Wondering if content marketing is right for your business?
Content marketing is one of the most powerful promotional strategies being used by businesses of all sizes, across all channels, in all industries. It doesn’t matter what type of business you have, content marketing offers six important benefits.
Your prospects trust it more than marketing
Hard-sell marketing has left a bad taste in consumers’ mouths. They’re tired of hype and inflated promises. They’re tired of being taken for a ride. What they want is solid, trustworthy information that will help them make up their own minds.
Enter content marketing.
According to the Custom Publishing Council and Roper Public Affairs, 8 out of 10 business decision-makers would rather get company information from articles than advertisements. They know content providers are selling something but don’t see that as a problem if the information is valuable.
It’s the same for all consumers. People want information, not a sales pitch. That’s the most important benefit of content marketing.
It’s branding + PR + marketing: all wrapped up in one
We call it content marketing, but it’s more than pure marketing. When done right, content becomes the foundation of all your promotional efforts.
Content supports the sales funnel, which makes it a valuable sales tool. Like advertising, it builds you brand and name recognition. Like public relations, it builds goodwill and provides an avenue for soft selling, which is received far better than hardcore marketing.
In short, it works for lead generation, nurturing and closing the sale. And it can build continuity by turning one-time customers into loyal fans.
Content attracts and converts qualified prospects
Seven out of 10 business decision-makers feel closer to companies that provide helpful content. Six out of 10 believe content helps them make better decisions (the Custom Publishing Council and Roper Public Affairs).
These findings suggest that just by providing useful information, you can build relationship with your ideal prospects.
Not only that, a strong content marketing strategy allows to you to promote a well-integrated message across all channels. That means you can deliver your message directly to prospects, no matter where they are.
Consistent high-quality content positions you as a thought leader
Content is the absolute best way to build credibility. Content marketing allows you to publish your thoughts in blogs, in online and print media, in teleseminars and webinars, through social media and more. Want even better credibility? Write a book.
The key, of course, is to have something valuable to say. You must have an original point of view. Then, as your ideas gain traction, you can gain incredible exposure as a leader in your industry.
Strategic long-tail keyphrases offer SEO benefits to your website
When combined with a robust optimization strategy, content marketing will attract and nurture prospects throughout the entire sales process.
Think about it. The goal for online marketing is high search engine rankings. To achieve that, it must be well optimized for every stage of your sales funnel.
Typically, businesses focus on generic keywords and terms with a high number of monthly searches. Yet long-tail terms, the product-specific phrases that few people search for, will often yield highly qualified leads who are ready to make a purchase decision.
By developing content for all search terms, you can rank better and attract more qualified prospects, giving you a much stronger online presence.
Google rewards user-friendly content with better search rankings
Since the Panda updates early in 2011, content has become critical to good search engine rankings. To rank well, you need original content and lots of it.
In order to do this, though, you must think of yourself as a publisher, not just a business with a blog. The best way to ensure consistently high-quality content is to develop an editorial calendar with set publication schedule, then repurpose that content for even greater reach.
In short, you need to embrace content marketing for what it is, a strategic way to build your business by providing useful, actionable information that helps your prospects.
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Content marketing, like any marketing plan, needs a strategic plan to ensure good results. If you’d like to learn more about content marketing techniques that will benefit your business, don’t hesitate to contact me.
photo credit: Casey David
