Be Helpful in as Few Steps Possible
POSTED BY KA-LOK HO
You’re in a supermarket, there's a sign to try some samples, you approach – the assistant tells you to go to the opposite side of the store to try it. Do you bother doing so?
Good content should be helpful, but being helpful starts before arriving to your content — it begins by helping those you serve find you. In other words be helpful in as few clicks as possible; be a native on the platforms you operate on.
If you have an article, don’t send them to another site to read it. If you have a video, don’t send them elsewhere to watch it. Avoid sending your audience dotting around the internet to find what they’re looking for.
I get it, you already have the content on another site and you don’t want to reformat it, or you want the engagement over there, or you want to send them to a landing page with a big CTA to convert them. And you may be right, if they clicked through, the content might’ve truly helped and benefited your audience; but that one extra click of inconvenience may have been just one click too many.
Upload the content natively first. It’s a try before you buy mentality. Give first, ask later.
Sending them elsewhere is upfront asking your audience to go out their way.
Have a blog post you want to share? Used a native LinkedIn article instead.
Have a video? Cut down the catchiest moments, and upload it natively.
Have a digital magazine? Post short snippets of relevant articles.
At the end you can still put your CTA there, or send them to the full version/landing page for your ask.
You’re far more likely to convert after your customers have already benefited from something you’ve given.
Keep the user experience efficient. Be helpful in as few steps as possible.
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