Building a brand requires more strategy now than ever before due to the onset of social media, blogging, and the growth of e-commerce. The most recognizable and successful companies optimize digital marketing efforts to reach their customers. Even still, the best digital marketing and branding strategies constantly evolve to work with the ever-changing digital world
The amount of data we create increases exponentially each day. Here’s what that means for businesses and entrepreneurs: you need to cut through the noise that your customers are constantly experiencing online.
According to entrepreneur and cryptocurrency expert Frantisek Hrinkanic, education is the best way to do that. Instead of sharing irrelevant information, pointless posts, or useless status updates, businesses need to take an education-first approach to reach their customers. Every piece of content shared should offer value to the customer, instead of clouding their vision with pointless information.
Fortunately, education can take many forms, and you don’t need a huge following to create useful resources for your customers. Use the tools you already have at your disposal—experience, industry knowledge, research skills—and convert these into educational resources for your customers. Here are three ways you can create an education-first brand strategy and reach more customers as a result.
Provide Guides to Your Industry
Education always starts with the ABCs, and the same applies when you’re working to provide educational resources for your customers. Start with the basics. This is especially important if your company exists in an emerging industry, like bitcoin for example.
Frantisek Hrinkanic built his cryptocurrency company, CryptoTips, on this principle. He created a 182-page book for beginners that breaks down the basics of cryptocurrency. While this is not the core service of his business, he keeps his customers coming back by answering all of their questions and guiding them along the way.
You can do the same thing for your customers regardless of the industry. Educate your customers on the basics of your industry, whether that’s how to determine quality goods, how to pick an expert to work with, or what makes a product or service reliable. These educational tools can take various forms. You can write blogs, post social content, or create digital guides that serve your customers.
Keep Your Customers Informed With Daily Updates
A significant part of education is context. Use your expertise to teach your customers the history, culture, and practices that surround your industry, and keep them updated on changes as they come along. Think of your brand as a newspaper for your specific industry. You can provide updates about your technology and products, where they are being used, and who is using them.
This educational tool is critical in tech-based fields because they are constantly changing. You can help your customers understand the market, cultural changes related to a product or service, and the best ways to use your product at work or in their personal lives.
Daily updates can be simple social media posts like sharing news clips related to your industry. You can also write blogs that serve as commentary for current events within your industry, expounding on your thoughts related to a specific event.
Share Your Personal Experience
This final piece of education applies specifically to company leaders and entrepreneurs. While your customers are likely not coming to you for business advice, you can share your experience and expertise about entrepreneurship with them and build trust in your brand along the way. I have no doubt that you have learned some hard or surprising lessons on your journey to entrepreneurship. Share them. Use your unique life experiences to craft a helpful and educational narrative that your followers can connect with.
Educational resources based on personal experience can increase brand trust and even brand recognition, and it helps customers understand the leaders behind your company. Whether you share these tools on company profiles or personal ones, they will draw the interest of your customers and provide another point of contact.
Education is the best strategy for reaching customers in the age of digital overload. Draw from your expertise and experience and bring your customers along for the journey.
COURTESY – FORBES