Leverage Content Marketing To Build Credibility, Relationships and Online Exposure

Today`s consumers are often turning to the Internet to do research on places to eat, things to do, ways to make their life easier/better/richer, products they`re thinking about buying and vacations they`re thinking about taking. Traditional marketing tactics like flyers, ads and commercials don`t easily translate to the online world and capture the attention and interest of the consumer. Those types of marketing strategies often interrupt the online consumer making them frustrated or training them to not pay attention to those types of content pieces. Now more than ever it`s critical that you are intercepting the consumer`s attention versus interrupting them in order to stand out from competition and get noticed online. The way to do this is through content marketing. According to the Content Marketing Institute, "content marketing is a marketing technique of creating and distributing valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and acquire a clearly defined audience – with the objective of driving profitable customer action". How do you come up with content (article or blog post, video, eBook, guide, infographic, checklist, etc.) that is valuable and relevant to your customers? Step into their shoes and spend some time understanding their lives. Things like their lifestyle, family, career, hobbies and interests, books they read, TV shows they watch, music they listen to, problems that keep them up at night, things they Google, their goals and aspirations, etc. When you take the time to get to know and understand your customer, you`ll find areas of opportunities to teach, add value, relate and connect with them. Why do you want to do this? Because we buy from people we know, like and trust. To get to know a brand, like them and build trust, the company needs to provide something of value, teach us something, relate to us and connect with us. In order to come up with a content marketing strategy that works for your business, you need to understand your customers. Most likely you have several different customer groups to target, so be sure to fully understand each group. After you understand your customers, start brainstorming content pieces that you can create and then publish and promote online (or in print). To get a better understanding of how this would relate to you, here are a few content marketing ideas specifically for jewelers.

• Pinterest board featuring top destination wedding hot spots
• Webpage with the top honeymoon spots within a 100-mile radius of your town or city
• Wedding to-do and planning checklist
• Blog post about unique wedding ideas and décor for the ceremony or reception
• Infographic featuring the top 10 places to celebrate your anniversary within your town or city
• Video filled with unique places to take mom on Mother`s Day
• Infographic of things for fathers and sons to do together locally
• Webpage featuring wedding resources like recommended caterers, photographers, event venues and wedding planners.
• Blog post about thoughtful gift-giving suggestions
• Pinterest board featuring unique ways to pop the question
• Guide on buying the right engagement ring
• Infographic featuring top trends – rings/necklaces/stones/cuts/colors/etc.
• Blog post featuring tips to a stress-free wedding week
• Tips about cleaning jewelry or how to extend the life of a watch battery
• Facebook photo album showcasing unique Valentine`s Day gift ideas for men
• Pinterest board of recipes for a romantic night in

As you can tell, these ideas further the relationship, making you a credible source that is not only selling diamonds but also wants to provide resources and content that helps your customer. Take about a competitive advantage! And not only are these ideas helpful to the consumer, they`re shareable as well which empowers the consumer to promote your content piece to their networks, giving you free exposure. Now it`s your turn. Take the time to get to know each customer group, and then brainstorm content marketing ideas that will help, teach and/or inspire them. Then, pick your top 3-5 ideas and turn them into an actual content piece (graphic, blog post, Pinterest board, etc.) If you`re not a graphic designer, use the below tools to help you create imagery and/or videos: Canva.com Picmonkey.com Animoto.com Infogr.am If you create something you`re excited about, or something that gets a lot of interaction, please share it with us by leaving a comment on either the Crystal Media Facebook Page at facebook.com/crystalmediamarketing and/or on the RDI Diamond Facebook Page at facebook.com/rdidiamonds. Crystal Vilkaitis is the owner of Crystal Media; a company dedicated to helping retailers integrate proven social media, mobile and email marketing strategies into their businesses. She is also the Social Media Expert at RDI Diamonds. Learn more at crystalmedia.co/rdidiamonds