I know. You’ve read 989 articles all about why you need to start blogging today. But you still have no idea where to start.
You are also trying to figure out how blogging can actually help your business.
But most of all you need to answer the following: Where do I start?
To start, let me explain how I begin a new branding project:
I start with copy, crafting words of clarity to articulate what a firm does so well and who will benefit from what they have to offer. This is often a mix of positioning, tagline, naming, but it depends on the project. Regardless, I always like to start by crafting copy that not only describes the company’s expertise, but tells their unique story, helps define them as a leader in their space, and speaks to the right audience—their ideal customer.
Why do I start with copy? Because a visual story is worthless without clear copy directed at the right audience.
And this is where we come back to the power of blogging and how important content marketing is for professional services firms.
Crafting, then watching a company’s new brand sprout and flourish excites me. Helping them tell a meaningful company story excites me even more. That process of telling an ongoing story is content marketing in a nutshell. And the best way to start content marketing… write a blog. It might even help you dominate your market.
If you create valuable content directed at the right audience, on a consistent basis, you have the power to amplify your message, speak to your ideal customer, and maybe even shift their behavior.
So, how does blogging have the power to shift your ideal client’s behavior?
Well, if you are worried about repetition, take a look at this post before you read on.
As Marcus wrote, “Content marketing is an Equal Opportunity Employer.” True that. I don’t care if you’re a lawyer in Baton Rouge or an engineer in Boulder, you’ll accomplish some amazing things if you blog the right way.
So, how does a professional services firm start blogging? Start writing about what you know and don’t worry about perfection.
To me, effective branding begins and ends with a solid content strategy. A solid content marketing strategy starts with blogging done right. And you can start your blogging planning now.
So, how does my professional services firm start blogging? (Start by repurposing your current marketing materials.)
Think about that brochure or report you spent hundreds of hours creating? Did you get return on the time and money you invested? Do you have an idea of how many people read it? Were those pieces easy to distribute and get into the hands of your ideal prospects?
Now think about this. What if you took one of these pieces, edited it, and set it up so you could place it on your website? Would this help your ideal customer? Would it draw them in?
Say you’ve created a white paper which details a particular service your firm provides—it details a solution to a common problem, one your ideal customer needs help with.
Why not turn that white paper into a numbered list, detailing the steps to the solution? Turn the numbered list into a pdf. Place the pdf on your website and make it easy to download, or create an email sign up form so they have to sign up to download the pdf. Simple.
But this is just the beginning. Now draft 5, 10, 20 blog posts, a single post for each step in the pdf. Build a blog schedule around this so one post goes out each week.
Simple, right? So, why not start today?
Repurposing on Steroids
Ana Hoffman over at Traffic Generation Cafe has a great blog post that goes deep into repurposing with her Content Marketing Leverage System: How to Multiply Your Reach.
If your professional services firm doesn’t have a site designer to deliver the above and help turn ideal prospects into customers, well, maybe it’s time to change things up. If you’re now saying, but Craig, I don’t have time, well, stop and think about time and money you’ve spent on past marketing efforts that haven’t lead to the results your firm wants and needs. A well-crafted content marketing system—starting with blogging—can do that.
If you want to learn more about how McBreen Media can help your professional services firm improve its online marketing, and help you get started with practices like blogging, contact us today and let’s start a conversation.
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