We know; the FAQS page? Typically one of the more “boring” pages on a website, the FAQs page can provide some great ideas for content. This content can come in the form of blog articles, interesting and engagement focused posts for social media, and even larger content offerings like eBooks and Whitepapers.
It’s important to use different types of content in your program as each serves a different purpose in educating the marketplace and qualifying potential clients.
Kill Two Birds with One Stone
Find inspiration for content and bring your poorly trafficked FAQs page to life. By writing and then distributing articles based on FAQs you won’t have to wait for your audience to venture to the page on your website. Looking to FAQs for inspiration essentially solves two problems.
The next step is getting your content into the “hands” of the right audience.
Accurately identifying, targeting and building your audience on social media allows you to deliver this information to those who find it most relevant. It’s a far more efficient way to proactively market your business, rather than the “build it and they will come” approach of the typical FAQs page.
Make it Interesting
FAQs are just a source for ideas. You have a unique opportunity to bring them to life with good writing, stories and examples from your business experience. Not to mention add in images, graphics, button links or even video that makes them more visually appealing.
You will be distributing them on social media which is becoming increasingly more intolerant to those who choose not to purchase advertising. In order to continue to maintain and build your audience your content must be relevant, helpful, compelling and exciting. To put it in the words of our friend Ellen Williams from Constant Contact, your content must be “shareable.”
Be Proactive
The wait and see approach will fail you every time. The attention span isn’t there anymore so you have to actively seek out your audience and deliver your content them as directly as possible. This is done by actively going out on social media and building your following by engaging with others, or in other words “being social.”
Email is one of the most effective content marketing tools, so using tactics like offers and landing pages to build your subscription list now are incredibly important in building future business. One of the most effective ways, although limited in reach, is to do some good old-fashioned networking. You can expand this reach by being active in online communities like LinkedIn Groups.
Being proactive is also important in determining what to share. Once you’ve got your content marketing program up and running look to your web analytics for the trends and topics your audience is most interested in. This will give you fuel and direction for future content offerings and article topics.
Don’t forget about your older but still “evergreen” content. Much like the music of the Beatles or the Rolling Stones, evergreen content is remains relevant over long periods of time (and possibly forever). Evergreen content can be used periodically to continue to drive traffic to your website. Updating and re-distributing these articles takes little time and may reach members of your audience you missed last time around.