Content Marketing is a great way to get new customers. Content marketing involves the creation of interesting content, including articles, videos and infographics, with the purpose of convincing people to buy your product or service. Content marketing has many benefits which are outlined below.
Content Marketing Benefits
The first benefit of Content Marketing is that it can help you establish thought leadership in your field. Content Marketing can allow you an outlet for sharing valuable information on topics you’re passionate about with the world. By doing this, Content Marketing can differentiate your business from competitors by positioning them as experts within their industry through media coverage and social shares. Without Content Marketing, establishing thought leadership would have been much more difficult to achieve however Content Marketing makes easy due to its wide reach across the web.
Content Marketing also has the advantage of being an exponential medium, meaning that one piece of content can be shared thousands of times across social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. This leads to Content Marketing’s biggest benefit which is its ability to generate more leads. Content Marketing helps you bring in new customers by having your company mentioned or linked on popular websites. Your company will get free advertising through Content Marketing due to the quality of the content provided, leading to thousands of potential consumers seeing your business’ name each day.
Content Marketing is also incredibly versatile, allowing for an infinite number of different types of Content Marketing including blogging, infographic design, video creation, article writing etc., making Content Marketing highly effective at targeting almost every type of consumer out there. Content Marketing is a strategy that requires a long-term commitment, however the Content Marketing benefits listed above really start to take effect after a few months. Content Marketing works best when it’s done consistently over a period of several months, allowing for new customers to become acquainted with your company and form an opinion about you. Content Marketing is also cost effective compared to other traditional forms of advertising such as newspaper ads or billboards as Content Marketing does not require any outlay from your business as all Content Marketing works by generating traffic back to your website where users can interact with your brand directly.
Content Marketing tips for beginners so you can get up to speed quickly with a practical plan of action:
1. Start with goals:
Content Marketing efforts must have goals in order to measure success, so start their first before expanding on specific strategies or tactics elsewhere in your campaign plans. Mapping out your Content Marketing goals will help keep you on track and guide the Content Marketing activities you choose to implement. Determine what kind of Content Marketing formats suit your resources, before exploring a range of Content Marketing tactics.
2. Content Focus:
Content needs to be easily accessible and highly visible in order for users to find it when they need it most, which is why traditional search engine optimisation (SEO) principles still apply. From using keywords effectively to ensuring titles are interesting and compelling, use SEO best practices as a foundation for your Content Marketing activities to give you the highest return possible per piece, with the least amount of effort required on your part.
3. Don’t create one-off content – build a library Your Content must be evergreen:
Content Marketing is all about building a relationship with your audience, so Content must be relevant and useful to your users, even months down the line. Content formats such as Infographics are more likely to have long-term value than traditional blog posts or articles because the information isn’t dated when published.
4. Give credit where it’s due:
Content Marketing success will depend on how well you understand what works best with your target audience, but working together with influencers in your niche can be one of the fastest ways to establish thought leadership credentials in a new market space. By collaborating on Content pieces or interviewing experts in your industry, you can build credibility with readers while also adding fresh ideas and insight to resources produce for them at the same time.
5. Content distribution:
Content Marketing works best when you have a range of Content formats to choose from, so mix things up to ensure all forms of media are covered across the board. Videos, Infographics and Photos can be as effective as white papers or eBooks if you provide relevant information in an enjoyable multimedia format that is easy for users to digest quickly.
6. Content promotion:
Even Content produced by experts isn’t likely to achieve much success unless it’s seen by those who need it most – your target audience. Promoting Content through social media networks will help increase visibility and engagement with your Content, but remember that the quality of your marketing efforts must always outweigh quantity. It’s better to publish high-quality content on a regular basis than large volumes of Content that is not up to standard.
7. Content updates:
Content should be updated on a regular basis in order to keep it fresh and relevant, but don’t change your Content so often that you upset established fan bases who have subscribed because they are interested in your Content at the time of publishing. Unless there are significant changes or new information available, try to stick to an update schedule around monthly or quarterly Content uploads for best results.
8. Keep it relevant Relevant:
Content Marketing is more likely to attract readers who want to progress further by buying what you’re selling, sharing it with others through social media networks or even subscribing if you publish premium content behind a paywall. However, this also means that irrelevant Content Marketing will turn users away because Content relevance directly impacts Content quality and how it is perceived by other readers.
9. Content formats:
Content Marketing is a broad term, but different Content formats suit different Content styles and subject matter. For example, images will be more effective at conveying certain messages than long-form blog posts or videos. There are no hard-and-fast rules about what Content formats work best, but simply use the medium that suits your message best to ensure an engaging experience for your audience from start to finish.
10. Content promotion:
Content Promotion should also focus on building relationships with influencers in your market space as well as those who have a loyal following among the demographic you wish to convert – whether they’re individuals within a company or a large body of consumer advocates. Content Promotion can be as simple as placing a link to your Content within relevant Facebook or LinkedIn groups, or asking somebody else to publish an article containing your Content on their website, blog or even through social media networks.
Content marketing is seen by many experts as the future of digital marketing. Content Marketing Institute noted that brands will spend more on content marketing than traditional advertising by 2018. Content marketing involves creating and distributing content to engage and acquire a clearly defined audience, with the ultimate goal of driving profitable customer action. By understanding what content your audience consumes, you can combine various forms of media to create a compelling offer that builds trust and credibility over time.