Online or Digital Marketing is not just about posting your products and services and asking potential clients to buy. It has long evolved and become so competitive that only those who play the game well end up taking the lead. In my previous post titled: 3 Damaging Errors Most Businesses are Making in their Digital Marketing Efforts, I did mention that “the Digital Marketing process is similar to how you would catch a fowl – by throwing grains of corn so they move closer to you.”

But how to do it is even more preoccupying.

If you own and operate a website, a Facebook or other social media handle for your business, it is non negotiable that for you to excel and get the most results, you must be able to capture the attention of the general public or your ideal customers.

This can be achieved through a marketing strategy directed to creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action, and make a sale.

But this will not just occur over-night.

The buying decision process begins when a consumer or consumer realizes that they have a need. They become aware they have a problem they need to solve or that there is a gap they need to fill.

At this point, the customer is still skeptical on what will solve their problem. They may only be aware that they want to change their reality or situation. Or they may have an idea about what will help them but are not quite sure which brand, product, service, or solution will provide a solution.

This is an opportunity that is created for online marketers to exploit. You play your cards well, you gain the client.

Read on…

Creating and sharing useful content will tell them who you are. This is when your interaction with them begins. And this is very valuable to your business because, naturally, if people don’t know who you are, they can’t join your audience or, most importantly, buy from you.

People must first learn about your business. And for that, content marketing is perhaps your best ally.

I will give you a practical market situation example:

Joe has problems with his phone in reaching out to his family out of home.

He constantly runs into one problem after the other each time he purchases a new smart-phone. He does not really know much about smartphones.

Consequently, he often either experiences battery problems, low storage capacity, phone freezing, cracked screens, poor network quality, poor camera to make video calls, take images, etc. He starts checking for solutions online.

Only a business that shows capability of solving his problem will get him as a new client.

If you own an electronics shop and help dish out useful content on common problems associated with smartphones, you are likely to get as many followers as you would handle.

Imagine, Joe, in the course of looking for a solution to his problem, comes across an Electronics Shop which does not only solely rely on advertising its products, but provides her audience with content such as:

• How to keep your phone battery healthy, last longer;
• How to detect an original phone from a fake one;
• How to detect an original phone from a fake one;
• Things to consider before buying a new phone;
• Checking camera quality of a phone;
• How to track your stolen phone;
• How to track your stolen phone;
• How to secure data in your phone;
• How to store your phone contacts forever,
• How to protect your phone screen from damaging,
• etc etc.

Just like you would do, Joe will tend to love what that particular shop gives them, and consequently, go for it when he need a new phone.

The relevant content you provide regularly has not only been useful or educative to the audience, but it has created a sense of security and confidence in them, and pushed them to believe that they can rely on you to get the best experience.