"Stories That Sell » Blog" - 5 new articles
Buyers Link to Case Studies from Blogs, WikisIn just the past six months, marketers have really begun embracing social media. They’re blogging, building Facebook fans and Tweeting. Yet, much of it is still experimentation. The question is, how do you get people to link to the content on your site from social media venues? Case studies are a top draw for technology buyers, but mostly linked from blogs and wikis versus other social media, according to a recent report from IDG Knowledge Hub.
The report, Social Media and the IT Investment Process: Linking Social Conversations to Content, includes findings from a survey of 100 information technology buying team members regarding the links they most want to see. According to the report, the wrong content types can be worse than none at all. "Over 40% of social media participants are interested in pursuing links to vendor-generated content…Winners’ will be vendors that build a relevant content bridge to draw the conversation towards their own hosted platforms and insight." What works? The report points out that preferences vary by investment type, buying role and the type of business impact (technical, financial, business impact). Here are the top three preferred content items for various social media tools: Blogs Case study, advertisement, tutorial/how-to Discussion boards/forums Tutorial/how-to, free-event registration, evaluation version Messaging/live chat Free-event registration, ROI calculator, presentation Microblogs Advertisement, technical knowledgebase, free-event registration Social networks Free-event registration, advertisement, ROI calculator Wikis Tutorial/how-to, technical white paper, case study Do you track your content consumption by incoming links? What are you seeing in terms of linkage from social media? My Success Story: Small Biz Owner Takes Control of WebsiteWhen I hear a good success story, I want to share it. And this time, it’s about my website. I’m a small business. As other small biz owners out there can likely attest, often the key to sanity (and profitability) is knowing what to do in house and what to hire out. Minor updates or changes to my website definitely fall into the in-house category. I want the flexibility to make changes fast and without fees here and there. Now I can. The "how" is what’s interesting. I moved my entire Stories That Sell website onto a WordPress blog platform on the urging of my longtime web guy, Ray Gulick of Evolution Web Development (Evo). Evo created the award-winning Evo4 CMS WordPress theme platform. The move immediately gave me two huge benefits:
I should have done this sooner! Here’s why: Search engines love change
Now, the same goes for my website. It’s about the easiest and cheapest content management system I could have. Not only is my blog integrated right into my site (so blog readers see site navigation), but I can change ALL the other content on there easily - add new articles, update event dates, put up a press release. As Ray says, "blogs are search engine magnets," with frequently updated, relevant content, so a blog platform naturally gives the site a traffic edge. 200+ percent more traffic
That alone raised my site traffic more than 200 percent in the weeks following the change. Moving forward, my site’s traffic should continue increasing because of the search engine effects of regularly changing content. I didn’t realize the power of dynamic content until now. Want to know more? What’s Your Favorite Case Study?
I’m always on the lookout for stellar examples of customer case studies and success stories. When the ClickInsights blog asked me and four others to answer the question, "What’s your most favorite case study?" I was eager to share, and see the cases that others named as well. In the post, five professionals experienced with case studies name their favorites and explain why. How about nominating your favorite case study here? Give Your Success Stories Their Own Website?
On most business websites, you have to dig to find a single story. If you do find any, it’s usually after you’ve waded through levels of capabilities copy and promises. So separate company sites that are dedicated solely to stories are refreshing. They get it. Stories That Sell, the book, highlights companies like Toyota and Sage Software for their separate story websites. (The latter, created for a specific campaign, is no longer live.) The latest to come to my attention is The Ford Story. American car makers have had one of the roughest years ever. But Ford has been surprisingly successful ($997 million profit in JUST this past quarter) and is making sure it tells its best stories. The online Ford Story website tells internal Ford stories, such as what’s going on in R&D. But it mostly showcases customer success stories.
A large "Submit Your Stories" box encourages customers to share written versions of their stories in under 500 words, and add photos and videos. Ford also enables comments on all its content, encouraging interaction. Why a unique niche site? Almost like an online magazine, it allows a company to separate the story from the product/service facts and promises. In doing so, that story stands out more. That’s not to say that your main site shouldn’t include success stories. But niche sites help give extra attention to specific messages you want to reinforce. Check it out. It’s an engaging site, even if you’re not in the market for a car. What do you think about this separate site approach? Are Your Case Studies ‘Human’ Enough?
Every night, I watch the national evening news for a quick summary of what’s going on in the world. Whether the story’s about swine flu or the weather, the reporters almost always bring in the human element – and lead with that human connection to engage the audience. How? By featuring people affected by the story’s topic. The same goes for selling complex technology solutions or consulting services, or anything for that matter. People like to hear about other people, not just about inanimate products or intangible services. When you read a customer case study or success story without much of a human element, it’s flat and truly less interesting. Here are 4 ways to bring the human element into your customer stories: Quotes OK, this seems obvious. But surprisingly, there are case studies out there without quotes! Quotes are the sound bites, the actual voices of the characters in your story. Ideally, you should feature customer quotes in several places throughout your story. If for whatever reason you cannot quote someone from the customer’s organization, then quote someone in your company or the reseller/partner. People read quotes when they don’t read paraphrasing, so use the quotes to emphasize the most important points of your story. Have a Hero Most customer contacts want to be the hero of your story. They made the solid decision to bring in this winning product or service. Give the audience a bit more insight into who this person is. Is she a seasoned industry veteran? Is she managing a large global team? What issues keep her up at night? Spend a little time (not a lot) helping readers or viewers get to know your protagonist in the story. Emotion Here’s where case studies differ from a brochure, datasheet or white paper. Emotion is a natural part of a good story. There’s frustration before a customer implements your new solution. There’s relief once things are better. And there’s excitement over the impact of a product or service. Show that range of emotions. Just be careful not to overdramatize too much. It’s a case study, not a soap opera. Challenges Believable stories are not all rosy. On the path to something better, there are obstacles. It’s sensitive to talk about weaknesses in your product or service. That’s understandable. But don’t just talk about the customer’s "before" challenges in your story. Show the ups and downs as you go along. You might mention how the customer and vendor worked through a data migration issue that arose, faced a tight turnaround time, or how employees were initially skeptical about the new solution. Then when you follow with successful outcomes, they’re sweeter when the audience knows what was behind it all. What else? How do you humanize your stories? More Recent Articles |
