How to Turn Your Customers Into Headline Creators – Guest Post by Matt Brannon, Creative Director at Gravity Digital

As a business content creator, I’m going to make a bold claim: You cannot market your business effectively online without content.

Content is the mechanism by which a business:

• catches the eye of the prospect
• establish a connection with that prospect
• demonstrates their understanding of the prospect’s problems
• and presents themselves as the solution

In short: Content is the way we subtly guide people through the customer journey online.

It doesn’t matter if you’re in the healthcare industry selling enterprise-level services to the C-Suite, or if you’re selling phone cases to teenagers. It comes down to your content. Period.

But it’s not that easy to create, is it?

If you wonder how you’re going to execute this quarter’s content calendar, I have a plan for you that you’re going to love.

Turn your customers into your content creators.

There are two very good reasons for letting your customers do the heavy lifting of content creation.

First, your prospects will relate to (and trust) your customers more than you.

The second reason for having your customers create your content is that you don’t have to do it.

That is sweet music to the ears of someone reading this article. So let’s Jump in.

The Testimonial Formula

At the core of this strategy is identifying customers who have had tremendous success with your business, the ones who really love you, and asking them a very specific series of questions.

You will then record their answers and cut them down to a brief sixty to ninety-second video.

These questions are from Building a Story Brand by Donald Miller. It is a highly recommended reading.

The questions should be asked specifically in this order. They are designed to walk your customer down a very specific path that will make you sound very good in the end.

Notice that they don’t start with your business, but rather with the problem your customer was facing and how they felt about it. This is intentional.

Don’t start with you. Someone out there can relate to these problems and that’s the first thing they need to hear.

The questions are:

1. Before you discovered our product, what problem were you having?
2. As you tried to solve that problem, what did the frustration feel like?
3. What was different about our product?
4. Take us to the exact moment when you realized our product was working to help solve your problem.
5. Tell us what your life looks like now that your problem is solved or is being solved.

You might also want to ask permission (on camera) to use their testimonial for marketing purposes.

…But I Don’t Know How to Make a Video

If you’ve never made a video before, especially for business, the idea can seem a bit daunting. There was a time when you needed an experienced team to handle production and editing, and while that is still occasionally true, it is not necessary for this type of content. I’ll give you two good reasons to support this claim:

1. Video creation has become democratized. Most people carry better video equipment in their pocket than professional production teams had only a few years ago. Editing software has become very inexpensive and easy to use, and editors can be hired from websites like Fiverr or Upwork for a very low cost.
   
   
2. People online consume video differently than they used to. Even the biggest brands are creating video content that looks “real” rather than overly produced. It feels more authentic and can often be more persuasive.

Don’t let technology or lack of production skill stand in your way of producing content like this.

Multiply Your Efforts

Once you have your core piece of video content, you can use it to create content in other mediums.

• Use one of your subject matter experts to write a blog post about the problem that your customer was facing before they came to you. It doesn’t need to be about that person specifically but use the insight you gained from their personal story to reach others who might be experiencing the same thing. If no one on your team is available to write, Just have a transcript of the video created and post that to your blog along with the embedded video.
• Create an email newsletter that features your customer’s story.
• Use photo editing software or a free site like Canva to create quote cards for social media. Use the most impactful and specific moments of their story.
• Share the video on all of your social channels and embed it on relevant pages on your website.

It’s easy to see how a short, simple customer interview can be used to fill a lot of roles in your overarching content plan, making you a marketing hero for your business. And since your messaging came directly from the mouth of an ideal customer, it should resonate with a similar audience.

Here’s a very simple Quarterly Content Checklist to get you started (you don’t even have to opt in).

The best part is, that customers can use this formula again and again because each customer has a unique story and point of view.

It will be fresh every time

Matt Brannon is the Creative Director at Gravity Digital, a metrics-obsessed creative agency.

Founded in 2000, we are known for our award-winning Creative and our complete transparency. Our clients know how many dollars they make for every dollar they spend on advertising.

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Other Relevant Links:

• SEO Marketing Strategy
• How to drive business results using customers
• Content Marketing – Why Posting Frequently is Critical