More Content Sips and Tips

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This week’s Say It For You blog posts are inspired by items in issues of Wine Spectator which I think offer clues to the most attention-grabbing and impactful ways of marketing a product or service through content……(Today’s quotes come from the Jan.-Feb. 2024 issue of the magazine).

Offering everyday advice
“Everyday Moments” recommends “smart buys” for weeknight dinners, movies at home, Sunday brunches, “and all the daily occasions in between”.
There’s a reason “how-to” and “advice column” content works – readers have a sense of immediate benefit. Create content readers can put to use right now, using statistics to document both the problem and the proposed solution.

Using a celebrity connection
Celebrity chefs Jose Andres, Eric Ripert, and Emeril Lagasse are shown taking part in the Chefs’ Challenge, an annual pairing showdown covered by a Wine Spectator editor.

“Tweak” material so that the content is tied to the doings of popular figures that audiences love to hear about.

Putting questions in readers’ mouths and minds
“Why do red wines give some people headaches?” Mitch Frank answers his own question by citing a University of California study showing that the polyphenols in red wine may keep some people from quickly metabolizing alcohol.

In content marketing, you’re often providing answers to questions that your potential customer might ask. The specific genius lies in forcing readers to recognize their own uncertainties and need for answers.

Keeping readers up to date on industry news
In “Duckhorn to buy Sonoma-Cutree for $400 Million”, Daniel Marsteller keeps Wine Spectator readers in the know about an important corporate takeover.

Showing that you are keeping abreast of the latest thinking and developments in your field is the key to earning “expert power”, showing readers that you are in a good position to spot both threats and opportunities.

Offering Opinion Pieces
In “the Necessary Luxury”, senior editor Mitch Frank shares his perceptions of the relationship between value and luxury. Good wine, he points out, helps us thrive, enhancing the meal on our plate, easing the shyness of guests, and sparking the sharing of stories and ideas.

We must be influencers, I advise clients and content writers alike. Whether it’s business-to-business or business to consumer writing, the content itself needs to use opinion to clarify what differentiates that business, that professional practice, or that organization from its peers.

No, becoming a wine connoisseur may not be the future you have in mind, but these “sips” from Wine Spectator can offer valuable insights for creators of marketing content.

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A Taste of Wine and Content Cues

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This week’s Say It For You blog posts are inspired by items in issues of Wine Spectator which I think offer clues to the most attention-grabbing and impactful ways of marketing a product or service through content……(Today’s quotes come from the March 2024 issue of the magazine).

Using unlikely comparisons
Looking for an acoustic guitar, Bruce Sanderson writes, “It occurred to me that tone woods are to an acoustic guitar what grape varieties are to wine.”

Turns of phrase catch readers by the curiosity,” I realized years ago. Putting ingredients together that don’t seem to match is not only an excellent tool for creating engaging marketing content, but also a good teaching tool. Going from what is familiar to readers to the unfamiliar area of your own expertise, allows your potential customers to feel smart as well as understood.

Introducing “insider” terminology
If you’re a wine lover, you’ll want to check the UGA on the label, pinpointing the region in Italy from which the grapes originated..The designation is brand-new, with 2024 vintage wines the first to be allowed to display the “credential”,  Alison Napjus explains…

In marketing content, once you’ve established common ground, reinforcing to readers that they’ve come to the right place, it’s important to add lesser-known bits of information on your subject, which might take the form of arming readers with new terminology, serving several purposes:

  • positioning the business owner or professional practitioner as an expert in the field
  • adding value to the “visit” for the reader
  • increasing readers’ sense of being part of an “in-the-know” grouphttps://www.sayitforyou.net/using-tidbits-of-information-in-blogs/allow-me-to-introduce-new-terminology

Using the power of story
“When I was embarking on my first trip to Europe as a young trumpeter, the great saxophone player Ben Webster pulled me aside and gave me some of the best advice a 19-year old who had never traveled outside of the country could ever receive: “Wherever you go, eat the food the real people eat.”

In creating content for business, I recommend including anecdotes about customers, employees, or friends who accomplished things against all odds. That shifts the focus to the people side of things, I explain to clients, highlighting the relationship-basedaspects of your practice, plant, or shop.

Educating prospects and customers
“In 2019 the Guigals opened their wine museum in Ampuis, which introduces visitors to the history of vineyards and winemaking in the Rhone dating back to Roman Times.”

Content writers need to include information that can continue to have relevance even months and years later, material that is evergreen and which adds to readers’ knowledge of the subject.,

While becoming a wine connoisseur may be furthest from your mind, these “sips” from Wine Spectator can offer valuable insights for creators of marketing content.

 

 

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Content That Connects Theme to Character

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“It might seem like nonfiction writers get off easy when it comes to developing characters; we don’t have to create them from whole cloth…the people we’re writing about already exist,”  everand.com remarks..True, but when it comes to creating content for online marketing, what I’ve found is that, while the “characters” certainly exist, readers too often have never been properly introduced to them!

In one of the very earliest books I read on content creation, Creating Buzz With Blogs, Ted Demopoulos posited that content creates buzz when people feel as if they know you, because “people like to do business with people they know”.  In other words, content needs to provide valuable information to readers, but that content needs to introduce the people who are providing the products and services being marketed.

Scott Greggory of Forbes calls it “highlighting your humanity to help your brand stand out”. “If your company sells a certain brand of tires, cell phones, or frozen pizza, you are literally no different from every other establishment that sells the same item,” Greggory says. What differentiates your company and builds loyalty is only a more human experience.

Writer’s Digest  contributor Sharon Short uses the Wizard of Oz  as an example:

What’s the story really about? Finding value and joy in home and family.  But that’s hardly memorable enough to entice a book purchase, Stone admits.  It’s the characters – Dorothy herself, Scarecrow, the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, the Wicked Witch of West,  Aunt Em, who connect with and impact readers.

 There are many aspects to be considered in creating online marketing content, including offering how-to tips, emphasizing unique aspects of the product or service being offered, opinion pieces on industry issues, and offering “startling statistics” to emphasize the scope of the problem you’re offering to help solve.

At Say It For You, we know that, when searchers find your post or article, they already have an interest in (and probably some core knowledge about) your subject. To move them to the next step, you need to “prove your case”, demonstrating that you know a lot about the problem you’re proposing to solve, and that you and your staff have the experience, training, and degrees needed to solve that problem. You might even “get into the weeds” by offering specific recommendations.

But, as an integral part of “brand positioning”, highlight the “characters” in the story, we remind business owners and professional practitioners, those people who have been — and who will be — delivering on that brand. In marketing content, it’s vital to connect theme to character.

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Simplify Selling With Technology and AI

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According to multiple studies, sales reps spend less than one-third of their time actually  “selling”.

Meanwhile, selling itself has become more complex than ever before, with more administrative work required for each sale. With the virtual world allowing more buyers to be more involved in every conversation, sellers are simply overwhelmed and unable to stay on top of the multitude of tasks and touchpoints.

You might be asking yourself, how could AI solve this problem?  Doesn’t more technology lead to more complexity?

And the answer is yes, it can — if not implemented properly.

The #1 reason for using AI in sales, according to a recent Harvard Business Review article, is to make a sales rep’s life easier, not harder. If used properly, Artificial Intelligence can be a powerful tool and act as a teammate for a salesperson.

AI can handle the non-selling activities – preparing for meetings, researching industries, updating the CRM, and handling all manner of repetitive tasks, allowing the salesperson to increase the amount of time they spend building relationships, finding opportunities, and ultimately — closing deals.

These benefits don’t apply to only enterprise level companies.  Entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, and small businesses have just as much to gain from this time-saving technology.

Gartner Magic Quadrant for Access Management predicts that if implemented properly, AI could be used to save 27% of a sales rep’s time.  Since, as noted above, those sales reps are now spending only one third of their time selling, might technology at least double their effectiveness?

Artificial Intelligence is still advancing, and, every day, we are learning more about how to make the most efficient use of it.

 It’s still early in the game. For salespeople, the key is staying informed enough to not be left behind.

Today’s guest post was contributed by Jordan Ledwein,”the AI Sales Guy”. A Certified Sandler Trainer and a Partner in Sales Lift, a HubSpot Agency, is a frequent guest on Sandler podcasts and webinars, sharing strategies to help sales professionals combine methodology and technology and “sell smarter”. For more information, check out https://www.sandler.com/training-centers/i10-solutions-llc/ and https://saleslift.com/  .

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Content Creators Need to Think Like Wolves

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After re-visiting Michael Breus’ book The Power of When, I’ve concluded that, in order to create marketing content for a business or practice over the long-term, we need to think like wolves….

The book, based on circadian biology, explains that there is a best time for each of us to eat lunch, ask for a raise, write a novel, and take our meds, depending on our individual “chronotype”. 50% of people are Bears (who prefer a solar based schedule and have a high sleep drive). Dolphins are light sleepers, while Lions are morning-oriented. The author describes wolves as “night-oriented creative extroverts” with a medium sleep drive.

From a content-marketing point of view, a key clue may be found on Page 77 of Breus’ book, where the author notes that “wolves see every situation from multiple vantage points”.  The big thing about content marketing, I’ve often explained to business owners and professional practitioners, is learning how to keep on keeping on. No doubt about it, sustaining content writing over long periods of time without losing reader (or writer!) excitement is the real challenge, one that “wolves” are best equipped to handle using their ability to approach the topic from “multiple vantage points”.

  • In order to add variety, I teach content writers to experiment with different formats, including how-to posts, list posts, opinion pieces, and interviews.
  • Different articles can present the same business from different vantage points, “featuring” different employees and different departments within the company.
  • Individual posts – or series of posts – can be tailored to different segments of the customer base.
  • Different pieces of content can offer valuable information and advice relating to different aspects of the business’ or the practice’s product or service offerings.

While “wolves are creative and completely open to trying new things,” the author cautions, “they do run into some trouble sticking with it”. Breus’ advice? “Be spontaneous about the direction you choose, so long as you take walks and eat meals on your correct bio time.”

My own advice, meanwhile, is that sustaining an engaging business blog  over the course of years is very do-able – so long as you stay engaged.  Keep learning by “reading around” – books, blogs, articles, magazines, almanacs – you name it, all to stay aware of developments, cultural changes, even controversies.

Whatever your circadian biology, in content writing, it helps to think like a wolf!

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