The 3 Cs: Content, Consistency & Conversions

We’ve all heard of ‘The 3 Rs’ – the basics of what gets taught in our schools: reading, writing and arithmetic. Even though nothing much has really changed in over a century in terms of education; at least there are now a set of ‘The Three Rs’ for a wide variety of other fields too.

Most recently, of course, ‘the Rs’ have been reinvigorated in an environmental context: reduce, reuse and recycle.

But is there a handy marketing equivalent? Well, as they say, things do come in threes – so it’s no surprise that there is. The letter has changed from ‘r’ to ‘c’ though. The ‘Three Cs’ is an accepted marketing strategy: the customer, the company, and the competitors.

But when it comes to marketing your business online, let’s borrow the idea of putting things into a three, but tweak it a little bit.

I give you:

The Three Cs: Content, Consistency & Conversions.

The Marketing Minefield: Don’t overcomplicate things!

The internet is many things but when it comes to marketing it’s a minefield. There’s no shortage of ‘marketing gurus’ and ‘experts’ touting their ‘fool-proof’ systems, funnels and processes online.

Buy in, and you’ll have found the perfect way to market your business! Or so they claim.

Of course, it’s easy to be cynical. There’s some good stuff out there and there’s a lot of bad. It’s the nature of the beast and there are many ways to skin a cat, after all. But one thing is generally true – it’s best not to overcomplicate things. This is why having just 3 key things to focus on makes a lot of sense.

The Three Cs: Content

Content is a word you hear a lot. Some see it as the be-all-and-end-all – the ‘content is king’ crowd. Others note that it’s become somewhat overused. Indeed, a previous client of mine recently posted a video that playfully toyed with the idea of replacing the word ‘content’ with the word ‘garbage’ for the duration of the video – and wondered what difference it would make!

So, what’s the answer? Content is important. It’s the core – the cornerstone – of your marketing strategy.

But what is content?

Content is what you have in your repertoire. It’s the strings you have to your bow. Put simply, it’s what you produce instead of conventional advertising.

Content adds value. It entertains and it engages.

And what should it be?

It could be virtually anything and it can certainly take many forms - it depends on your business and the sector you're in. But more than anything, it needs to be good. You define ‘good’ content as content that is in tune with your audience, and content that taps into their needs and wants.

The Three Cs: Consistency

Good content, even great content, is nothing if it isn’t promoted, shared and marketed appropriately. And there’s one real constant in all of that: consistency. So, you need to post on social media regularly and consistently. If you are blogging for your business, you need to keep to whatever schedule you have decided.

A business that ‘disappears’ online for days, weeks or months can lose a lot of momentum – and undo a good deal of their good work.

Your content is essentially the voice of your brand. So, you need a consistent voice as well.

The Three Cs: Conversions

Finally, we come to the nitty gritty – conversions. There’s absolutely no shame in being honest by saying sales are what it’s all about.

Regardless of what your business objectives are - whether you want to raise brand awareness or to improve the customer experience, ultimately it all comes down to the same thing: leads, sales, and keeping hold of the customers you have.

So, how do you increase your conversion rates?

Firstly, your content needs to fit into a coherent and well thought-through content marketing strategy. You need to set appropriate goals, so that you have targets to aim for.

You need to accept that content shouldn’t just be a steady stream of adverts for your business. However, you need to appreciate that great content is actually the best advert for your business there is!

Lastly, you need a consistent (and determined) approach. You need to play the long game not the short game.

If you are thinking of trying something for 1 or 2 months, stop.

Think again, add a zero to the end, and try again. Then stick at it.

If you would like some help in creating consistent content and a marketing strategy that will increase conversions, get in touch for a chat. Failing that, take a look at the marketing tips on the blog.