Seven months ago, I was retained by a fine painting and
decorating firm, DFAF, Inc. Painting and
Decorating, to assist with creating a differentiated brand, and promote the
brand with content marketing on numerous digital platforms. Here is a brief
overview of my journey with DFAF – a wonderful one at that.
The Challenge. The owner – an artisan and color guru – wanted
to tip the balance of her business toward
more lucrative 1-up custom painting and fine finishing jobs, and away from
the more commodity-like paint contracts that didn’t allow her to express her
artistic skills and instincts. DFAF has 15
direct competitors in California’s Coachella Valley, and she wanted to stand
out ahead of the pack.
Strategy. After taking the owner and entrepreneur through
a series of exploratory exercises, I created a formalized brand strategy whose
objectives were to convey preeminence for DFAF’s quality work, expertise, and
professionalism, and elevate the owner to that of ‘thought leader’ in its
narrow niche market.
Tactics. Upon completion of an annual marketing plan
for DFAF, we got busy with the tactics that would drive new and building success.
1.
SEO and New
Website Design. Copy on the site was
sparse and not optimized. As a result, DFAF was nowhere to be found on Google
searches. The site architecture did nothing
to compel viewers to stay and explore it.
So my first task was to write and upload new optimized copy and oversee
the revamping of the navigation on the site to create a more dynamic and
interactive environment.
2.
Social
Media. Four key social media sites
were identified, and I started posting content every 15 days that would provide
interesting and stimulating information about color, painting techniques, and
trends in design. Every post had to be written in the ‘owner’s voice’, each accompanied by a stunning, attention grabbing
visual – and most important – provide a unique point of view that would come
from a ‘thought leader’.
3.
E-Commerce.
DFAF wanted to reach every B2B and B2C
customer or prospect with timely newsletters that – again – provided a learning
experience and a unique point of view.
Constant Contact is being employed to reach sub-segmented audiences with
monthly newsletters – written and designed to be ‘opened’.
4.
Blogging. Each and every social post and newsletter has
the potential to be customized or expanded upon for the website blog page. Thus, every time I post or publish on social
media or Constant Contact, a corresponding blog post is uploaded to the
website.
5.
Networking. Various outreach opportunities were identified
for regular networking in the communities of the Coachella Valley, and the
owner is regularly attending these events to personally promote a business that
is poised for growth – and to also associate her face as a ‘though leader’ and
influencer.
Does It Work? YES IT DOES ! The website started coming up on page one of
Google searches soon after the SEO copy
was uploaded, and hits on site tripled in the first week. Once the new
site navigation went live, we saw bounce rates drop around 10% and stickiness
increase around 10%. Opens and reaches
on social media posts continue to
build in volume and – on average – have tripled since the social media program
started in May. For the e-Newsletters, open rates have ranged
from 36% to 51% with an average open rate of 42% as bad contacts have been purged, and new
ones added with qualified contacts. The
last 3 posts produced virtually no bounces or unsubscribes. The database has grown
to 180 active, qualified prospects. Research infers an open rate of 42% in a narrow category covering such a small
geographic footprint is an impressive metric.
On an anecdotal note, a few
B2B colleagues have noted DFAF’s activity and commented to the owner that they have
come to recognize her as somebody who is taking a fresh view of the industry –
thus differentiating her business . Best of all, they want to work with her now.
Does It Cost a Fortune? NO IT
DOESN’T ! Given the continuous
exposure for DFAF brand in social media
and e-Commerce platforms, the cost is nominal when compared to the use of
traditional mass media and direct marketing which tends to throw dollars
against a wall. And, during this time,
my client and I have developed a partnership as well. The work is fun, gratifying and it is showing
positive results.
So, yes, armed
with a solid brand marketing strategy and the use of affordable tactics that
are producing a continuous upticks in all metrics provide a solid rationale for
using content marketing to promote your small business. If you’re interested in content marketing for
your small business, shoot me a message.
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