The A-Z Guide to Government Marketing – Part Three

by Brian Chidester, Manager, Strategic Accounts & Content Marketing

In The A-Z Guide to Government Marketing – Part One and The A-Z Guide to Government Marketing – Part Two I provided marketing insights for letters A-S that explored multiple marketing niches including content production, automation strategy, digital best practices, and more.

Below is the third and final installment of The A-Z Guide to Government Marketing series — letters T-Z of the ABC’s of Government Marketing:

T: Thought Leadership – Thought leadership is vital to B2G marketers because of the complexity and length of the decision-making process in public sector environments and the large number of people involved. For marketers, Thought Leadership allows us to define the category of our solution in customer terms. I believe branding is all about being associated with the questions our target personas are asking. Ultimately, thought leadership assets need to inspire our personas to act, and to take the next step in the buyer’s journey.

U: USP (Unique Selling Proposition) – A unique selling proposition, which defines your company’s unique position in the marketplace, is an often overlooked, but very important element differentiating your solution against a competitor’s. A strong unique selling proposition lets you to stand apart from competitors and actively focus your energy on creating products that cater to your ideal target personas. Most prospects, especially at the beginning of the buyer’s journey, have difficulty deciding which option in the industry is the one that deserves their time, money, and trust. As marketer’s, it is our job to assist them by making the unique selling proposition that will differentiate your solution from the rest.

V: Visual Content – Visual content is critical for content marketers who want to catch their prospects’ attention. Sixty-three percent of social media is made up of images; that means nearly two-thirds of social media updates are visual content, according to a report from Citrix. Even more impressive, nearly half of all Internet users have reposted a photo or video they have found online. Invest in content assets like infographics, videos, and data visualizations to help make your content more interesting, be consumed, and likely get shared.

W: Whitepapers – The purpose of a white paper is to promote your product, service, technology or methodology, and to influence current and prospective customers’ decisions. However, very often I see whitepapers misused by companies within the sale’s funnel. Generally, marketers spend countless amounts of time and resources to produce a premier whitepaper and because of this investment, they immediately just push it out everywhere. These assets are better served for your qualified leads that have already decided they are purchasing your technology, which means they would be better suited for the sales funnel later in the buying process. These are valuable assets in your marketing arsenal and you will want to save them for audiences where they will be best consumed.

X: X-Factor – No, not the talent show. X-factor is the edge in your business giving you a significant competitive advantage; it’s the sweet spot, where you achieve perfect synergy between what you’re passionate about, what you can be best at, and what the market really wants and is willing to pay for. As marketers, we are tasked with finding this sweet spot and leveraging it in our marketing campaigns. Identifying your X-factor will provide you with the clarity and energy to produce the best long-term marketing results for your organization.

Y: YouTube – Video assets are great marketing tools, especially when they are short, sweet and to the point. However, if they are not seen, they can’t do their job. Creating a YouTube channel is a great way for your company to get their videos seen. It is important that you fill out the title and descriptions though so your videos will be found in organic search. Remember, YouTube is owned by Google and if people are searching for terms that you have written into those text areas, it increases the likelihood they will show up in Google search as well.

Z: Zeitgeist – What are the people in your industry talking about right now? What are their challenges at the moment? If you’re not answering the Government’s needs then they won’t find you relevant or and will not engage with you. Make sure you make your content and messaging relevant to your customers’ needs and reflecting the pulse of the industry.

If you think there are words that should be added to the final half of this alphabet list, let me know the following in comments section below: 1) what they are 2) why you think they’re integral to Government Marketing.

If you have any questions or would like to discuss how we can help you optimize your current marketing strategies and tactical activities, we would love to hear from you and find out where we can add value.

Follow me on Twitter at @chidesterab.