Tucked away in the corner of the sponsor hall at Inbound 2012, there was a small Q&A happening with C.C. Chapman. It turned out to be a half hour spent learning small nuggets of pure treasure. I wasn’t planning on attending, but I am sure glad I did. If you couldn’t attend (and I am sure you didn’t since there were only about seven of us lucky enough to), here are a few of my favorite lessons about inbound marketing, content and life learned from 30 minutes with C.C. Chapman.
Make Your Customers the Heroes
Thanks C.C.! What a great concept for those of us who are constantly asking, “What should we write about?” Find customers who have a great story to tell, then put them front and center. People like hearing about products and services from other people; what works, what doesn’t work. What they recommend or recommend you stay away from. So seeing a real person (a real customer) talk about your product or service speaks multitudes. So get out there, get friendly with your customers and make them feel like a million bucks by helping them tell their stories.
The Importance of Your Blogs’ Voice
Sometimes we rely on other people to write our content. It is OK. We have all been there; we have all done it. In fact, here at Kuno, we offer content writing services. But what we strive to do for our clients is to create or work within a voice for each brand. Why? Because it is important to your audience. In their personal lives, business execs and decision makers read something that they actually enjoy, like ESPN or Marie Claire online. Why not emulate that? Find a voice that works for your brand and stick to it.
Don’t Forget to Listen!
Nike is known for listening to their customers, audiences and people who are just talking about them. When C.C. wrote a blog about NikeFuel, Nike found it, asked if it could retweet the article, and then promoted it. Awesome! (Nike, if you are listening, feel free to retweet me!) Make sure you are listening to what people are saying about your company and your product. Building that relationship is crucial. And once consumers like you and trust you, they will be loyal.
It’s OK to Live the Life that Makes You Happy
This lesson is more of a personal note, but a good one for sure. C.C. works for himself from his home. He left the big corporate world and couldn't be happier. “No one told me I couldn’t do it. If you work really hard and love what you do, amazing things will happen. It is not easy, but it is the best thing in the world.” He will tell you more about it in his new book, Amazing Things Will Happen, due out before Christmas.
Thanks for taking time to speak at Inbound 2012, C.C.. We learned a great deal. And I am looking forward to the book!
