Lisa Apolinski, CMC is the CEO of 3 Dog Write. She is a content coach, teaching business owners how to use their content to attract more right-fit clients so that they experience the positive ROI on marketing and business development investments.
She has written several books, including Persuade With A Digital Content Story, named one of the top content marketing books in the world and most recently as a co-author on The Most Amazing Marketing Book Ever, an Amazon #1 new release.
She has been featured in Forbes and The New York Times for her expertise on digital storytelling and has been dubbed “America’s Digital Content Futurist”.
What do you think are the biggest mistakes you see businesses make with their content when they're trying to focus on that trust factor?
I actually had a conversation with a client today about this some feedback she was getting from her mentor who is heavily into sales. And I'm not saying that sales is bad. They're simply different ways of being.
He was pushing her to put all sorts of call to actions and you don't have a call to action in your posts on social media. And I said, well, hold on a second. What are you creating your content for if you don't have clarity around what it is that you are hoping your content will do besides drive revenue?
Because we all know the content really should be helping you to make more money, but how do you get there is the question. If you're constantly pushing calls to action or take this next step or sign up now or click on this link. It feels very sell-y and it feels very icky.
People know how social media posts work. People know how websites work. People know how the internet works. It can be a lot more subtle, where people are engaging with you through your content and learning about you, and then from there, allowing them to decide how they want to take the next step.
Do they visit your website? Do they do a Google search on you? Do they attend a webinar you're in or a podcast? Do they sign up for your newsletter? Let them decide. Don't shove call to actions in their face where it's unnecessary. You can certainly guide them.
Mark Schaefer talked about this. The customer is the marketer now. The customer is deciding the path. And if you think you're in charge of their digital path, that thought process and that ability has absolutely gone by the wayside because there are so many ways for people to engage with you and your content.
So if I would drill it down into one big issue that I see people making now as a mistake is trying to control the digital journey versus allowing your audience, who's very savvy to discover you in a way that's right for them. And that allowance of letting them have control that absolutely builds that trust factor that we talked about.
What is one thing that businesses can work on in their content today to help improve these relationships with prospects?
Add in stories. People are hardwired for stories.
I don't know if you noticed, but I've told you three stories so far. They don't have to be long, but it helps to share information. Show how it's relevant. Because people are hardwired for stories, they absorb that information a lot faster and they hold onto it a lot longer. So if you have information that you need to provide on how the journey would be to work with you, put it in a story format. Talk about a former customer or client who is similar in their journey and how they made it to the finish line.
And in my “Persuade With A Digital Content Story,” I actually give you a six-step formula to create persuasive stories within your content. You're not selling, you're not pushing features and benefits, and you're making it relevant to your audience. Again, it has value to your audience because it's the information that they want, not the information that you think you need to push.
So when you add in stories, it also makes the conversation more enjoyable to consume. And with all the content that's available today, having storytelling is, to me, the fastest way to get your content read and to get it out of that content noise and actually show up for your audience.
Connect with Lisa!
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3 Dog Write
257: Nurture and Grow your Community through Facebook Groups - with Cierra Lueck
256: Change the Way you Communicate - with Cynthia Kane
255: Network with a Mindset of Curiosity - with Ariel Kopac
254: Put yourself out there and try new things - with David Splitgerber
253: Live Life with Margin - with Tommy Thompson
252: The Magic Connection Method - with Brandon Fong
251: Stop trading time for money - with Tracy Brinkmann
250: Match what's on the inside with the outside - with Andy Gallion
249: Don't be afraid to reach out - with Chris Larsen
248: Data and Analytics: What to focus on - with Lori Highby
247: Make the most of every opportunity - with Takeyla Tyson
246: Focus on where you want to grow - with Dr. Susan Lovelle
245: Digital Marketing Research Fundamentals - with Lori Highby
244: Network in bite-sized pieces - with Dr. Jim Bohn
243: Start Building Your Bank - with Debbie Seeger
242: Join a Virtual Community - with Tanya Stanfield
241: Be willing to try new things - with Jennifer White
240: All things LinkedIn - with Wayne Breitbarth
239: Grow and support yourself - with Heather Breedlove
238: Deliver value - with Agostino Pintus
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