Content marketing made easy
Hi there and welcome to the second of 5 blogs relating EAST behavioural insight theory to content marketing. Today I’m talking about the first principle of EAST: easy.
When it comes to the easy in EAST theory, what we’re getting at is simplifying processes. Studies into EAST show that people (in this case, potential customers) are more likely to adopt certain behaviours if it is easy to do so. Sounds pretty straight forward, right? Well; it is, and that’s another reason why I like the theory around EAST so much in this context. EAST as a theory in itself is a proponent of its own theory – it walks the walk while it talks the talk.
Relating easy to your campaign
So, you want to make your content marketing campaign ‘easy’? Great! Here are some examples of how this principle might be applied:
Offer customers the opportunity to engage
This opportunity to make things easier for potential customers can often be missed, and it’s a big one. If someone views your page, purchases a product, makes a comment… ask them to engage! It’s that simple – or should I say, easy.
For example, your target with a particular content marketing campaign might be to increase social media followers. You are making regular social media posts, you have scheduled your well-written blogs to post at the optimum times (we’ll get to ‘timely’ later), and you’re experimenting with different hashtags and keywords to draw in a more targeted audience. Fantastic! Now, all those people who are (hopefully) engaging positively with your brand that you’ve never seen before – send them an invitation to like your page!
That’s it. That’s the whole thing. Someone connects with you, you connect back. Make it easy for them to keep engaging with your brand. It is literally that easy.
Make your preferred outcome the default
… Or make it really easy for people to do. This might sound like common sense, but it is actually not something that everyone follows, so bear with me. One way of applying ‘easy’ to your content marketing, is to make what you most want your followers to do the default option. You might, for example, wish to build your email marketing list through your online sales portal. If you apply default ‘easy’ to this, you might include a pre-ticked box to ‘opt-in’ to subscribe to an email list.
This way seems a bit sneaky to some people – and in some ways, it is. Remember this is marketing and sales strategy we are talking about, so the aim is to influence people towards your desired outcome. Most people these days expect to be added to a mailing list if they are making an online purchase. At the very least, they would probably expect a follow-up email after a week or so, checking whether they are satisfied, and showcasing other items or services that they may be interested in based on their purchase. So make it easy for them to be on that list – but be ethical about it. Make sure they know they’re on it, and make it (almost) equally easy to opt-out.
Be easy to understand
I’ve covered convoluted technical jargon in marketing materials before, but I’m here to tell you again – you shouldn’t use it unless it’s actually necessary. And this is why:
If your potential customers don’t get what you’re saying, they won’t buy what you’re selling.
Talk to your customers the way you would talk to, you know, a normal person. Be conversational and friendly. There’s no need to be uptight; you can use simple, clear language and still sound professional. In fact, I would argue that organisations often sound more professional, the less jargon they use. They also usually sound like they have a better understanding of what they’re talking about.
Einstein said it best, “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.”
So be clear in your communications, put down the thesaurus, and just – talk. Say what you mean. Keep it short and sweet. If you want customers to participate in a certain way – say so. Your brand will get better qualified, better informed followers, and you will sound way more knowledgeable and approachable.
How easy was that?
That was pretty painless, right? Of course it was! Content marketing should be easy 😉 but hey, it isn’t everyone’s favourite thing. That’s where strategic marketing and copywriting professionals come in to help you out!
If you enjoyed this blog, you’re going to looove the next one – all about making content marketing attractive to consumers. So tune in, follow Blackwood Creative on social, or get in touch to talk more about how a strategic content marketing campaign could help your business! <3
Got an opinion? Questions? Anything? Leave a comment and let me know!
Image credits:
Game of Thrones, HBO (George RR Martin)
Albert Einstein via www.thequotes.in
