Every now and then someone makes an argument that really resonates with you. That happened to me yesterday morning when I attended a presentation that PR firm SpeakerBox held at Viget Labs. The featured speaker was Joe Pulizzi, author of Get Content. Get Customers.
Joe talked about how marketing has entered a new paradigm. Talking at potential customers about how good you are is a dead end, not to mention a gigantic waste of resources. A better approach is to engage in content marketing. Content marketing is possible if you know what information your customers value. In the professional services, content marketing usually revolves around helping clients find practical solutions to key problems — and that means pushing valuable information to clients and prospects. As Joe so eloquently puts it, we should think of ourselves as publishers as much as marketers.
The rise of the Internet and social media is what makes this strategy so compelling today. If you have content that is truly useful to your target market, your audience will spread it for you — “publish it and they will come.” Those of you who have been following our blog will recognize how consistent this is with the research in our just released study, How Buyers Buy. Buyers of professional services want you to understand their situation and provide solutions to the problems and challenges they face. So stop telling everyone how great and smart you are. Instead, start being helpful. Amen, Joe. Check out Joe Pulizzi's blog to learn more.
