Content Marketing for Consultants and Solo Practitioners: Playing to Your Strengths
Category: Small Business Strategy
How to Write a Case Study That Actually Converts
Most case studies read like press releases. Here’s how to write ones that actually persuade.
By Linda Pophal, MA, SPHR · Strategic Communications, LLC
A case study is a detailed, evidence-based account of how a specific client or customer achieved a measurable outcome using a product, service, or approach. Case studies are told in narrative form to help prospective buyers understand what results are possible and how they might be achieved in their own context. A well-written case study is one of the most persuasive content formats available to B2B marketers because it combines social proof (‘someone like me has done this’) with specificity (‘here’s exactly what happened and what it produced’).
I’ve written a lot of case studies over the years for clients across industries, in formats ranging from one-page snapshots to 3,000-word deep dives. Over that time I’ve read even more: the ones clients show me as examples of what they want, the ones competitors publish, the ones that show up as thought leadership assets in B2B sales cycles.
The pattern I see most often: case studies written for the company that produced them, not for the prospect who is supposed to be persuaded by them.
Continue reading “How to Write a Case Study That Actually Converts”
A Study in Contrasts: Companies That Go the Distance, and Those That Don’t…
Whatever happened to…
Over the past decade, we’ve seen a number of iconic brands simply disappear without a great deal of fanfare. On the other hand, we’ve seen the meteoric rise of new players that quickly captured the hearts, minds—and wallets—of consumers. But will they be able to sustain their gains? Only time will tell.
Here we take a look at some of the “losers,” and some of the “winners” and try to determine what it is that keeps a brand strong. Continue reading “A Study in Contrasts: Companies That Go the Distance, and Those That Don’t…”
Getting Local With Your Social With a Customer-First Approach
Social media can be a great way for businesses of all types and sizes to connect with their audiences and stay connected with them! In fact, for small businesses in particular, a social media strategy focused specifically on customers (rather than prospects, or the masses) offers the greatest potential to not only keep but to grow business.
Continue reading “Getting Local With Your Social With a Customer-First Approach”
When Considering Your Marketing Goals and Objectives, Get Real!
Many of you have probably been at goal-setting seminars or workshops where the leader will pose a question like: “Would you like to make more money?,” and, of course, everybody nods or raises their hand. Then the leader will approach a workshop participant and Continue reading “When Considering Your Marketing Goals and Objectives, Get Real!”
Unless You’re Starbucks, Target or Another Big Brand Player, Market Share Doesn’t Really Matter
And, quite honestly, it may not even really matter to them.
A lot of businesses worry unnecessarily about market share. It’s understandable because we read a lot about market share in the media. It’s something that big companies worry about a lot and, to a large degree, they need to. Smaller companies, though, really don’t need to be worried about market share. In fact, Continue reading “Unless You’re Starbucks, Target or Another Big Brand Player, Market Share Doesn’t Really Matter”
Stop the Insanity! Are You Continuing to Make These Same Mistakes Over and Over and Over and…?
You’ve no doubt heard the definition of insanity: “Doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results.”
It’s a common malady in the business world, and particularly evident these days during tough times. Companies know that the results they’re getting aren’t what they’d like to see and are not likely sustainable, yet they don’t quite know what to do about it. So they keep doing what they’ve always done in tough times – they Continue reading “Stop the Insanity! Are You Continuing to Make These Same Mistakes Over and Over and Over and…?”
Does Market Share Matter? Maybe. Maybe Not.
Does market share matter? It’s an old argument I had a number of years ago with an organization I worked for. They were very focused on market share. I didn’t think they needed to be. That focus, I felt, kept us from pursuing other marketing objectives that IMO would have been more meaningful.
Despite the fact that many large companies and brands do focus on market share, it doesn’t always matter.
A simple example will illustrate: Continue reading “Does Market Share Matter? Maybe. Maybe Not.”
Creating Content: A Role for Your Contacts and Connections
As content marketing has emerged as a top go-to tactic for marketers of all kinds in all industries, the challenge that many have been faced with is how to generate the massive amounts of content often required to feed the funnel. Even large organizations with internal staff dedicated to marketing and communications often find themselves turning to others for content creation.
That’s certainly a great thing for firms like ours, and we help a number of individuals and organizations create a variety of content. But there’s another great source of content that can be leveraged in big and small ways to help feed the demand for content: Continue reading “Creating Content: A Role for Your Contacts and Connections”
Tips for Finding Experts in Content and Content Marketing
I do a lot of presentations (and since the pandemic emerged, webinars) on marketing-related topics. When I do, I try to provide as much practical and useful advice as I can. I don’t worry about “giving away my secrets” for a couple of reasons:
- They’re not that secret—they’re just good, proven, elements of effective marketing and communication.
- Telling someone how to do something rarely translates into the ability to actually do that something.
- The small business owners and entrepreneurs—and, often, even senior and very seasoned marketing executives in large organizations—simply don’t have the time to do it themselves.
They often need to call upon others—agencies or freelancers—to help them out. Continue reading “Tips for Finding Experts in Content and Content Marketing”