10 Ways to Grab Customers Online

The days are over when marketers can rely on grabbing customers online with well-worn phrases like "act now," "satisfaction guaranteed," and "for a limited time only." People have seen those words so often, they're invisible. Instead, try these 10 fresh ways to pull customers into your blogs, social media posts, emails, and website. 1. Stop selling. People today don't want to be hustled or sold. They want to be informed. The more you inform them, the more often they'll visit your platforms, and the sooner they'll buy. 2. Educate them. Come up with information your readers don't have. As a professional, you already know more about your field than the average person. Offer advice, product and service reviews, industry news, and primers for newbies. 3. Enrich them. Create funny, cute, inspiring, or even critical posts that add value for the reader and might be shared over social media. Focus on creating an emotional attachment and you'll get some attention. 4. Engage them. Go beyond what you sell and what customers need to buy and key on some things you may have in common with your prospects and clients. Stay away from sensitive subjects like politics and religion and go for music, sports, entertainment, cultural topics, and events going on in your area. 5. Don't be self-centered. Post about other people and businesses. Experts say you should post about others seven times for every one time you post about yourself. Draw from news, events and the word on the street, anything that shows you're not just into selling yourself. 6. Be consistent. For example, post serious content on Monday morning, humorous items on Thursday. Then stick to the schedule, so people looking for a particular type of content will check in, comment, and share. 7. Read relevant blogs. See what others in your field are posting and then add your comments. Talking about related material from others is a great way to get people to look into what you have to offer online. 8. Write in three lengths. Start with a 500 to 700 word post for your blog, shorten it to 200 words for social sites with a link to the blog, then do a Twitter version you can also use on LinkedIn. 9. Use a content calendar. This is a great way to create and keep up with your strategy of posting to your customers and prospects. Look online for examples you can follow. 10. Be funny when you can. Everyone enjoys a good laugh now and again. Naturally, make sure you don’t offend anyone! Communicating with customers and prospects on a range of online platforms is key to marketing today. Just think of all the things your target audience might like to hear. Here's to your continued success creating online communications that engage people, and may even go viral, as you keep putting together your best year ever... Enjoy a great month!