360PSG BLOG National Give Something Away Day
Today is National Give Something Away Day—and 360 PSG is giving away some free advice as to why YOU should give stuff away too, specifically content. It might seem counterintuitive to give anything away, especially when you’re in the business of selling. But giving away content helps potential customers make connections between what they care about and how your company can meet their needs. Free content is an important part of the marketing funnel because it helps convert potential customers into paying customers. In fact, most qualified leads are generated because of free content.
Still not sure about giving away content? Here are five ways giving away content can help your business improve:
- Free content is a chance to show potential customers that you have area expertise. When you create and distribute helpful content full of useful information that makes people’s lives easier, you’re positioning your company as an authority on your topic, meaning people will be more likely to turn to your company when they need a product or service.
- Free content gives your potential customers a sample of what they can expect when they develop a relationship with you. Free samples are the bedrock of product sales, which is why coupons and product samples are so popular—Just think about how many kiosks there usually are in wholesale stores like Sam’s Club and BJ’s, giving stuff away. But the concept of “free samples” extends far beyond some free chips or a packet of detergent you can use. You can give away content like resource guides, videos, ebooks and more!
- Free content is a marketing tool. When you create free content that can be shared and posted on social media, you’re dramatically increasing your reach. Free content creates opportunities to direct web traffic to your site, to convert leads to sales and develop relationships.
- Free content builds brand loyalty. With every helpful bit of advice, neat little hack or secret tip you share, you strengthen the bond you have with your audience—and that helps your audience become loyal fans, even unofficial brand ambassadors. These are the people who will follow your company with passion, speak and write well about it, and even defend it. Devoted fans of your brand are priceless, and delivering free content is a great way to build that relationship.
- Free content helps you make more sales. It’s really that simple. When you aren’t afraid to give away a little knowledge or share some expertise, you’ll discover that people are more interested in doing business with you. They’ve seen a little of what you can do; they trust you to be an expert; and they’ve developed a rapport with you. Of course they want to be your customer!
Admittedly, there are some people who will never move past consuming your free content. And that’s OK because they are very likely to still be sharing your content with others—others who will be interested in products they have to pay for.
There’s really no down side to giving away content, so long as you give away the right type of content. Give away the five Ws: who, what, when, where and why. Give away inspirational messaging, tips and tricks, stories, opinions. Just don’t give away the how, or what our Director of Search & Social Media likes to call the “secret sauce.” This is what your customers need to pay for—the training you can provide, the templates you’ve created, the programs you’ve designed, the processes you’ve developed, the products you’ve created. And they will pay for all this and more because you’ve shown them who you are and what your company is about via all that free content you’ve developed and distributed.
Don’t know where to start when it comes to content creation? The expert writers at 360 PSG have you covered. To learn more about the content creation process at 360 PSG, and what goals good content can help your business achieve, please get in touch with our content services department via this form:
