The Green Sheet Online Edition
June 22, 2026 • 26:06:02
Street Smarts
Sizzling content marketing ideas for a successful season Part 1 - Building the foundation
Summer is here, bringing longer days, outdoor gatherings and a welcome opportunity to recharge. For merchants, however, summer is also the starting point for planning some of the busiest shopping periods of the year, including Back-to-School, Halloween, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the winter holiday season.
For ISOs and merchant level salespeople (MLSs), summer presents an ideal opportunity to strengthen merchant relationships and prepare for the busy selling seasons ahead. While sales efforts remain focused on acquiring and retaining merchants, marketing plays a critical role in building trust, educating customers and creating long-term engagement that drives growth.
Today's merchants are operating in an increasingly complex environment. They are navigating changing consumer expectations, economic uncertainty, labor challenges and rapid advances in technology. As trusted advisers, payments professionals can provide valuable guidance by sharing insights, tools and solutions that help merchants operate more efficiently and compete more effectively.
The most successful content marketing strategies begin with a clear understanding of your audience and the value you bring to the marketplace.
Determine your market potential
Every effective marketing strategy starts with knowing where your strengths lie. Organizations invest considerable amounts of time and resources developing partnerships with processors, gateways, software providers, OEMs and other technology vendors. Those partnerships often determine which merchant verticals are supported most effectively.
Before launching marketing campaigns, evaluate your existing capabilities and identify the industries where your solutions deliver the greatest value. Whether your focus is retail, hospitality, healthcare, professional services or ecommerce, your marketing efforts should align with the markets you know best.
Just as important is understanding what challenges your merchants are facing today. Payment acceptance is no longer a standalone service; it has become part of a broader business technology ecosystem. Merchants are looking for solutions that streamline operations, improve customer experiences, reduce costs and provide actionable business insights. This is where data can become one of your greatest marketing assets.
By analyzing customer feedback, sales conversations, support requests and merchant trends, marketing teams can identify common pain points and create content that addresses them. Educational articles, webinars, case studies, videos and newsletters can position your organization as a trusted resource rather than simply another vendor.
Artificial intelligence is also creating new opportunities for marketers to better understand merchant needs. AI-powered analytics tools can help identify content trends, predict customer interests, personalize communications, and uncover opportunities for cross-selling products and services. While AI should never replace human expertise, it can help marketing teams work smarter and create more relevant content on a scale.
Build a brand that merchants trust
In a crowded marketplace, your brand is often your most valuable differentiator. A strong brand goes far beyond logos and color palettes. It represents the personality, values, and promises that merchants associate with your organization. Every interaction—whether through sales conversations, email campaigns, social media posts, webinars or customer support—contributes to how your brand is perceived.
Ask yourself: What characteristics define your organization? Do you want to be viewed as innovative and forward-thinking? Dependable and trustworthy? Friendly and approachable? Strategic and consultative?
Once you have defined your brand personality, ensure that every marketing touchpoint reflects those attributes consistently. For example, if your company positions itself as a trusted adviser, your content should focus on educating merchants rather than aggressively selling them. If innovation is a core brand value, share insights on emerging technologies, AI-driven business tools, integrated software solutions and industry trends.
Consistency matters more than ever. Today's merchants interact with brands across multiple channels, including websites, email, social media, video platforms, online reviews and digital communities. Maintaining a consistent voice and message across these channels builds familiarity and trust.
Video content has become particularly important. Short-form videos, educational webinars, product demonstrations and customer success stories allow organizations to communicate complex ideas quickly and effectively. Even simple smartphone-recorded videos can significantly increase engagement when the content provides genuine value.
As markets evolve, brands should periodically evaluate whether their messaging still reflects who they are and where they are headed. Rebranding is not always necessary, but refreshing your visual identity, messaging or positioning can help ensure your organization remains relevant in a changing marketplace.
In Part 2 of this series, I will explore how organizations can leverage modern marketing channels, AI-powered personalization and omnichannel engagement strategies to stay connected with merchants and drive long-term growth. 
Jaki Kackert is a seasoned marketing professional with experience supporting organizations across the payments and financial services industries. Through expertise in content marketing, digital strategy, public relations, and communications, she helps ISOs and Resellers build marketing strategies that attract, retain, and grow merchant portfolios. For more information please visit www.kackertmarketing.com or reach out to Jaki at jbkackert@gmail.com
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