Caring is Sharing: A Not-For-Profit Strategy

Good content (and good marketing) is about solving customer problems.

But... how do you make people care enough about their problems to buy your product or subscribe to your solution?

Contrary to popular belief, marketing isn't about convincing people that they need your product or tricking anyone into buying something they didn't want.

In a perfect world, customers have a problem or need, and companies recognize that need and attempt to fill the gap with their service. Proper marketing is demonstrating how your business' solution addresses that need, and does it better than the competition.

But we don't live in a perfect world, do we? So as marketers we often find that our customers either don't recognize their own need or, if they do see it, just don't care enough to do anything about it. How do you make them care? Can you make them care?

If the root of the problem is caring, then it may be time to take a leaf out of the books of charities worldwide. Think about it! A charity's ultimate goal is to create empathy in people who otherwise neither know nor care about whatever cause they're championing. So how do they do it?

1. Make the audience acknowledge the need
From shocking photos of devastation or starvation to the mournful notes of Sarah McLachlan, non-profits confront their audience with the cold, hard reality. You may not have neglected puppies at your disposal, but you can shock and confront customers with the hard facts of their issue.

Are you a roofing contractor? Use the worst-case damages this winter's record snowfall has inflicted on homes throughout the area. Show photos of collapsed roofs, ice dams, and leaking ceilings. Even for industries not dramatically affected by historic snow, you can find ways to show your audience that a need exists.

2. Demonstrate why it's important
The children will live, the poor country will thrive, the oceans will stay clear. Charitable groups spend all their time and energy explaining to potential donors why their cause is important and what benefit it will bring. You should do the same! As far as customers are concerned, ok sure maybe there's a gap or a problem but.... eh. I'll think about it tomorrow. It's your job to show why it's important right now.

Back to our trusty roofer. What happens if damaged roofs aren't inspected and repaired? Warn of the impending dangers if these problems are not resolved, or how ignoring the problem can make it even worse (and more costly) down the road.

3. Prove your solution is the best solution
Even charities compete for funds. They have to tell their donors why their organization is better than others, even for similar causes. Whether it's religious ties, the way they work with local groups on the ground, or the transparency with which they operate, they state their case for why your money is best given to them. Why are you better than your competition?

So we need to get our roof repaired - you've convinced me. Why should I let you be the one to do it? There are dozens of contractors in my area. The burden of proof is yours to establish why your solution, product, or service is the right choice.

Sometimes, customers can use that extra push to recognize a need in their lives. Give them the nudge they need to take steps towards resolving their problems!

Know Your S-E-Os

Do you know your S-E-Os? 

Site optimization is, without a doubt, one of the most important things you can do to build your business and actually get your website found by customers. But it can also be intimidating, confusing, complicated, and technical.

What do?

It's simple - just practice your S-E-Os!

Simplify your website

• Think 1 page per topic. Your website's inner pages are more than just places to put info - they're landing pages! Make sure they focus on a specific keyword or search term you want people to find you for - and name your pages accordingly.
• Use a clean layout and simple design to make sure your content is distinct and not buried in clutter. This makes your actionable items and calls to action stand out (and more likely to convert).
• Eliminate content that wastes valuable real estate. Make room for quality content! That means info or items that are irrelevant to your audience, blurry or low-res photos, and bad keyword-stuffed writing.

Ensure you're following best practices

• Your meta data has specific parameters that make it effective and worth spending time on. SEO rules are there for a reason! Follow them. Google even has their own guide to best practices to keep you on track.
• Title tags should be fewer than 70 characters (ideally more like 50-60). Meta descriptions should be no longer than 170 characters, and include a CTA so customers can call right from the Google search page if they want to! 
• Remember: spaces count as characters!
• Optimize your images too, with descriptive alt text to help customers and search crawlers find their way to your site.

Opt for original content

• Google knows (and will punish you for) plagiarized or copied content. So make sure your writing is unique, your own, and true to your business.
• Your customers know too, and will abandon you for higher quality sites, also impacting your search rankings. Content can make or break you: make it count!
• Use your content to create (and promote) your brand's personality and voice, give descriptions of your unique services, and to go into detail about what makes your business special (and worth committing to over a competitor).

Now I know my SEOs, let's see how my search rank goes.

Going Meta: The Structure of a Blog, Prescribed

Blogging today can be tricky business for any business. How do you write a whole post of hundreds of words in a way that's lighthearted yet informative, concise yet detailed, straightforward yet interesting and engaging?

It all comes down to style and format. And for that, we're going meta!

Meta, according to Urban Dictionary

Using a bit of "prescriptive content" to show exactly what I mean, here's what your post should look like.

[ Header 1 ]

Nothing bores a reader faster than a wall of text using 20-dollar words and complex sentence structure. People reading online have the attention spans of goldfish, so it's important to keep it short and sweet. A clear focus will help you narrow your writing rather than going too big and diverse.

Simple sentences, skim-able layout, and succinct language are the keys to success, particularly when you're trying to explain concepts that aren't too familiar to your audience.

And short paragraphs are the glue you need to pull your writing together in a bite-size way.

[ Header 2 ]

Using clever or descriptive sub-headings provides readers with the information they need to decide if they want to read further. Designing your content with distinct sections, subsections, and bolded items is a way to allow your audience to see what's most important and where the content is going. 

When content is designed for skimming, it gives people a "Choose Your Own Adventure" reading experience where they decide which pieces they're interested in, and to what depth.

Here's where you put an introductory sentence that leads into an awesome list of points

• Line item 1: and a sentence to explain it, why it's important, and how you can make use of this information
• Line item 2: and a sentence to explain it, why it's important, and how you can make use of this information
• Line item 3: and a sentence to explain it, why it's important, and how you can make use of this information
• Line item 4: and a sentence to explain it, why it's important, and how you can make use of this information

You can conclude this section to wrap it up, or let it speak for itself, depending on what points you're making.

[ Header 3 ]

Since you don't want your blog to run too long, this maybe be a good point to start wrapping things up. Maybe you opened with background and then moved into the meat of the topic in that middle section. That makes this the final section where you summarize the points and draw it to a conclusion.

Regardless of logical flow, your blog should always address 3 main questions, regardless of subject: What is it? Why is it important? And how does it benefit? 

With those thoughts in mind and this prescriptive format to guide you, you're on your way to a solid blog post... or any other longer-form content!