You have taken the time to research and define your buyer personas. You know who they are, understand their pain points and have mapped where they spend their time online. Now that you have all this information, how do you get their attention? Create something of value; provide information that can help them define their problem. Educate them about their problem, let them know a solution is achievable. Do all of this with an offer.
When developing an offer start determining where in the Buyer’s Journey this offer will apply. Awareness. Consideration. Decision. Most of your offers will be targeting those in the Awareness Stage which gives you the opportunity to capture them as a lead. In the Awareness stage customers are still trying to define their problem. Their research efforts are centered on industry information that will help them identify the symptoms or problem. Offers created for this stage need to provide educational information rather than be promotional. The focus of the offer is to help the buyer understand their problem.
Set goals. A few metrics you can easily measure include page views, amount of time on your landing page, lead generation rate. Before you create an offer that attracts, define your goals and make sure you have the tools to measure them.
"As with any relationship, the market favors those who give more value than they ask for." ― Leslie Bradshaw, Former COO, President and Co-Founder of JESS3
Since your offer is targeting those buyers in the Awareness Stage your offer can be as simple as a blog post or developed into a more tangible piece such as an eGuide or Checklist. Content developed for an offer can always be leveraged into blog post that ties back to the offer. For example, if you create an offer that is a checklist for planning a business celebration, you can then write a blog post regarding the importance of covering all your bases to ensure a successful party.
Different types of offers include
- Checklist
- eBook/eGuide
- Infographic
- Whitepaper
and for later in the Buyer’s Journey:
- Comparison Chart
- Case Studies
- Webinar
- Video
- Product Demo/Tour
Prior to writing the copy for your offer, identify the relevant terms you will use within the piece. These are your keywords. You can find these terms by asking your current customers, or make a list of topics that are most relevant to your business. They may be one word, or a phrase (actually a phrase – 3 words or longer - is better for SEO). Using keywords is important, as this is one of the determining factors that are used for ranking within search. Phrases of keywords, known as long-tailed keywords rank better. Determine the keyword that you will focus on within the piece, include it in the title and again when you promote your offer.
List the distribution venues for promoting your offer. Promote using the social media networks where your buyers are spending their time. This is not a one-size-fits all. Customize your copy, identify or create the images necessary for promotion for each network. To be effective, each social media network requires a their own unique piece of content.
"Invite people into your brand, and lean into the possibilities. Build movements, not campaigns!" ― Ekaterina Walter, Author of Think Like Zuck
Finally, after developing the offer, create a landing page with a form to capture the lead information and a thank-you page where they will download the offer.
With a little time and planning, you can create and promote and offer that will you’re your buyer personas AND help you to attract new buyers.