Many companies have maintained a one-way relationship with their consumers online: here is our content…want to buy our product? They have loaded tons of content onto their site, slapped a few high-fives after it went live, and then they leaned back and pondered the great effort they just put forth. They might even have contemplated how fortunate their clients are now to have been blessed with such a wealth of information.
The problem to this one-way relationship, to the outbound message, is that it requires the client, the prospect, anyone that may benefit from that information to visit the corporate site, delve into the pages of whitepapers, articles, case studies and the like to find something that interests them. Many corporate efforts have floundered for this reason.
Enter the blog, social media and a true dialogue with the visitors to your website.
Companies are finding a new passion for the pursuit of the sale. Many are exploring the limitless possibilities of social media and are finding that it serves to answer more than just the one question: “How do we increase sales?”. Social engagement is arming companies and individuals with a powerful tool to broadcast their opinions, seek out collaborators, solve customer service issues quickly and efficiently, even recruit their newest team member.
So with that revelation, what can be salvaged from previous efforts? I say, everything!
Repurposing those whitepapers, special reports, internal studies, product demos, and focus group studies of your newest product can bring new life to a past effort. Assuming that the information is still relevant and not dated or functionally obsolescent reintroducing it to your consumer base can yield surprising results.
Use the content to educate rather than a weak attempt to hook a sale. Discover what your audience is seeking to learn, the questions they ask over and over or the product changes that they want to see. Look in your library of past content to see if the solution has already been discovered and if it has, share it with them, no strings attached. Take the solution to them on the various social networks and platforms that they frequent. Don’t wait for them to come to you. Offer your solution, your information and ask for nothing in return. As you build a rapport and add value the dialogue will prosper and the perceived value of your brand will shift.
Your interactions will produce results. Your clients and prospects will hear the signal. And if your solution or the information your provide is useful to them, they will respond in kind.
Have you ever reused a past report? Ever repurposed content? Tell me what you found and the results that you got the second time around. I want to know.
