“If you create Youtility, your customers will keep you close.” –Jay Baer
Each day we are inundated with content through a variety of mediums and due to that information overload, it takes something truly special or poignant to get stuck in people’s heads. Jay Baer, keynote speaker at InfusionCon 2013 and New York Times bestselling author, is well versed in the pain points of companies who feel as though their content isn’t having the impact they want it to. Through these talks, Youtility was born. Youtility means creating content that is useful; content so useful people would pay for it. We are looking to rise above the noise but before one can create this useful content, the following points need to be considered:
1.) Inbound marketing doesn’t create demand, it fulfills it. This is what can be considered RE-active marketing instead of the more ideal PRO-active marketing.
2.) There has been an explosion in sources for recommendations. Think Yelp, Angie’s List, ChaCha and even Siri. Now, with social media playing such an active role in our daily consumption of content and interaction, recommendations come through sources like Facebook and Twitter.
3.) Our personal and professional lives have converged. Look no further than Facebook to see how intertwined friends’ updates are with post from favorite companies.
Jay Baer speaks with Infusionsoft CMO Greg Head at InfusionCon 2013.
What it all boils down to is that you, as a small business owner, are competing for attention against your customers family and friends, so you need to find a way to stand out.
As the quote above from Jay Baer says, you need to create Youtility in order to secure your audience. Find your niche. Become a thought leader in your industry. Make your content rise above other sources.
How do you do this?
Be thoughtful in your content creation and make sure you are answering all of your customer’s questions. Understand that customers, on average, seek over 10 different sources of information before they decide to make a purchase, so your content better be able to meet most of their needs. Give them options within your site so that if one piece of your content doesn’t meet all their needs, maybe another piece will. If you shift to becoming more concerned with teaching prospects better rather than selling better, you’ll reap more from your audience. Education is incredibly beneficial. And don’t forget to create real time relevancy by being on top of industry trends and events. This sort of timeliness will make your audience see you as an authority in your area if you always have your finger on the pulse of the industry.
By consistently producing high quality content, you will do your small business a whole host of favors in the long run. Cement yourself as a key provider of quality content and you will keep your audience close.
Looking for a way to inform your small business’ future plans? Download, “Customer Surveys: How to Raise Your Sales & Marketing IQ in 6 Easy Steps” for tips on turning feedback into a successful plan.
This post Jay Baer Talks Youtility and what it Means for Content was first published on the Big Ideas Blog.