If you follow the flywheel, you’re building a steady stream of interested Strangers using your passionate Promoters. Learn how to pass the momentum and retain Promoters with the right content strategy.
Key Takeaways:
- Promoters are a pivotal part of the flywheel framework for inbound marketing.
- Customers are critical, but Promoters are the kinetic energy behind inbound success.
- A flywheel content strategy focuses on pleasing Promoters with delightful content (they won’t stop telling their peers how great you are!).
- Delightful content is interactive, valuable, rewarding, and exclusive—and it gets Promoters talking.
- Above all, Promoters want to hear you retell their true story, so they know you’ve been in their shoes.
Are you a follower of the flywheel framework of inbound marketing? If so, you probably spend some significant time thinking about Promoters—how to get them, and most importantly, how to keep them.
Promoters are the brand advocates who stand up to tell the world about your brand and solution.
When they were mere Customers (just kidding, the Customer is plenty mighty!), you went above and beyond to Delight them with experiences they could never get from the competition. After promotion, they’re your champions, your tireless recruiters, and your biggest fans!
It takes careful, hard work to convert Customers into Promoters. After all, you’re hoping that this Customer will be so over-the-moon about their experience that they won’t want to stop talking about it.
We’re talking about life-changing value that makes their day-to-day easier or better. That’s what it takes to score a Promoter.
That life-changing value comes in the form of carefully planned content that rewards those who stick around with:
- Solutions to high-priority problems that require an expert-informed answer
- Tips, education, and advice to help Promoters keep getting the most out of your solutions
- Personalized experiences that make Promoters feel seen, heard, and understood
- A true partnership that comes with knowledge, trust, mutual loyalty, and exclusive benefits
Your content strategy is perhaps the most important part of maintaining Promoter relationships. Most of the value you provide them is in the form of various types of content—but it’s important to know the right content for this flywheel stage. Now, you’re no longer Attracting or Engaging; the stakes are even higher as you aim to Delight.
First, a refresher on the flywheel
The flywheel is a marketing framework that HubSpot developed in response to its desire to deliver better customer experiences.
In fact, the flywheel model is completely aligned around building exceptional experiences for customers. It’s based on the real-world flywheel, a device that stores kinetic energy as long as it continues spinning. When it loses momentum or hits friction, the energy is lost, and the wheel stops moving.
Promoters are the kinetic energy that fuels the flywheel.
You generate that energy by creating Delight—the enthusiasm and momentum that Promoters use to Attract Strangers when they talk about your brand.
It’s also Delight that you use to convert Customers to Promoters and keep Promoters chatting about your brand.
Build a content strategy to keep Promoters delighted
Delight happens when you present Customers or Promoters with experiences that truly go above and beyond.
Those experiences begin with the right content strategy. You see, all the experiences you provide your Promoters begin with the perfect content delivered at the right time.
Here’s a 6-step strategy you can use to create content that delights every time.
Step 1: Match the content to the flywheel stage
Frictionless experiences start with recognizing what brings Promoters value. The types of content that Delight Promoters include:
- Email campaigns that promote premium content, live interactive content, or exclusive offers and deals
- Resource Centers and other self-service channels for knowledge and education
- Exclusive access to expert advice across platforms like Q&As, live virtual events, and how-to videos
Step 2: Delight with interactive experiences
Interactive experiences are inherently personalized, and that’s part of what generates Delight.
Over 40% of consumers prefer interactive content because of the control it gives them over what to view and when to view it!
Those experiences can include:
- Quizzes
- Calculator tools
- Toolkits and workbooks
- Slideshows
- Interactive webinars, videos, and maps
Step 3: Inject content with real value
Promoters want to know that they’re receiving value made just for them. Their time is valuable, so don’t waste it on generic content that gives the same answers they’ve seen 100 times already.
When you’re generating content ideas, every word should revolve around:
- The questions and industry-specific problems your Promoters are tackling
- How to help Promoters get more value out of your solutions
Step 4: Harness the power of exclusive content
Promoters love exclusivity. It creates a sense that they’re a part of your brand family, or that they know something that no one else does.
Exclusive content is any kind of gated content that can include:
- Whitepapers, reports, and case studies
- Bonus material
- Sneak peeks of upcoming products
- Professional level eBooks and tutorials
Step 5: Reward your hardcore advocates
Your Promoters want to know that you appreciate them as a critical part of growing your brand family. That’s why they respond so well to loyalty incentives, even ones as simple as a “thank you” email now and then.
Promoters love loyalty content that includes:
- “Thank you” deals, offers, and rewards
- Referral email campaigns
- Members-only content for reaching certain loyalty thresholds
Step 6: Open the communication channels
How will you know that you’re truly hitting the mark for your Promoters without hearing them out?
While you’re tirelessly sending out email campaigns and strategizing gated content, take the time to ask for your Promoters’ opinions and thoughts.
Do they feel valued and important to your brand? Do they feel like it’s a two-way relationship with mutual benefit? If they don’t, what can you do to change it?
Promoters want to hear a true story just for them
Last but definitely not least, great storytelling is a Promoter’s biggest desire. They want to know that you have walked their path, and the only way you can assure them is by telling their story in your own words.
Any strategy to retain Promoters must have authentic storytelling as the most important tenet. There’s a tale behind every business problem, every “I wish I could ask the experts,” and every success story that Promoters find with your solution.
Storytelling in content marketing is a skill. If you’re not up to snuff on it, we don’t recommend that you buy a Coursera course and try to learn right this second. (That takes time, and Promoters appreciate it when you work fast.)
Instead, leave it to the experts. The storytellers at ContentBacon know what makes Promoters tick, and we’ll create a strategic content plan that keeps the flywheel turning as long as there are Strangers in the world to Attract!
Contact us today to schedule a free discovery call and learn how we can retain Promoters with authentic storytelling!