Red on Marketing Blog

Want B2B Website Traffic to Move? Stop Blowing Your Horn

b2b websiteVisitors won't get interested in your company until you show interest in them

A lot of companies have a hard time shaking old habits when they start dealing with inbound marketing. After years of telling the world how great the company is, it seems natural to keep pounding that same message online. The trouble is, that's not what your audience is looking for.

Digital Sherpa's Adam Japko offers a good way to think about it: "When you walk into a cocktail party, you don’t go up to people and say, 'Hi, I sell real estate. Do you want to buy a house?' Everybody would avoid you. Instead you start with, 'Hi, you know I just saw a house with this really tricky design challenge and they got this designer who helped fix it in this way.'”

The same idea applies when you invite people to visit your site. They aren't coming there to hear you blow you own horn, they're looking for information. Give them some free tip sheets, white papers and guides. Blog about issues that matter to them (they'll tell you what those are, if you ask). Put on a webinar, and take questions at the end. When they see useful content, they'll keep coming back. If all they see are sales pitches, they'll move on.

In other words, make your site the place to go if people want to keep up with what's going on in your field. That will make you a go-to source. When they do decide to buy, you'll be the first one they turn to.

But as Japko warns, it takes a real commitment to do it right. Even if you are paying someone else to do the research, writing or videography, you still have to be involved. (You can read the full interview at http://ebyline.biz/2012/11/digital-sherpas-adam-japko-on-content-strategies-for-indie-companies/.)

What does your web site offer visitors besides the company talking about how wonderful it is? (And do I walk the talk?)

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Topics: Performance Lead Generation Design