We all know that person who talks about nothing but themselves. Annoying, right? Well, your customers feel the same way when your content talks about nothing but your products or services!
As business owners and professionals, we do it to stay front of mind. But there are more effective ways to do this… and they have nothing to do with your business.
Your customers are looking for information, not self-promotion. So give them greater value and show your breadth of knowledge by sharing other people’s content.
This shows you not only know your own business, but understand and respect the expertise of other professionals in and outside your industry.
Here are our 5 quick tips for sourcing content your customers will love:
1. Watch your inbox
Almost everyone these days receives email newsletters. Whilst they might seem like annoying clutter sometimes, don’t hit delete just yet! Sometimes great information your customer would find useful is sitting right under your nose.
This makes curating content quicker and easier for too, as you don’t even need to do a Google search!
2. Leverage being an industry insider
Often the updates you receive from associations or bodies you’re a member of provide insights and information that people outside the industry simply don’t have access to.
Sharing this information not only gives your customer something new and interesting, it also positions you as the go-expert.
For example, a Melbourne real estate agent could share statistics or market data reported by the REIV (Real Estate Institute of Victoria).
3. Use a content storage tool
There are many free or low cost content curation apps available for your phone and desktop which allow you to find, categorise and store content you want to share.
These tools help you accumulate great material as you find it, rather than having to make time later and go searching for it.
Some great examples include Evernote Web Clipper (paid) and Pocket (free).
4. Subscribe to a news aggregator
There are lots of news and content aggregation tools available for every platform. These tools house articles from a wide variety of publications, from internationally renowned titles such as The Guardian to niche blogs like Wellness Mama. The content is easily filtered and categorised according to topic, so that whenever you need fresh content, there’s a shortlist ready.
Free tools to try include Flipboard and Feedly.
5. Share related topics
You have access to a wealth of great information about your industry – but don’t stop there. Only sharing your areas of expertise overlooks the fact that we’re often interested in other related industries or information.
For example, an engaged couple could be shopping for a reception venue, but might also like information about honeymoon destinations, losing weight or financial planning.
For more easy to implement content tips, check out our blog post You Have 8 Seconds to Get My Attention.
