I was attracted to this session because I had read Marcus Sheridan’s book, They Ask You Answer. I certainly was not disappointed with this Social Media Marketing World presentation. Sheridan from The Sales Lion is a dynamic speaker with a lot of lessons to share.

Sheridan began his presentation with a simple question, “How do you define great content?” Ultimately, content must make money. He stressed that this was the ultimate goal. One of his most popular articles made him over $3 million in sales.

He cautioned to track the right metrics. Don’t get caught up in the views. What are the key performance indicators?

5 Types of Content

Sheridan highlighted five types of content that you should be creating.

1. Content that looks at the Good, Bad, and Ugly of your industry. Focus on what the buyer wants. The buyer wants you to answer their questions. When doing so, you must be authentic. Most importantly, don’t worry about your competition. They will not be answering these questions.
2. Content that openly discusses money, costs, pricing, rates. People want to know what something costs. In most cases, they will go to another vendor if they can’t find a price on your site. If the price scares them, they were not your audience. Also, your competitors already know what you charge, why hide it from the public.
3. Content that is willing to turn customers away. You are not the business for everyone. It is essential to write content that explains who you are not a good fit for.
4. Content that promotes self-selection. Sheridan pointed out that we have a “me” revolution. People want to know, “What’s in it for me?” What questions are your customers asking? Are you answering them?
5. All video content designed to replace or supplement other content. By 2019, 80% of content will be video.

“We are media organizations, whether we like it or not.” ~ Marcus Sheridan

If we are not showing it, it does not exist.

To support this last type, Sheridan shared video ideas that will help your bottom line.

7 Types of Videos to Create

1. 80% video – Create videos that address 80% of your questions. Sheridan also suggested combining these videos into one FAQ video.
2. Bio video – Create videos that tell your story.
3. Product service page videos – Create a video for each one of your services.
4. Landing page videos – Create videos for each of your landing pages. It results in an 80% lift in conversions. The purpose of the video is to release the fear someone may have of purchasing a service.
5. Case Studies – Talk about problems and solutions, both good and bad.
6. Claims we make – If you are making a claim, back it up with a video.
7. Who we are not a good fit for – You business is not for everyone. Save time and effort on everyone’s part by weeding out the audience that will not use your services.

Finally, Sheridan stressed that people must see, hear, and know you before you will know them. You must build up trust.

Additional Reading

• Book Review: They Ask You Answer: A Revolutionary Approach to Inbound Sales, Content Marketing, and Today’s Digital Consumer
• #SMMW18: State of Social Media
• 9 Ways to Refresh Blog Posts to Increase Traffic
• Book Review: Master Content Marketing: A Simple Strategy to Cure the Blank Page Blues and Attract a Profitable Audience

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