the top 7 by popularity and effectiveness (but in no particular order) are:

1. Articles

Seek out opportunities to write for trade or general interest publications, both digital and print, on your area of expertise.  Reach out to editors and propose topics that would be of interest to their readers.

2. Blog posts

Writing blog posts for your company’s own blog is great for search results – search engines reward websites that are frequently updated with new content. You can also seek out opportunities to guest blog for a partner company’s blog or an industry blog.

3. Case studies

Turn your projects into stories that explain a client’s challenge, your solution and the results. Case studies need not be long and technical – 3 paragraphs of 2-3 sentences each should suffice.

4. Enewsletters

A short, monthly newsletter is a great way to not only stay top-of-mind with your audience of potential, current and past customers, but also share your expertise and industry news.

5. Ebooks

Repurpose content from articles, blog posts, case studies, and presentations by creating an ebook in which you share tips, tricks and how-to’s.

6. Presentations and Webinars

If you hold or participate in events like seminars, workshops or webinars, consider your presentation part of your content marketing strategy, either by repurposing it whole or in parts.

7. Videos

Marketing videos can be entertaining, educational or a hybrid of both.  When done well, a video will not only engage your audience, but also drive leads to your website.

What kind of content marketing has worked well for you? What would you like to try if time and money were no option?

Image courtesy of adrants.com

3 Tips on Creating Effective Infographics

November 1st, 2011 ::

Infographics

Infographics are a great way to not only quickly explain a complicated idea or huge amount of information, but also grab your readers’ attention and engage them in a topic that might be dry or overly complex.

Easier said than done.  An effective infographic must be created with a purpose in mind.  You don’t want to end up with just a pretty picture – it really needs to help explain the information you are presenting. An infographic that is both engaging and useful combines visual interest, theme, detail, meaning and action—all in a single glance.

Use the following three tips to ensure that your infographics pop.

1. Make it fit.

You could squeeze an entire year’s worth of information into an infographic, but if you don’t take the time to fit the color and theme into your already-established company graphics, it might be a wasted effort.

Incorporate the colors and design you use in your branding – from your company logo to your website – as well as the typography and font. Taking time to give the function a little form will give your infographic an engaging and cumulative effect that adds to your presentation and enhances your brand.

2. Don’t rely on images.

In a well-designed infographic, an effective and modern image is almost a given. But if you stop there and fail to deliver detail and meaning to your image, the results will be less than stellar. The reason images are so powerful – and need a lot of attention in an infographic – is because they convey layers of meaning in an instant.

In an infographic, though, you are including a numerical quality with the visual, so make sure you choose information that is meaningful and relevant to your company and its goals.

3. Plan for action.

The worst thing an infographic can do is simply be a colorful repeat of information that can be easily accessed elsewhere. Give it a purpose by making sure your infographic will inspire action – does it teach something to the viewer? Does it compare data? Reveal new information?

By covering your bases with these three approaches, you will create an infographic that is informative, engaging, and visually appealing – all characteristics of a dream product. Distribute your infographic on your social networks, and your brand, audience and sales funnel will thank you!

Image courtesy of creative design agency Arrae

Closing a Sale: Get What You Want in 7 Minutes

April 1st, 2011 ::

ClockBecause I am a marketing writer, a lot of prospective clients are somewhat skeptical that they need me.  Oh, I can write a white paper myself.  I am not paying someone to blog for my company.  I can write my own website content just fine, thankyouverymuch. The problem, though, is that most people can’t write, either because they are literally god-awful writers, or they lack time, or they lack the expertise to do it properly.  But because they are convinced they don’t need me, I often face a rather uphill battle to close a sale.

Though I rarely give sales presentations, when I stumbled upon this blog post that appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum blog, I saved it.  In the blog post, marketing strategist Ivana Taylor provides a simple formula that can help you close a sale in 7 minutes or less.

Minute One

Open your presentation by laying out the problem: Sales are falling, marketing programs aren’t working, customers aren’t spending as much, the rising price of oil is affecting our margins, etc.  This serves to get everyone on the same page; it should be no more than two or three sentences.

Minutes One – Three

Back up your opening statements with straightforward data, charts and graphs that the audience doesn’t have to analyze. For instance, title each graph with the information you want your audience to be left with: “20% Drop in Sales During Q1” instead of “Sales During Q1.” Obviously, you want to keep it brief.

Minutes Three – Five

After hearing all the bad news, your audience needs solutions.  They will, therefore, be eager to hear your ideas.  Present them in a tangible, visible way with props or demonstrations to engage and get buy-in.

Minute Five – Six

At this point, your audience will want to know what’s in it for them.  Clearly describe the benefits of your solution, and use lots of adjectives to illustrate how great the solution is.

Minute Six – Seven

Now that your audience is excited about your solution, explain what the next steps are.  Assign people tasks, present them with a timeline, and if there are forms to be signed, get signatures before everyone scurries off to their next meeting.

Image by Flickr user Earls37a (Creative Commons)