SMX Overtime: Creating great content, FAQs and how to navigate approval limitations

During my “What does great content really mean? And how do you create it” session at SMX West with Stoney deGeyter, attendees asked questions about how retailers can create good content, FAQ on product pages and collecting valuable testimonials for lead gen. Below I answer a few of our session’s questions.

What does great content look like for retailers?

Retailer’s best content pieces are the ones that showcase what they sell in realistic ways. Beyonce just did a great job of this (as she does with most things) with her Adidas campaign.

Instead of hiring models to showcase her new clothing line with Adidas, she did a photoshoot wearing each piece of clothing herself. This created a huge excitement from fans knowing they too can purchase clothing that Beyonce wears, and actually afford it.

A more toned-down version of this is producing video content that shows your product being used in real-world situations. If you have a more unique, un-sexy type of product like bathroom spray, create content that makes fun of the situation. This is content that humanizes the situation and showcases how it can fix a common problem.

 If you’re unsure of what kind of problems you need to help your demographic solve try using tools like SEMrush’s Topic Research Tool that addresses the who, what, when, where, why questions people are actually searching for online.

All content, whether for retailers or brands should either inform or entertain their audience addressing a solution to a common problem their demographic faces.

Do you think adding FAQ on product pages would be helpful for SEO?

YES! Not only is this helpful for SEO by adding more content and opportunities for placing longtail keywords that make sense with the content, but it helps the user move down the sales funnel. Don’t overdo it, though.

It’s good to have 3-5 of the most frequently asked questions about that specific product or service and 2-3 sentences addressing each question. Any more than that and you’re overdoing it on a product or service page.

Tips for collecting valuable testimonials when you work in lead gen?

One of the best ways to collect testimonials is to simply ask your current and past customers. There are several different ways to ask, though.

If you’re a brick and mortar type of business you can have an iPad dedicated solely to collecting in-store reviews. Have the iPad set up in a way that customers can quickly and easily leave you a review by having your Yelp, Google My Business or Facebook profile set up. There’s also a handful of apps that will help you automate this process and avoid customers feeling weary about logging into with their personal information to these accounts.

If you’re more of an online-only business the follow-up email after someone has purchased a product or service can list your review sites and 1-2 examples of testimonials. Make sure to offer an incentive like 10% off their next purchase for leaving a review. You can also have buttons to your review sites on the footer of your website too.

Whether you’re asking for reviews in-person or online, the key is making it easy for customers to leave you a review by including links to your Google My Business Listing, Facebook Page, Yelp listing, and Tripadvisor (if that applies to your industry). The easier you make it, the more likely you are to receive a testimonial.

What kind of questions should you include in your FAQs?

Ask your customer service team and your sales team if you are unsure of what kind of questions your customers / potential customers have. They are the ones directly talking to customers and potential customers all day long and address many, many questions.

You’ll want to include the most commonly asked questions and answers that address any fears, concerns, hesitations, complaints and any negative sentiment reported to other teams from customers. Addressing this first will avoid any upset customer issue post-sale.

If you don’t have resources like customer service or sales teams, send your content to a family member and see what kind of questions they have.

How many new pieces of content should a big brand publish if they have approval limitations?

Lots of the larger, more corporate companies have several departments a piece of content has to go through before it can be approved to publish. That kind of system slows down a content calendar and makes it extra difficult to create and publish new content frequently.

One way around that is to set a realistic expectation of how many pieces of content you can launch in a year. For larger companies, one new content campaign a quarter is the most they can handle. This is also true for smaller companies with fewer resources and budget to not only create but to promote new content.

There are several blog posts out there that try to give a “minimum” number that businesses and brands have to publish in order to be relevant and maintain rankings. When everyone, across the board, tries to meet those expectations users are given poorly put together content pieces that don’t address any of their concerns.

There is no set number of content you must publish to be successful. Publishing one new blog post a week is no guarantee that your sales will skyrocket in two months. Instead, focus on creating realistic expectations with your content campaigns that will actually convert users by accounting for factors like:

• User needs, questions, and concerns
• Resource and budget to produce content
• Length of time for approval process
• Resource and budget to promote the content
• Time to measure the effectiveness of the content

Based on your numbers for the above, that could look like producing two new pieces of content a week or one new piece of content a quarter.