who is your customer?

you can’t create content until you determine your audience.

by becky livingston
the accountant’s social media handbook

there are a lot of moving parts to a content strategy, but when you’re working alone or with a small staff, it’s hard to keep the roles and responsibilities clear as to who is doing what.

more on social media: how to craft a social media profile | which social media should you use? | determine your target audience | what is social media? | how social media works with accountants’ top 5 marketing goals

i recommend creating a content calendar to help keep the machine running and moving like a well-oiled machine. here is a short list of reasons why most brands develop a content marketing strategy, to:

• increase leads to your website at a low cost,
• become a thought leader in your industry,
• build relationships / excite influencers and
• move leads through the sales funnel.

why is buyer persona important?

you want to know who your buyers are, and the type of journey they take as they move through a buying process. to help increase leads and conversions, you need to understand their buying behavior and what triggers them to act.

activity

in order to define where to go for content, as well as to determine the type of content you need to create, you must first know:

1) where your client gets his/her information. choose all that apply and fill in the “other” field for other options.

• internet
• email
• youtube
• social media
• reading
• radio
• tv
• newspaper
• in-person events
• networking
• other: _____________________________________________

2) what are the buyer’s pain points and challenges about getting a product/service like yours?

• price
• availability
• access
• convenience
• industry experience
• other: ________________________________________

3) what is your key marketing message when speaking with this target audience / buyer persona?

for example, “we offer a wide range of services specifically for our manufacturing clients that we know you’ll be able to use to increase your firm bottom line.”

 write a few potential marketing messages for your firm’s brand.

_____________________________________________

_____________________________________________

_____________________________________________

 

now that you know more about your buyer, think about their journey through the buying process. what steps do they take before actually consuming or buying your product or service?

1. start as a qualified lead.
2. want to learn more about your products and services.
3. request a demonstration or meeting about the services.
4. invite a proposal for services.
5. begin the project scope and price negotiations.
6. close the deal.

here are the buying phases combined with potential content elements for each. consider what type of content, if it makes sense for your firm and if there are additional elements you could create and distribute to help move the lead through the buying process.

if you’re stumped about what you have that makes for good content, here are some ideas – current events, tips you’ve sent to clients that can be created into a collection, past blog articles that have done well, best practices, lists (bulleted and ranked), interviews and q&a lists.

posted on june 1, 2016