Getting The Basics Right Is The Battle Worryingly, much of South Africa’s SME activity is locked into a subsistence paradigm, where the business supports only the financial needs of its owner, and fails to contribute to economic growth meaningfully. Less can be said about its ability to create jobs. According to SME South Africa: Only 13% of SMEs Employ More Than 5 People. One of the primary issues within the country’s SME sector is a simple lack of experience. Government policy makers, government SME development agencies and local large corporations have little on-the-ground experience of the daily reality of life as a South African SME entrepreneur. As a result, SME development programmes are often hopelessly out of context, and hinder, rather than help support the development of SME’s. A ‘Catalyst 4 Growth’ study states that: High-cost BDS (Business Development Support) had the worst performing SMEs. This indicates that the high cost of a BDS programme does not necessarily translate to high-quality performance outcomes.Also, the most frequent reason for business discontinuance was the entrepreneurs finding other employment for themselves. img-1 It is therefore not surprising why most entrepreneurs fail; because they start businesses due to a lack of employment. I believe much reflection and conversations needs to be had to properly unpack the SME development environment, before we can confidently provide solutions. What are your thoughts on the above? KK Diaz

Introduction

The need to create content that generates traffic to your website or other online and offline destinations will remain a staple of business and marketing for some time to come. If you haven’t started taking creating content seriously, you may be forced to shut your doors soon. Especially considering the ChatGPT-error we live in, where anyone with an internet connection can churn out Seth Godin-esque content by the hundreds.

 

In this article I share a content creation framework that has worked for me and my clients for years. It’ll help you create compelling, valuable and relevant content that addresses the pain points and goals of your ideal customers. Thereby helping you generate traffic and convert leads into paying customers.

 

There are many different types of content that you can create, including:

–              Blog posts

–              Ebooks

–              Whitepapers

–              Infographics

–              Webinars

–              Case studies

–              Videos

 

When creating content, it’s important to remember that not all content is created equal. Some types of content, such as blog posts and infographics, are better suited for attracting visitors to your website, while others, such as ebooks and whitepapers, are better suited for converting leads into customers.

 

When creating content, it’s also essential to keep your buyer personas’ pain points and goals in mind, and to write in a tone and style that appeals to them.

 

It’s also important to optimize your content for search engines (SEO). By including relevant keywords and phrases, you can increase the chances of your content appearing in search engine results when your target audience is looking for solutions to their problems.

 

Below are seven (7) effective steps to create content that captivates, resonates, and converts traffic into qualified leads. By following these steps, you’ll be on your way to building a powerful content marketing engine that drives sustainable growth.

Step 1: Define Your Content Categories

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To streamline your content creation efforts, begin by identifying no more than five primary content categories that align with your products and\or services. These categories will serve as the foundation for your content strategy and allow you to organically cover topics directly related to your business and expertise.

 

Examples of content categories for a human resource business might include:

  • –              Leadership Development,

    –              Hiring Best Practices,

    –              Organisational Culture,

    –              Talent Retention, and

    –              Executive Coaching.

 

Prompt for ChatGPT or similar: Use the prompt below to develop a list of content categories for your business:

 

Prompt: Act like an SEO expert and recognised blog writer. Help me structure a content calendar and plan that will help me attract and convert traffic into qualified leads. Identify five primary blog article content categories that align with my products and services as a [replace this bracket section with your business type, eg: a plumbing business, restaurant, banking app, etc and include your target audience].

 

Prompt Eg: Act like an SEO expert and recognised blog writer. Help me structure a content calendar and plan that will attract and convert traffic into qualified leads. To start, only provide me with five primary blog article content categories that align with my products and services for a Human Resource Consultancy for startups and small businesses.

 

Edit the results to your desired results to give it a personal taste.

Step 2: Generate Keyword-Rich Article Titles and Ideas

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Next, brainstorm ten keyword-based blog articles for each content category. Utilize tools like Google AdWords, Keyword Planner, SEMrush and ChatGPT to identify relevant keywords and phrases that your target audience is likely to search for. By aligning with these keywords, you can begin the process of writing your content for search engines to increase organic visibility.

 

For a ” Human Resource Consultancy ” you might explore articles on:

–              HR Best Practices for Small Businesses,

–              Employee Engagement and Retention Strategies, and

–              HR Technology Solutions and Tools.

 

Prompt for ChatGPT or similar: Continue in the same chat you used to create your content categories above. Next, copy the prompt below to generate a list of keyword-rich article titles for your content categories.

 

Prompt: Based on the content categories above, brainstorm ten keyword-rich blog article titles related to each one of the content categories for my content.

Step 3: Develop Your Content Calendar

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Scheduling your content ideas and the writing thereof into a calendar. Do this by assigning a content category as a content theme for each week or bi-week you intent to publish an article. Do not shy away from repeating your content categories as weekly themes across the 12, 36 or 52-weeks of your content calendar.

 

For instance, Week 1’s theme could focus on “Branding Best Practices,” followed by Week 2’s theme of “Sales and Conversion Strategies.”

 

This approach allows you to:

–              coverage of each topic area comprehensively across an extended period,

–              helps you get better organised at producing your content, and

–              ensures a consistent steady flow of fresh and valuable content for your audience.

 

Prompt for ChatGPT or similar: Continue in the same chat you used in the previous step. Next, copy the prompt below to create a calendar for your content plan.

 

Prompt: Organize the content titles and ideas above into a monthly content calendar. Randomly assign each content category as a theme for specific weeks and include an article for each [week or every 2 weeks]. Ensure it is in a calendar table format starting [insert month and year].

 

Prompt Eg: Organize the content titles and ideas above into a monthly content calendar. Randomly assign each content category as a theme for specific weeks and include an article for each week. Ensure it is in a calendar table format starting May 2024.

 

And, voila! Now you have a comprehensive content plan with keyword-rich article titles in a calendar format and schedule to help you get organised.

 

Please Note: If ChatGPT stops before it finishes. Simply click, ‘Continue’ or ensure you’ve copied your prompt correctly and ‘Regenerate’ the request.

 

To help you stay focused, import or copy your content calendar into your project manage, Google or Outlook calendar so you don’t miss your writing schedule.

Step 4: Write Engaging Blog Article Content

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Now that you have your content categories, article ideas, and a content schedule, it’s time to start writing and producing your content. Prioritize creating engaging, informative, and insightful blog articles that provide real value to your audience. Starting with articles will help you easily branch out into other forms of content like videos, ebooks and webinars.

 

Writing can be done using various forms and channels. These include:

–              Manually writing content from your professional expertise and personal perspective.

–              Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) writing tools like Jasper and ChatGPT,

–              Working with your team to collaborate on articles and other content,

–              Outsourcing to ghost writers, and

–              Using a combination of the above.

 

Remember to:

–              Incorporate eye-catching visuals, such as infographics or custom-designed images to enhance the overall reader experience.

–              Maintain consistency with your brand voice and imagery throughout all your content assets.

 

Prompt for ChatGPT or similar: Due to the number of ways you can structure article writing prompts, this and subsequent prompts we’ll unfortunately leave out to avoid confusing readers or derailing the rest of the article.  Start a new chat to write each of your articles.  

 

I hope the prompts above helped to get you started in the right direction 😊

Step 5: Create Irresistible Lead Magnets for Conversion

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Leverage the power of lead magnets to capture and convert your website visitors into qualified leads using lead magnets.

 

A lead magnet is a valuable and educational piece of content provided to potential clients in exchange for their contact details. Leads will typically give you their contact details in exchange for this lead magnet because they perceive it to be equally valuable, educational, and likely to help them solve an important problem or to unlock an opportunity.

 

Examples of lead magnets include free webinars, ebooks, free consulting sessions, or software demos. Lead magnets are usually offered through online forms on your website or landing pages, or through physical forms at events or place of business.

 

Lead magnets are a great way to reasonably and objectively segment your website visitors and suspects who converted into interested leads.

 

To identify ideal lead magnets for your marketing campaign, select four compelling article titles from your content calendar above and transform them into valuable resources such as ebooks, webinars, surveys, quizzes, or industry reports. These resources should:

–              delve deeper into your subject matter,

–              offer additional value and insights to your audience,

–              serve as incentives for your audience to provide you with their contact information in exchange,

–              give you more to nurture your new and existing customer relationships, and

–              help you move prospects further down the sales funnel.

 

By creating a variety of lead magnets based on the same content, you cater to different preferences and learning styles. This helps you captivate an even wider range of potential leads while further positioning your business and personal brand as a thought leader in your industry. All the while not forgetting that lead magnets provide you with qualified leads.

Step 6: Create Social Media Posts

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Craft 2 – 4 attention-grabbing social media posts based on the key takeaways from your articles and lead magnets. Pre-write your social media posts at least 2 – 4 weeks ahead to help you plan ahead and save time when needing to put content out.

 

–              Use emojis and hashtags sparingly.

–              Consider ways you can infuse to make your posts go viral.

–              Use engaging visuals and compelling captions to entice your followers to read your posts and click-through to consume your content on your website or landing page.

Step 7: Publish and Promote

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Publish your articles on optimized platforms, such as your website’s blog, LinkedIn’s publishing platform, or Medium in order to maximize your content’s reach and potential leads. Each platform requires its own strategy to ensure visibility and engagement, so tailor your content accordingly.

 

Implementing SEO best practices earlier on in your writing process, including relevant keywords and meta descriptions, will help your articles rank higher in search engine results, driving organic traffic.

 

Harness the power of social media to promote your content and nurture your followers. Platforms like LinkedIn, X (formerly known as Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram offer excellent opportunities to connect with your target audience, share links to your content and drive traffic to your website.

 

Another way to leverage social media to promote your content is to ensure you have social media share buttons on your blog articles. This enables readers to easily share your published content to their favourite platform, directing their fans and followers back to your website and content.

 

Create and send a newsletter out regularly to your subscribers. Use email marketing to complement your content promotion efforts while nurturing your converted leads, prospects and existing customers. This newsletter educate your audience, showcase the highlights of your latest articles and lead magnets, and entice recipients to click through and engage further with your content.

In conclusion

 

By following these 7-steps above you’ll be well-equipped to consistently create content that attracts, engages, and converts traffic into qualified leads. Remember to prioritize value, authenticity, and brand consistency throughout your content strategy, constantly adapting and refining based on audience feedback.

 

With a robust content marketing engine in place, you’ll establish your brand as a go-to source of valuable insights and build lasting relationships with your audience.

 

Start today and unlock the true potential of your content. Please come back to me know if this framework has helped you.

 

If you’d like to get further assistance in developing your content strategy and to leverage your over all digital marketing, we have 2 options below. We can either do-it-for-you as part of our Digital Marketing Services or we can teach and coach you to do-it-yourself through our Digital Marketing Toolkit.

 

See both options below and request a no-obligation free proposal.   

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