Importance of Content Marketing
you may be wondering why you should use it. Creating content can take
time and effort away from other things you could be doing for your
business. It’s definitely not a magic pill that you can use to experience
instant profit making results. It is however a very valuable process you can
use multiple times to build your business.
As with any marketing endeavor, you have to take the time to create a
strategy, organize a plan and determine how you will measure a content
marketing campaign. Yes, this takes time but it is time well spent. Here are
some statistics that show the value of creating content.
1. According to Nielsen, 58% of consumers trust editorial content.
2. 80% of business decision makers prefer to get company information
in a series of articles versus an advertisement
3. 61% of consumers say they feel better about a company that delivers
custom content and, they are also more likely to buy from that
company.
4. B2B companies with blogs generate 67% more leads per month on
average than non-blogging firms.
5. Content marketing costs 62% less than traditional marketing and
generates about 3 times as many leads.
6. Interesting content is the top 3 reasons people follow brands on
social media.
Since content marketing is still fairly new, its benefits are still being
determined but these numbers are more than promising. In the few years
that businesses have been incorporating content into their marketing
strategy or creating marketing strategy around content, it has provided
great value.
If you’re on the fence about content marketing because you’re wary of
making the investment, consider that you’re already doing some form of
content marketing without even realizing it. Your website, emails and
company newsletters are all forms of content that you use to contribute to
your company’s brand.
You may not realize it but you are already using content in your company
business even if your intent isn’t to garner sales from it. Now it’s time to
change how you view the communication pieces you create for your
company. Everything you create has the ability to drive sales or build an
audience.
Since you’re already creating content for your business, shouldn’t it help
your bottom line.
Here are some additional benefits to help get you off the fence.
1. Content marketing is cost effective
The root of content marketing is information that you already
have. All you need is to put it in a format that can be easily
shared and digested by potential customers. Some of those
formats are free to create and distribute as will be discussed
later. They do take time but once you’ve created a strong piece
of content, it can often be used multiple times to generate
income. So while the initial time investment may be fairly high,
over time the benefits gotten from that piece of content will
make that investment worthwhile.
2. Content marketing helps you build a relationship with your
audience
Any time you communicate with your audience, you make room
for a dialogue which leads to a relationship. Brand loyalty
comes when consumers have a relationship with a brand.
Before content marketing, that relationship usually took years to
develop. Now you can do it in a much shorter amount of time by
sharing content that helps put a face to your company and
brand. Pulling back the corporate veil to share insights into
what drives your company and the values it represents helps
create a much more meaningful connection with consumers.
Content is the tool you can use to do that.
3. Content marketing lets you be a resource
By sharing valuable information and insights with people, you
can demonstrate the value that your company can provide. By
presenting yourself as a resource, it gives you the opportunity
to build a level of trust before people become customers. When
customers trust you, they’re much more likely to become longterm clients. They’re also much more likely to refer other
potential customers to your business.
4. Content marketing gives you a competitive edge
If you’re not a multinational corporation with a huge marketing
budget, it can seem daunting to get into the marketplace and
compete effectively. You may feel like you don’t have the ability
to compete especially if it’s in an industry with a few major
players. Sharing content gives you an edge because it levels
the playing field. You have a unique perspective and can
provide professional insight just like someone at a larger
company. Multinational corporations don’t have a monopoly on
knowledge.
5. Content marketing isn’t industry specific
Every industry can benefit from sharing valuable information
and insight with consumers. You don’t have to be in a creative
or entertainment oriented field to benefit from sharing content.
As long as you are providing value that people can use, you will
benefit from content marketing.
6. Content marketing creates educated customers
Sometimes as a business you spend a lot of time answering the
same questions over and over again. This is why many
business websites have frequently asked questions pages. It’s
done in an attempt to field some of the more common questions
asked to ensure that when consumers make contact, they’re
knowledgeable. By sharing content, you help increase that level
of knowledge even more. It makes your interactions with
customers more focused on how you can help than and less
focused on why they need your help.
7. Content marketing creates empowered consumers
When people are informed and knowledgeable about
something, they’re empowered to make informed decisions.
When your customers are empowered, they can be more savvy
and easier to work with. People can be appreciative when they
are given the ability to become empowered, especially when it’s
through the sharing of information. Appreciative customers can
turn into long term clients.
8. Content marketing can lead to a viral campaign
While it’s not a great idea to make content solely for the
purpose of it going viral, you increase your odds that it will go
viral by creating it. It can be tough to make a piece of content
go viral largely because the factors that lead to that kind of
exposure can vary and are tough to pin down. However, by
creating content, you are much more likely to experience a viral
piece of content than if you don’t create content at all.
9. Content marketing lets you control your message
When you are the one creating the content being used to
represent your business, you can control what that message is
and what it says. You can determine who your ideal audience is
and craft messages solely for them. You can also determine
which piece of content will work best. Sometimes traditional
advertising and marketing messages aren’t the best way to
communicate with your ideal customer. Content marketing
gives you the flexibility and control to do what’s best for your
audience.
10. Content marketing allows you to recycle information
When you create a valuable piece of content, it’s always
possible to reuse that information for additional purposes. You
can turn a white paper into a series of articles and then turn
those articles into short videos. The possibilities for what you
can do with your content are limited only by your own creativity
and imagination.
If the statistics shared at the beginning of this chapter aren’t enough to
convince you why you should be using content marketing, these benefits
that were just outlined should do it. As a small business, you have to be
creative with how you reach your audience. Finding ways you can connect
and show your value will go a long way towards building a sustained
customer base.
Content marketing gives you the ability to use your knowledge and
experience to differentiate yourself from the competition. You are leaving
money on the table if you don’t take full advantage of it. Plus, no one has
the same knowledge and experiences as you. Creating content allows you
to explore and use your own unique selling proposition.
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