Maximize Your Digital Marketing That's Can't Miss with Prospects

Digital marketing and social media content are crucial for gaining and building trust with prospective clients.

But developing valuable content for your digital brand can be a challenging process. Having a clear strategy ensures the content is effective and draws the correct response.

In this Channel Evolution Europe keynote, “The Marketing Superpower of Digital and Social Content,” Dec. 1, MSP design and brand expert Claire Jenks will show you ways to attract prospective customers through content marketing strategies. She’ll share how blogs, videos, knowledge banks, infographics, downloadable PDFs and checklists can net results.

Claire Jenks

In a Q&A with Channel Futures, Jenks provides a sneak peek of the content she’ll share with attendees.

Channel Futures: What are some tips for building effective digital marketing and social content? Is it difficult to build content that connects with potential customers?

Claire Jenks: The best tips for building effective digital and social content is to think about education, engagement and entertainment. You want to create content that fits into one of these three categories and is more effective when it is. Forget selling. Think about being helpful and sharing more about the business and being human. An easy way to build effective content is to think from your clients’ and potential clients’ perspective. Answering their frequently asked questions (FAQs) is a great way of doing this. Sharing case studies that they might relate to is another. People also buy from people. So don’t be afraid to show off the people behind the business and get them involved in creating content.

CF: What are some common mistakes that can lead to ineffective digital marketing and social content?

CJ: The most common mistake which leads to ineffective digital and social content is inconsistency. Being consistent with both is where you create the most impact. Businesses will try and do everything, start to create video, blogs, emails, social media as well as running the day-to-day operations. Unless you have a team behind you, this can all become overwhelming and it will all come to a halt. Few months down the line, they start again and the same thing happens. It’s best to find something that works for you, targets your audience in the right way and something you can be consistent with. If you choose to only post on LinkedIn twice a week, that’s absolutely fine. Be consistent with it and the rewards will come.

CF: What difference can effective digital and social content make for your business?

CJ: Effective digital and social content can help to establish you as an authority in your field or area. By using digital and social content to show off your expertise in a helpful way, it goes a long way to keeping you front and center for new potential clients. And it builds the trust and relationships with your current clients, too.

How many people go to social media these days to check a company out? If a potential customer goes to your Facebook page and you haven’t posted in five years, that …

… doesn’t paint a first good impression. They will wonder if you’re still in business at all. Alternatively, they go to your Facebook page and it’s full of recent news and updates, helpful articles and checklists, for example, and you’ve immediately stood out to the potential client, they will dive in further to find out more about you. If you then share content consistently (helpful content, especially in recent times) you will increase your brand awareness, trust and that potential client will think of you first when they need help and support.

Likewise for current clients, knowledge banks full of articles, videos and downloads, for example, are a great way of being helpful. Sharing all your content in one place that clients can access that answer their questions, before they’ve even gotten to you. They’re super happy, and you’ve been super helpful. That client will love you more and will continue to renew their contract with you.

CF: Is effective digital marketing and social content particularly important amid the COVID-19 pandemic? If so, why?

CJ: During the full COVID-19 pandemic, IT business owners, MSPs and IT solution providers have really been key workers. They’ve been there to ensure businesses can continue to operate and, in some more serious cases, stay in business at all. Digital and social content has been a way of keeping clients updated with news and announcements, as well as being a way of providing help and expertise from a far.

Whether its social content to let their audience know they’re still open and available to help, or providing downloadable checklists on how to create a working-from-home setup for business owners and their teams, it’s an important and powerful way of keeping front and center of people’s minds, and providing ongoing help to whoever may need it. Nowadays, everyone goes to websites or social media as their first port of call for information, so it’s even more so during the pandemic to have that online presence. It can be seen as a type of customer service, helping where you can.

CF: What do you hope attendees learn and can make use of from your keynote?

CJ: I hope attendees will learn what digital content is and the impact it can have on their business if done effectively. I hope they’ll go away brimming with content ideas that they can start to implement in their business easily in order to strengthen their online presence.