As a C-level marketer, you are spending thousands on your assets; but perhaps your gated content is not receiving much attention.
Information is becoming more ubiquitous than ever. It is not unusual to see nearly identical material featured on five different publications. In an effort to break the cycle and avoid sounding like a broken record, you are eternally seeking hot new ways to create sensational, unique, and valuable content.
You need a killer promotional calendar with highly effective assets. This is why it is important for you to know that personalization is on the rise.
Your goal should not be to “personalize the customer experience.” Rather, the end goal is to legitimately and sincerely solve problems for each and every customer. By providing help and value, you earn loyal customers who will return the favor in a heartbeat.
It is equally important to understand that education is the forefront of selling; especially within enterprise companies. Buyers do not want to be bombarded with forms and required to give detailed information before converting. They want ample, clear information and resources that enable them to make an educated buying decision.
Build Your Promotional Calendar:
Why do you need a promotional calendar? Is its sole purpose to organize your content schedule throughout the year? No!
The right promotional calendar enables you to meet your marketing source deals goals for the quarter. Each month should have a detailed plan that supports its unique revenue goals.
Base your promotions on this (weekly) formula:
1 Acquisition Promotion + 1 Activation Promotion + 1 Retention Promotion
This sounds like an avalanche of emails, doesn’t it? Well, email marketing is STILL the best way to spread your message and effectively convert leads.
Now let’s dive deep into your promotions calendar and figure out how to create an extraordinary, memorable experience that supports your marketing goals.
Email drops may or may not work like a charm (depending on the list). In order to build the database, you’ll want to supplement with ads and banners.
Before considering an email drop, ask these questions:
- What is the open-rate?
- What is the click-through rate?
- What is the average amount of conversions per email (This could be a form)?
- How active is your list?
Here is what a typical promotion layout looks like:
- Week #1:
- Promotion #1: Content Marketing Video Course (value $2000)
- Week #2:
- Promotion #2: Marketing Metrics Tool Flash Sales (value $24)
- Promotion #3: Playbook Email Drop (Entice leads to book a demo)
- Week #3:
- Promotion #3 (Continued): Playbook Email Drop (Warm them up to book a demo)
- Week #4:
- Promotion #4: $1 Product Free Trial
- Promotion #5: Content Strategy Template Asset
The briefing on each promotion and why:
- Promotion #1: The Content Marketing Video Course is a high-value offer that focuses on short-term gratification. It is strategically placed at the beginning of the month when businesses are likely looking for new ways to implement their strategies and improve their revenue streams. This promotion should both offer the help they need and provide proof of your credibility. Think low-dollar, high value. It should be a no-brainer acquisition offer that engages them for the offers coming ahead.
- Promotion #2: The Marketing Metrics tool is another low-dollar offer. Flash sale offers are used to engage the disengaged audience and activate them. This tool works hand-in-hand with the first promotion for the month and continues to prepare them for the high-ticket core offer later on. The promotion will transform the acquisition leads into marketing qualified leads (MQLs). This is a one-time only offer. When the offer reaches the fatigue point the value will diminish.
- Promotion #3: The playbook email drop is designed to educate the acquired and activated audience about your core offer. It will provide them the value they need to make the right choice. Your audience is in the consideration stage at this point. They are still deciding whether to take you up on your offer. This is your shot to prove you have more value than your competitors. Change their perspective on your industry and convince them you can fill their current gaps. This specific playbook will talk about different tools marketers can use to precisely measure the most valuable metrics.
- Promotion #4: The $1 free trial creates a low-barrier to entry for non-buyers. This is an offer they can’t afford to miss out on. While it may not bring in a ton of revenue, it will help generate leads and drive significant traffic to the core offer. Your offer can be in the form for a tool kit, physical product, or consulting/strategy session. If the company has written a book, market it as a free gift and only charge for shipping.
- Promotion #5: This is a weekend lead generating asset. Keep this asset running on the weekends and watch your conversion rates soar.
Bulk Up the Promotional Calendar:
There are many ways to transform non-buyers into passionate customers using your latest assets and emails in your promotional calendar. Nowadays it takes more than just a company name and collateral to win the hearts of your buyers.
In the mountains of content, your buyers only turn their heads for that which is highly personalized. For them, this is the needle in the haystack. When they find it, they feel like they hit the jackpot. You fulfill their desire to feel exclusive, unique and valued. If you want their time, then you will have to personalize.
Lead Generation Ideas:
Newsletters
Create a survey and collect qualitative data about your customer data. Look for information such as the following:
What your target audience likes to read
- What your target audience likes to read
- Special interests
- Learning channels they follow
- Idols they respect
- Events they attend
- What challenges they are they looking to solve
Next, segment your lists and create different buckets for your audience. These buckets will allow you to build a personalized customer experience based on specific interests.
When it comes to your customer data, there is room for inaccuracy when you base your findings on personas. While personas are a great start, two target customers who are categorized in the same audience may have different interests. Extraordinary promotional calendars take this into account.
Once you collect the data, it is time to create a newsletter with a tailored approach and even a personalized note from the CEO. Little things like this have the effect of making each lead feel exclusive and involved in the process. If you want to impress your audience, make it all about them and their interests.
If your newsletter is too similar to the myriad of sales emails your audience is receiving, you can bet on sky-high unsubscription rates. Audiences are exhausted with the same content from multiple origins. They are only hungry for that which is uniquely applicable.
Blogposts:
Each and every article you write for an audience should be custom written with a purpose in mind. While “thought leadership” content was once effective, the tide has turned to favor customer experience.
What types of content have the power to instantly help your customers? What types of content offer solutions to their challenges? What types of content will subconsciously reel them in and cause them to gravitate towards your offer? Can they instantly apply your content and receive that short-term gratification.
We have found that our audience doesn’t have time to set aside and expand their knowledge on our product. They prefer to learn in bite-sized pieces that apply immediately. This is why virtual reality is the education of the future.
Here are some quick and easy blog post ideas:
- Design slides that go over insights from a webinar. Slides can be broken down into 9-10 solid takeaways.
- Build an infographic that takes different quotes from a webinar and puts them into an appealing visual.
- Create comics from insightful topics and showcase different scenarios.
Videos:
When it comes to video, Vidyard is an example of a company that crushes it with their personalized video campaigns. They developed an invigorating coffee campaign during Dreamforce. Knowing that most people love their morning coffee and can’t live without it, they gave away personalized coffee cups to those who visited their booth. As people continue to use the cups, they will be reminded of Vidyard.
Here are a few ways to use video to attract millions with your marketing message:
- Make it memorable and emotion evoking
- Be personable and relatable
- Use visuals to demonstrate the messages and insights
- Get as creative as possible
Use movies to help you create compelling campaigns to reach your target audience.
Giveaways
Giveaways are a great way to incentivize people to sign up for your email list, give you their contact information, or fill out surveys. The sky is the limit as to what you can offer.
Here are some ideas:
- A personalized gift that relates to your campaign (like the coffee cups from Vidyard)
- Free services
- Your e-Book
- Gift cards
- Creative opportunities to be featured on your website
Depending on the situation, you may be offering a contest in which a small number of winners are chosen or, rather, you may be offering a prize to all who exchange their information. Choose what works best for your campaign.
Pro Tip: Offer an opportunity for people to increase their chances of winning by sharing your offer on their social media channels.
Building out your promotional content calendar in a purposeful, personalized manner is worth the extra time, money, and sweat. It will determine whether your campaign flops or flies, and it will directly affect the bottom line.
Do you have questions about what assets will work for YOU? Ask away in the comments below.
