Use PR to create content that moves customers to action

Turn leads into customers by inspiring and motivating them

You have plenty of visitors come to your website each month. Now, what do you want them to do once they’re there? Getting visitors to your website is only half the battle. It takes the right content to move a prospect from lead to customer. That requires public relations.

When people come to your website, they expect you to entertain or inform them. You also must transform them – convince and inspire them to take action. A good public relations firm can help you develop content to move leads through the sales funnel faster.

Elements of successful content

An emotional edge. Content that amuses, enlightens or tugs at the heartstrings can be a powerful way to spur action. You might consider a video with anecdotes from satisfied customers or a funny story about mishaps that occurred when you were first starting out. You can also raise awareness about a major concern in your industry. When people care about an issue, they may want to do more.

Something new. The opportunity to be included at the beginning of a new trend or revolutionary idea is hard to resist. Giving customers a sneak peek at a developing product or project will make them feel special and valued and provides incentive to take action.

A different point of view. By taking something already published and turning it on its head, you can educate your readers and position yourself as a thought-leader on the subject. Explaining why your competition may be wrong can help prospects, especially during the consideration stage of the buyer’s journey. Offer information that allows a lead to make a more knowledgeable decision, such as a guide or comparison chart.

Relevance. Great content for the wrong audience is just as useless as trying to sell cat food to a dog owner. Your content must be interesting to your target audience, timely and pertinent to their lifestyle. Remember: It is possible to provide useful information without making it a long advertisement for your product. In fact, this is what all companies should strive for.

Need-fulfillment. Ultimately, prospects are looking to solve a problem, answer a question or make a decision. Your content must give them what they want. Only then will they be receptive to any call to action you may create.

What you must do to motivate customers

Know what brought them to you in the first place.

It is vital to capitalize on what is already working. For example, if the source was a blog post, the visitor is likely looking for you to educate them about your industry; so, a good strategy is to offer something with more in-depth information in exchange for his email address.

Decide what you want them to do.

You can create tons of content, but if it doesn’t lead visitors to a desired action, you might as well consider it a waste of time. Figure out what success looks like (downloading an e-book, registering for a webinar, providing contact information, etc.) and make sure your content points visitors in that direction.

Measure results.

The best ideas will not be effective if you don’t know whether they are working. Activities such as clicks, subscriptions, shares and sales will tell you if your messages are successful.

Adjust as necessary.

If communications tools are not working, don’t just throw up your hands and give up. Continuously monitor actions and responses to make changes until you find what works.

Hire a PR agency to help you.

There is an old saying, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.” At Axia Public Relations, we don’t believe this is true when it comes to customers and content. We will help your company with a smart content management strategy designed to increase your visibility, enhance your brand and drive more leads. Contact us to learn more about our inbound methodology or take a HubSpot video tour today.

Lisa Goldsberry is a blogger for Axia Public Relations with more than 15 years of public relations experience. She specializes in business and technology PR. Lisa has worked for Axia since December 2013. Learn more about Lisa Goldsberry. Connect with Axia on Twitter @axiapr or tell us what you think in the comments below.