People buy from those they consider to be credible experts in their industry. Content marketing is one tactic you can use to help position yourself and company as experts that your audience can trust. To be considered an expert and to gain the trust of your audience you must consistently provide one thing – value. Your content needs to help your audience solve a problem, improve their life, and move forward toward their goals, hopes and dreams.

Offline Value

Offline you can provide value in a number of ways. Some possibilities include:

* Seminars and workshops
* Articles in industry publications including newspapers
* Print newsletter
* Advertisements that provide tips, quotes, or incentives. For example, your newspaper ad offers 10% off services when customers mention the ad.

Online Value

Online value often looks much like offline value. Some possibilities include:

* Live events- online seminars and workshops
* Articles published on other sites, on your blog, on social media
* Email newsletter
* Advertisements

Offline and online, value is the same. The objective is to help your prospect or customer take a step toward your business. Your goal may be to motivate a purchase, to inspire an email opt-in, to encourage an upsell or repeat business.

The tactics aren’t mutually exclusive. You can use your offline content marketing to bolster your online content marketing and vice versa. The goal is to use what’s called “Complimentary strategies.” Next time we’ll talk about what complimentary strategies are in both content marketing via other marketing channels and we’ll also explore examples of how you can use it to build your business.

David Breth
Co-founder, Apple Pie Business Consulting

https://www.facebook.com/ApplePieBusinessConsulting
Premier Marketing Consulting – Within Reach!