Content marketing plays an incredibly important role in digital marketing and, in particular, to ensuring the effectiveness of digital marketing strategies. If marketing is the engine that keeps a business ticking over, content marketing is the lifeblood that flows through it.
What is content marketing?
Content marketing is the evidence your business offers that you are experts in your field, you value the business of your audience, and you have something that sets you apart from the rest. This can take the form of blog posts, case studies, emails, social media posts, newsletters, and more. The key to content marketing is to ensure your content is relevant, regular, and created with SEO in mind.
How does content marketing work?
Content marketing works by speaking to your audience at every prospective stage of their buyer journey – from the moment they first hear about your business, to the time when they decide to purchase.
The ways in which content marketing works can be broken down into three distinct stages.
1. Awareness
First impressions count; and it’s no different when it comes to content marketing. The first interaction your audience has with your business online sets the tone for everything that follows; so, if you want to engage them, it starts at the very beginning.
At the awareness stage, content can range from informative blog posts and articles, to email marketing and newsletters. The key word there is informative – at this stage, you don’t want to bombard your audience with fifty facts about why you’re the best business EVER!!! and they should definitely be buying from you and only you. The priority at this stage is to educate and demonstrate: educate your audience with the advice that they need, and demonstrate that you’re a trusted, well-informed business that knows what it’s talking about.
2. Consideration
Your audience has found you, and they’re mulling over whether you’re the business to buy from or not. This is the stage at which you can start to gently incorporate reasons why your business is so good at what it does. You are still educating, but sprinkling in marketing amongst the useful information.
A good rule for this stage is to directly address problems or queries your prospective customers’ might have with answers directly linked to what your business can do for them. This shows your audience that you have understood their needs and can offer solutions to these needs – far more effective than hard selling yourself as an expert in your field, without appealing directly to your audience’s reasons for seeking you out in the first place.
3. Closing
When it gets close to crunch time (i.e. a prospective customer who is nearly ready to buy from you) content marketing still plays a crucial role. You can, at this point, really drive home why your business is the one. This should continue to come from demonstrating your expertise in your field. You can also start to bed down into what separates your business from the rest.
Why is content marketing important?
Content marketing created with a strong digital marketing strategy behind it is most likely to positively influence your business’s online presence online. Well-executed, expertly researched content marketing can help with a number of things.
Improving your industry authority
Relevant content packed with industry news and trends establishes your business as an authority. It builds trust with your existing audience and with those checking out your business for the first time.
On the other hand, if you do not post content regularly, you can easily fall behind competitors who do invest in their content marketing. Competitors with websites brimming with insightful, regular content will be seen as better informed, and therefore better able to help your audience achieve their goal.
Increasing your visibility to generate more leads
Every piece of content marketing you share – whether it’s a new blog, a social post, or a monthly newsletter – is another chance to connect with your audience. It also encourages engagement from them, inviting them to reach out to you with their questions and enquiries.
Educational content that demonstrates your knowledge as an industry expert also makes prospective customers feel more confident in trusting their business to you. If your content is SEO driven, it is also far likelier to reach people who are searching for the services your business can help them with.
Without regular content, you miss opportunities to engage with your audience. Content marketing lets you connect with potential and existing customers, answer their questions, and build relationships. Without it, your brand might come off as distant and unresponsive.
Establishing customer loyalty
Content marketing plays a huge part in keeping your customers interested and loyal. Customer loyalty leads to repeat business, new leads through positive recommendations, and better engagement with your business and everything you are trying to achieve.
Putting out content that updates your customers on new developments within your business, exciting industry news, or exclusive offers helps establish trust and gives your business personality.
Improving user experience
A plethora of well informed, well written content in your business’s unique tone of voice will make users’ experience with your website much richer – and therefore more memorable.
Websites populated with sparse, poorly written, outdated or irrelevant content, on the other hand, negatively impact both the user experience, and the impression the user will get of your business.
