Not a lot actually. Unless you happen to be enjoying a piece of coconut cream or some type of berry pie while you’re updating your website. Let’s be honest, headlines are designed to capture the attention of web-seekers who are starving for content.

PIE is an acronym which is content that means anything Promotional, Informational, or Educational. Remember, content is anything you post to your website, social media, or in an email to prospects and customers.

Promotional Content

What product or service are you promoting?

There are two different approaches to product promotion. The old axiom of finding a need and filling it has deeper implication for the online marketer than it does for brick and mortar companies. It may be that you are an entrepreneur who has completed a significant amount of market research and determined that there is a large group of people throughout the world that have a need for what you offer. You postulate that if you build it, they will come. And then there is the marketer who does hours and hours of painstaking research to find the latest trends. This person does not have a product in mind and is allowing the market dictate their wants and needs.

What price should you set for your product or service?

The price should be competitive and its value should not be underestimated. People get what they pay for. It is best not to undervalue or overvalue your product or service, but it is advisable to be fair, honest, and trustworthy.

From where will you make your products accessible to the public?

With half of the world’s population actively engaging in some type of online activity, digital marketing opens doors of exposure that many do not know exist.

In what ways do you plan to promote your product?

An enticing promotion that engages your audience provides compelling reasons for consumers to go with you instead of one of your competitors. Promotion comes in many forms such as a timely press release, consistent email marketing campaigns, webinars, coupons, or discounts.

Source: Revamp CRM

 Informative Content

• The internet contains over 4.5 billion pages of content, all screaming for attention. How are you going to reach your target market through all that noise? By maintaining close contact with the trending ways people are getting information.
• Have you ever heard of the writer maxim to “show, don’t tell?” With the advent of live video, it is easier than ever to portray your brand in a clear and visible format. Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat are leading the way with live video platforms and digital marketers would do well to take advantage of.
• Consider that the internet is in a state of information overload. If there is too much information than what makes you think that you have anything to offer that anyone would want to read? How do you plan to cut through the noise? Create a page of 50 FAQ’S that you assume prospects want to know. Then turn each question into a blog post. You don’t necessarily need to post the FAQ’s to your website, although we do recommend you include one, but now you would have at least 50 original future blog posts.
• Information must be captivating, relevant, and useful. Content that contains humor or is entertaining in some way retains itself in the memory of your readers who will return to your web space pleading for more.

Educational Content

• Your blog is one place you can show you’re the expert on your product or service. You have inside information on how your dream became a reality. You are the one who understands its features and benefits.
• Share tips, tricks, and hacks on the best way to do any number of things, related to your industry or not. Think outside the box, be conversational, anticipate.
• Don’t forget to quote and cite relevant case studies regarding your industry.
• People ask the question, what’s in it for me? Prove to them you’re the end all to end all. Offer free resources in the form of an eBook, newsletter, webinar, podcast, YouTube, Vimeo demonstrating your enthusiasm and willingness to help people live better lives. Auto mechanic sites include tips on how to perform simple auto repairs, cooking sites provide interactive recipe sharing and cooking tips, hair stylist site provides biological tips on how to properly care for your hair and skin. What about you? Do you have anything of value to share with your readers, prospects, and customers? Click here to read about 4 brands using educational content to further their online presence.

Timing is Everything

Many product launches fail because of the lack of market research. The importance of research cannot be overemphasized. Many new e-commerce websites should delay launch until such a time as when properly prepared. As the widespread application of the internet in attracting target markets grows so has the need for a variety of research tools. Before considering a product or service you need to know if anyone else is selling it and more importantly if anyone is buying.

Aim to know and understand your target market’s geographic, demographic, and psychographic components. As you begin to chisel away the mystery of discovering a gold vein, think of the following market research tools as light to guide and inspire you through the process of digital marketing results and success.

Research Tools

• Ubersuggest is a keyword finder on steroids. It greatly enhances ideas for pay-per-click (PPC) and SEO campaigns. Ubersuggest is primarily used for content marketing campaigns. Find the right keyword or keyword combinations (long-tailed keywords) and you have created a roadmap guiding traffic to your website. Try Ubersuggest, it’s free.
• Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan group that conducts surveys that garner information regarding the “issues, attitudes and trends” shape America and the rest of the world. Pew Global Center performs the same type of research on a global scale. This tool is free to use.
• Think With Google measures variations in consumer behavior keeping savvy marketers at the forefront of changing trends. Because of the rapid pace at which digital technology continues to advance, marketers better not blink. Think With Google is a marketing ocean liner that keeps digital marketers abreast, afloat, and at pace with the world abroad. Try it now; it’s free.

Read and explore Hubspot’s excellent article about marketing research tools. To find out how we can help simplify the complexities of digital marketing research, contact us today.