I believe very strongly that every business that is serious about using the web to grow their revenues is, without realising it, becoming a media business. As soon as you start to create content and correspond with your customers, you are in the same category as a publisher or broadcaster. Here are some simple tips on how to get started building your own online media brand…
1. Decide on your audience
The crucial first step – just who are you talking to? Current valued customers, or prospects, or people who might talk about you to their friends? Be specific, even visualise who that core person is. You can expand the audience later, but for now be laser focussed.
2. Work out what they need from you
What are their concerns? What information are they seeking, and find hard to get elsewhere? What does your business do that is different? How might that affect the content or services you are providing? If you don’t know this from gut feel, try talking to a few representatives.
3. Think about what you can create
You may have some content already in existence – instructions, brochures, manuals, training materials, recently asked queries from customer services. Also work out if you have a budding wordsmith in your organisation who can create some new stuff to meet the needs you discovered in step#2. Start with simple ambitions.
4. Decide what you will be famous for
It is essential to focus! Don’t try to be everything. Work out where there is a gap and what suits your brand. Maybe you make food ingredients and have lots of ideas for recipes. Perhaps you are a training company and you want to provide some simple tools for managers to work out their training needs.
5. Test it out
Build a simple website (like this one, based around wordpress which is a blogging tool) and put up your content. Tell your customers and contacts about it. Listen to their feedback. Work out how you can lead them from your content to your main product.
If you are a non-media business venturing into the world of being a content producer, I’d love to hear your stories. Just click on the comment button.
Carolyn Morgan’s consultancy, Penmaen Media, helps media brands (whether owned by media organisations or not) grow in a digital world. Visit www.penmaen.media to find out more.