“Organic? Not sure — I’ll pass.”
You sell a line of genuinely all-natural, organic and cruelty-free products, yet hundreds of customers each year still pass you by because they don’t trust you.
Especially amongst juggernaut brands, greenwashing abounds like no other. No longer will shoppers trust a green leaf on packaging or even the words “all natural.” Customers are tired of being greenwashed and you’re taking the hit for it. Do you ever have this fear?
If so, you’re not alone.
Excessive greenwashing has caused customers to raise their eyebrows and tap into the online resources they have at their fingertips — including major research firms such as the Environmental Working Group and authority blogs like My Beauty Bunny and No More Dirty Looks — to see if your brand is for real.
While you can’t force the trusty sources to give you a thumbs up, you can take matters into your own hands to start trust-based relationships with your existing and potential customers.
So what is the one thing you need to do to get people to trust — and buy from — you? Generously and freely share information that helps your customers in some way. And do it consistently using your unique voice.
The information should be one or more of the following:
- useful and helpful
- inspiring and motivational
- relevant
- entertaining
- share-worthy and shareable
- easily accessible
- visual
- well written and easy to read
On what platforms can you share this information?
- Your brand/company blog
- Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and other social media networks you’re active in
- eBooks and e-guides
- Audio presentations
- Video presentations (using YouTube or Vimeo)
- SlideShare
- Infographics
This is essentially content marketing. But it’s certainly not as simple as it seems!
Before you jump into it, you need to have a sustainable plan. The worst thing you can do it jump into writing random blog posts without goals or a target audience. Below is a general outline of what you should do before executing your content marketing:
- Define your target audience
- Identify your top business objectives
- Identify your Chief Editor. A chief editor will need to be assigned clear and distinctive roles to make this work. This person will effectively ensure that your content is purposeful and results-driven, and that your brand doesn’t become a blog-churning machine without any objectives.
- Identify staff members’ roles and responsibilities.
- Identify all the communications channels you will use
- Identify and engage potential and existing partners, collaborators, supporters and brand ambassadors
- Figure out what kinds of content you will publish based on the assessments of your customers, your brand, staff capacity, etc…
- Create an editorial calendar
Content marketing is a necessary and important investment, so if you’re confused at all make sure you find someone that can guide you!
Are you ready to get started? Great! If you need some help, feel free to contact me at info@sarahban.com.
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