I don’t believe we’re doing enough to retain our audience’s interest as we create and share our content.
For larger businesses, maybe it’s the routine chore of following the editorial calendar? The urgency to ‘get it out’ to meet your weekly deadline.
For smaller businesses? Maybe time (yet again) is the biggest barrier. We simply don’t have time to think about the reason we create what we create. Content marketing. It’s the bandwagon we know we need to join.
How about you? I’ve just read your latest article. I’m there at the footer – what direction are you wanting me to take? Are you pointing me towards something that’s valuable to me?
THE HOOK
Hooks can be great. Erase that picture of a fish on the end of the line from your mind for just one minute. Hooks are created to turn interest into action. “Hey, love what you’ve just read? Grab our latest guide…”. You come across them all the time on your online journey. The great shame? They’re rarely placed in context.
What action do you want your article reader to take? What’s mutually beneficial? Most businesses appear happy to throw a few social media icons their reader’s way. I’m not so sure this adds value. My belief is it just leads people astray. What happened the last time you visited Facebook? It’s so easy to become distracted.
THE HANKERING
Overly used, rarely successful. Hankering, by definition, is the ‘desire to have or do something’. It’s a trap we (as marketers) can fall into so easily. You’ll see this (too often) on your dot com travels too. Selling things on the assumption that your reader is ready to buy. Or, spun on it’s head, blind selling. “Contact us now to book your next holiday”. What!?? I’m only toying with the idea of some new sunglasses.
The hankering struggles to sell in context when we don’t consider the motive of our reader. A visitor to your website does not equal a hot lead. A visitor to your blog article created purely to gain traffic? As cool a lead as a cool lead can be. I’m talking frosty.
THE HELPING HAND
This is where we turn our website into the wikipedia of our industry. The businesses that are actually creating content of value and seeing very little reward. I know it’s all the rage to talk about being helpful. There’s the fateful error of crossing the line into ‘charitable’ territory.
Where your reader thinks ‘I’ve got what I need, I can go now’. It’s a problem isn’t it?
This is where so many businesses are failing with their content strategy. They’re sharing immensely valuable information. They’re taking enormous amounts of time to make things look pretty and presented to ‘share’. However, they’re not taking ownership of that information. They’re not presenting that information as their own knowledge. Adding perspective
- the infographic that’s merely a consolidation of recent industry findings
- the blog article that regurgitates the latest industry news
- the video that provides a summary without diving into the detail ( or offering a source (the hook) to discover that detail )
It’s an ill-advised strategy to simply grow your traffic levels without thought for where folks are on their journey and how your content assists, or alters their direction.
The helping hand is the motorway sign telling you you’re 50 miles from your destination. A quick glance and a small comfort that you’re, at least, driving in the right direction.
THE HOOK WINS.
Yes, I know that picture is still in your mind. The flailing fish. We don’t shop in funnels, but 100+ years on, we’re still talking about them.
The hook provides accountability to your content creation. It identifies what is working for your content topics and what’s not.
I know that if I’ve written an article my reader (that’s you) finds of value, they’ll know my weekly newsletter offers the same theme and sharing of ideas. It’s consistent. You’ll see my own hook in action at the footer of this article. Why? It works. I know you’re not now reaching for the phone remonstrating to your colleagues “we need to get this guy into our business NOW!”.
I know that, with time (and consistency), I can present a little more of what I stand for and what I believe businesses can do better online. The best route for me is email. It’s where you can really get to know me (for better or worse).
I’m constantly testing the hook. The imagery, the content and the call to action.
This is what the internet allows us to do. To test ideas. If you’re testing ideas on your website you’re already in the minority. Most businesses are just content (not that content, the other one) to shove articles into the Google index and hope for the best. Quantity over quality, right?
It doesn’t work.
Figure out what your hook is. It may be a chapter of your book, a newsletter registration or an educational piece drip-fed through email. It’s not the ‘receive your free consultation by phone’ or ‘register for our £1000/month software solution’ message.
YOUR TASK
Take some time to consider what direction you want your blog article reader to head down. You need to consider how you can increase your value further. From the ‘sampler’ to the ‘main course’.
- Does the ‘read our next post’ really offer additional value?
- Are you using analytics tools to measure the success of your ‘next step’ message?
- Have you researched the marketing tools that are already on the market (if not, let me know, I can be of use)
The most important takeaway is that understanding and utilising a ‘hook’ is an exceptionally important marketing tool. It helps you jump on board the ride with your reader. It helps you advise on the journey ahead rather than placing a map on the passenger seat.
We just need to give ourselves some time to figure out how we go beyond being just a resource, a helping hand, and become the navigator on our customer’s journey.
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