Agencies have different ideas about how to produce cut-through content. Some will tell you that the key is the quality of the writing or videos you’re dishing up. Others will tell you that if you don’t have your search engine optimisation and reach down pat, you’ll be behind the pack. But this advice addresses only the delivery of your content. You also need to make a decision about its purpose.
You must decide whether the content you are creating is to be used for thought-leadership or as sales.
Content for thought-leadership
The term ‘thought-leadership’ is a beloved catchphrase of the marketing and communications fraternities. Content in a thought-leadership blog, article or video should focus on longer-term outcomes. A valuable thought-leadership program is designed to engage your clients in a way that makes them think and challenges their view of your organisation. It won’t be a hard sell, and the content should focus on what will engage and inform. The content won’t necessarily be about you or what your business does.
For example, if you’re talking to Millennials, a blog about the costs of international travel, especially if you get it wrong, will be more likely to grab their attention than, say, content about estate planning. There will be a finance aspect to the travel story or video that ties your firm to the content, but it won’t be a hard sell.
The point is that thought-leadership, whether it’s a blog, article, video or podcast, will be better received if it’s newsworthy and educational. It should also demonstrate to clients and prospective clients that you understand the topics and issues that engage them and how they relate to the services your industry provides.
Content to drive immediate sales
On the other hand, sales-driven content directly aims to stimulate a person to buy a product or service from your business. Think here of the 30-second spot used in television advertising for the last six decades. Sales content is shorter, sharper, and more to the point than thought-leadership. It may include a specific call to action, such as a free, no obligation consultation about their financial health.
Given the content is a sales pitch for you and your services, the messaging will be more overt. It can be delivered in the same channels and media as a thought-leadership piece, but it’s apparent that you’re selling financial advice services.
Thought-leadership vs sales content
Neither style is necessarily better than the other. They serve different purposes. Thought-leadership focuses on creating long-term engagement. You’re seeking to portray your business as knowledgeable and informed about the considerations that drive clients to create and protect wealth. Moreover, by association, this content sends a message that your firm can deliver excellent financial advice.
Sales content is focused solely on creating immediate business for your financial planning firm. It presents the client with access to content that will sell your services and how it will benefit them.
Ultimately, choosing a sales or thought-leadership approach hangs on the outcome you’re seeking to achieve. There’s a place in your content marketing for both forms; you just need a strategy to make them work fo
