Staffing Firm Content is King. Why? What?
When we talk about the phrase “content is king”, the first questions that people tend to ask are “why is content king?” and “what content should I be sharing?”. To which, both are fairly simple to answer.
To answer the “why?”, it is simply because the average person does not want to be sold to. This is because the moment it feels like selling, the audience tunes out. Whereas, if you are sharing content that is actually valuable to the audience, then they tune in.
The “what?” question is explained by many different things ranging anywhere from general email solicitation to blog articles, videos, surveys, case studies, whitepapers, and more. In general, the “what” is tied to valuable audience content that is produced by your staffing firm.For example, a satisfaction survey given to clients is simple to create and the data is valuable to your audience. This is an effective type of content because it shows the value that you bring to your clients. In addition, if you are tracking falloffs and your typical consultant completes their assignments, this is considered very valuable to your audience as well because it shows that you manage your consultants and see them through to the end of the assignment.However, content is overwhelming at times because it does require that you produce the materials you need and that you create an overall workflow of how these pieces of content are used.
Using Marketing Automation
The marketing tools available to customers have been growing exponentially for the last ten years. Marketing automation used to be reserved specifically for staffing firms with extremely large budgets and a large quantity of personnel in their marketing department. Though, today there are several marketing automation tools in the marketplace that make it possible for every staffing firm to be taking advantage of. There are simple email tools like Constant Contact or Mailchimp that provide an ease of distribution, but do not necessarily have the fullest workflow.
Marketing automation tools allow you to create an overall campaign with the concept of “if and then” statements. If someone decides to open Email 2 in a campaign and the topic is related to retaining consultants, then the next piece of content should likely be a case study supporting that. However, if they don’t click on that content, then the campaign should continue as normal. If another email is opened related to your information security practice, then a white paper, case study, or testimonial is served to them as a next step.
These tools increase client and consultant engagement and define the interest of each contact for the sales team. Marketing automation tools range from HubSpot and Eloqua to the Yeswares and Herefish of the world with similar functionality, but very different pricing.
A Recent Example
Recently, we worked with one of our clients to create an overall workflow for a “content is king” approach by beginning with their overall goals and then moving into content workflow. We determined four key areas they wanted to share with clients and created all the assets (marketing pieces) that were needed for the campaign. The campaign had both a new acquisition approach and a drip campaign approach. First, we determined proper messaging approaches and prospect database needs and then we established ROI projections as well as ROI tracking for the campaign. The entire campaign took the approach of “give to get”, meaning that the content went deep into a variety of topics with the ability, but not forcefulness, for clients to take action. The leads were shared directly with the sales team and were integrated into the overall process.
You likely think the effort is too extreme for you, but anything worth doing generally requires some level of effort and thankfully, we are here to help. If you would like to learn more about utilizing a “content is king” approach or marketing automation, please contact us today.
About S.J.Hemley Marketing
S.J.Hemley Marketing is a marketing and sales consulting firm focused on driving tangible results for professional services firms. Brand matters, but not without ROI. With over 20 years of sales and marketing experience within staffing and recruiting, we have helped to drive successful branding, sales training, lead generation activities as well as defining marketing strategy for top organizations.