An ebook can be at several points in a digital marketing strategy and is one of the main digital baits used today by companies that bet on Inbound Marketing.
Learn here the main ways of using this tool to attract and educate potential customers to apply in your business strategy.
What we will deal with here:
· A short walk through Inbound Marketing;
· Digital Bait: How not to be held hostage by social networks;
· Ways to download an ebook;
· 5 Platforms to make your Ebook;
· They downloaded my ebook, now what?
· Conclusion
A brief walk through Inbound Marketing
This form of marketing is the most democratic today, because no matter the size of your business, you will always be able to put together a content strategy that will bring return – return that is expected between medium to long term.
It is also seen as a way to educate the audience and create new customers, making your company a reference in your market segment.
But before talking about ebooks, it is important to note that inbound marketing (content marketing) has the main characteristic of using relevant materials to the customer to attract him to your company, and not chasing after the customer the same way as conventional.
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Digital Bait: How not to be held hostage by social networks
A digital bait can be an eBook, infographic, spreadsheet and etc. It’s the simplest way for you not to rely on social media in all parts of your funnel.
You will probably use some social network at the top, when you will put your bait and from now on attract your customer to an email list. Thus, you shy away from working in the territory of other companies and start dealing with your future client in a closer and more direct way.
It is also common to use Landing Pages and Hotsites for this, which will advertise through Google Ads. Depending on the size of the company, the strategy may rely on advertisements in traditional media and lead to the conversion page (landing page or hotsite, as mentioned earlier).
You can use social networks at that point with a complement, even next to Google Ads, to do a remarketing of your company, in this case.
Remarketing is when a customer has contact with your company, in this case, your website and you program on the Google Ads platform that ads appear for your customer after that contact. This explains why we have been seeing products that we previously budgeted for weeks, or in cases of just entering to take a look at a product / service.
Ways to download an ebook
There is more than one point in the customer’s journey where an ebook can be placed, also varying the way it will be presented, according to the stage that he is in the purchase journey.
Let’s use three examples to contextualize the ways of using the Ebook:
Example 1: The customer sees an advertisement about your company on a social network, searches for more about your product on Google and finds an ad with a landing page, where there is an ebook about the product with all the information. At the end, there is a coupon for a discount on the product. He goes to the store and makes the purchase;
Example 2: The customer sees an advertisement about your company on a social network, searches for more about your product on Google and finds an ad with a landing page, where there is an ebook about the product with all the information. He does not download the ebook and is not interested in what he reads on the landing page. Remarketing comes into action, advertising the ebook with a discount when buying the product if he downloads it. He goes to the store and makes the purchase;
Example 3: The customer does not know that he needs the product. You are looking on Google how to solve the problem X that you have at hand. You prepare an Ebook “How to solve problem X”. In this material, you put some ways on how to solve the customer’s problem and emphasize how your company solves it. Then he enters the cycle of the two examples above and you still have a gain of authority with the customer.
Example 4: The customer arrives at the company with the intention to purchase, and is researching among competitors. The customer has already contacted your company and he is looking for a differential. In this case, a rich material such as an Ebook can be the differential that makes him close a deal with your company, with the help of the salesman’s work.
Example 5: The customer follows your brand through your company’s blog. Regularly access the materials you have available online. In this case, you already have some authority before him. He accesses an Ebook advertisement on his website with medium or funnel bottom materials that will make him engage more or directly purchase the product.
Now we can put 4 ways for your customer to download your Ebook. Check which one best fits your need:
Download by Landing Pages
When we use a capture page, we are exchanging material of interest to the customer for their information.
He may come into contact with her through the ad on Google Ads, through social media and remarketing.
This will bring some benefits, such as:
· Contact details;
· Get to know the customer better for personalized service;
· Greater contact with the brand;
· Use of storytelling;
· Reinforce the company’s visual identity.
Download via Social Networks
When we put the material straight to download from a button in a social media ad, we are shortening the path. Which would be great, but we have to think that we are not doing this within our territory.
Your brand will be subject to the rules and limitations of the network you choose for this, but the benefits are almost the same as the landing page:
· Contact details;
· Get to know the customer better for personalized service;
· Less steps to reach the mark;
· Use of storytelling;
· Possible increase in engagement on social networks.
Download by Blog
When the customer is already on your site consuming top of the funnel materials and you are following the visit of that customer, you can place an automation that will say that when he visits x number of pages, allowing a pop-up to download the ebook with funnel medium material.
The benefits of this action are:
· Contact details;
· Get to know the customer better for personalized service;
· Use of storytelling;
· Increased engagement;
· Customer feedback on the action.
Download by output pop-up
It is the digital form of when the salesperson says “But don’t hang up yet!”. As soon as the site identifies that your customer is leaving your site, using the cursor movement, a pop-up is opened with the call to download the ebook in an attempt to offer something to him, allowing the lead to stay on your page and don’t look for a competitor.
The benefits of this action are:
Contact details;
Get to know the customer better for personalized service;
Use of storytelling;
Return of a customer who was lost.
5 Platforms to write your Ebook
There are several free tools where you can assemble your ebook, be it for any occasion. Some platforms you can create not only the ebook, but also a good part of your strategy already within them.
Here are some tips on the best tools and platforms, some being free and others paid for:
Sqribble
Sqribble is a cloud based online platform to create ebooks. It is the first AI enabled tools which creates ebook from any piece of text, images, videos and document in just 60 seconds, yes you heard it correct.
Digital Books (free)
The Digital Books platform is an initiative of the Paramitas Institute to create books in a practical, simple and freeway, originally for teachers and students from the public network.
It was created in 2012, and today the platform has 65,000 registered users, more than 50,000 created books and about 15,000 published books. In it, anyone registered can create, publish and share their book, or even print it in booklet format for distribution.
Designers (paid)
Considered one of the most cost effective companies for digital marketing jobs, designers brings a very intuitive and easy to use ebook creator, landing pages and email marketing. It has several templates to make your life easier and it also has a marketing automation tool on the same platform, where you can make your email flows.
Canva (free)
Canva is a free tool for creating ebooks. Offers an online editor with simple interface. The design can be done using drag and drop elements. You can also import web content directly into your ebook. Canva allows you to create books in pdf, epub and Kindle formats. Once created, you have the possibility to share your digital book.
Adobe Acrobat (paid version)
Adobe is the leading International company in the digital platform market. There was only a paid version on the market until recently, now we have the option to enjoy part of its content in its free version.
They downloaded my ebook, now what?
If you have reached this point, then you are starting a new journey. Your client opened the doors and gave you a chance to contact him. At that time, you can’t do bad things, fill the client with uninteresting emails, etc. How can you avoid this?
Through a good segmentation you get to know your customers more deeply, thus creating a path that they must cross. And most importantly, giving them a purpose for doing all of that.
Having your client’s email in hand, you can segment a flow of emails that reaches you, where you will be guided throughout the process from that point of contact, which would be, in this case, reading the ebook that was sent to him.
After structuring the best content for your lead, it is essential that you continue to find ways to delight him with your product and let him make the decision to make the purchase himself.
7 points to perform well after the ebook
1. Platform: Choose an email sending tool that suits your needs (number of registered emails x amount you need to send).
2. Rating: Rate your customers by the interest they have in their shipments (open rate, response, if they downloaded more than one content, etc.).
3. Language: You know him, talk to him in a closer way that you understand will attract him more.
4. Tests: Test your content. There is no right answer for everyone. Check the best dealings with your audience.
5. Content: Keep sending material that he is attracted to, do not lose quality or you will lose the customer.
6. Targeting: Do not confuse the path your customer must follow until making a purchase. This will prevent you from getting where you wanted to initially.
7. Conversions: Check conversion rates closely to understand what works and what doesn’t work in your strategy.
Conclusion
There are several purposes for using an ebook. So far we have presented the main forms based on the most used practices in daily digital marketing.
All of them have in common the appreciation of the customer as someone who seeks knowledge and who seeks help from the beginning of contact with the brand. Therefore, the importance of having a strategy designed from the beginning.
The most common mistake we see is not understanding or creating a desired persona, that is, the customer you really want to serve. Understanding what he wants and what he needs is the difference between your business failing and succeeding.
And if you think your business deserves to be successful, our crew invites you to do a free consultation of your business with our team of consultants!
