Content Marketing
Content marketing is a marketing strategy used to attract, engage, and retain an audience by creating and sharing relevant articles, videos, podcasts, and other media. This approach establishes expertise, promotes brand awareness, and keeps your business at the forefront.
The content marketing strategy positions your brand as a leader, enhancing trust among your audience through the creation and distribution of content in various formats. Content marketing is a type of inbound marketing that attracts customers and builds loyalty, making it effective for customer retention.
Definition of Content Marketing: What is Content Marketing?
Content marketing involves the development and distribution of relevant, useful content such as blogs, newsletters, white papers, social media posts, emails, videos, and similar materials to current and potential customers. When done correctly, this content conveys expertise and clearly shows that the company values the people it sells to.
Consistent use of content marketing establishes and nurtures relationships with your potential and existing customers. When your audience thinks of your company as a partner interested in their success and a valuable source of advice and guidance, they are more likely to choose you when it’s time to make a purchase.
Why is content marketing important?
Content marketing is a proven tactic that works. Moreover, it provides a competitive advantage. Here’s what the data says about content marketing:
- Companies with blogs receive 67% more leads than other companies.
- 67% of business-to-business (B2B) marketers say B2B content marketing increases engagement and the number of leads generated.
- 88% of people say video content convinces them to purchase a product or service.
Content marketing benefits businesses in many ways. When done correctly, an effective content marketing strategy can:
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Increase online visibility. A content strategy can help you attract more customers and website visitors, especially when people are constantly looking for solutions to their pain points. Providing educational and informative content on topics that interest them can help you increase online visibility through your website or social media accounts.
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Generate more leads. You can increase leads when content marketing is used to drive traffic. Since educating customers builds trust and helps them feel more comfortable buying from your business, you can generate more leads and begin developing relationships with potential buyers.
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Increase loyalty. Loyalty is essential in marketing and business because the more loyal your customers are, the more repeat purchases they will make. Offering content that informs users can help them start building trust with your brand and see you as a thought leader.
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Improve authority. Developing content is ideal for enhancing authority and becoming a leader in your industry. Content not only helps you build trust but can also position your brand as the most authoritative on a specific topic.
How does content marketing work?
Your business can use content marketing to attract potential customers and make a case for your product or service when someone is researching what to buy.
To use it effectively, you’ll need to provide the right content at every stage of the sales cycle, from awareness through consideration to purchase. If that sounds complicated, don’t worry—the approach to content in this way actually simplifies the process.
Here’s how companies use content marketing at each stage of the sales cycle to engage and sell.
Awareness Stage
At the first stage of the sales process, your content should focus on the core concerns of your audience. Addressing their pain points, challenges, and questions gives you the best chance to engage with them. The content at the awareness stage should be educational and instructional. Save your sales pitches for the consideration and decision phases.
The best content for this stage includes articles, blog posts, eBooks, videos, and newsletters.
Consideration Stage
At the consideration stage, the content should offer a hybrid of useful information and marketing. It should educate the reader on what features or characteristics to look for and how different properties meet their needs. Naturally, your content should lean towards what your business offers.
The best content for this stage includes case studies, how-to articles, instructional videos, and checklists or worksheets.
Decision Stage
Content marketing plays an important role when the potential customer is close to making a purchase. At this stage, you can focus on sales as long as you continue to emphasize why you are the best choice rather than just how great your services or products are.
Your key message here should be your experience, knowledge, and the differentiating benefits of what you are selling.
The best content for this stage includes case studies, user-generated content, buyer’s guides, product videos, and research reports.
How to Get Started with Content Marketing
Content marketing may seem overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. A successful content marketing campaign should be manageable and carefully planned. Follow these steps to achieve the best results:
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Create a content plan. Developing a content plan is an important part that outlines the type of content you will create, how you will promote it, and who is responsible for different parts of the process. You can use marketing software or even a spreadsheet to track your plans and project stages.
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Set your goals. Define your content goals so you can assess your results later. Do you want to increase traffic, generate leads, build loyalty, or strengthen your authority?
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Create a publishing schedule. Regularly publishing content, whether it’s new content or updated versions of older articles, is important. Some companies choose to publish once a week, while others do so daily. Regardless of your choice, consistency is key.
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Choose your topics. Select topics that are relevant to your target audience and focus on them. Identify and address their needs to help generate traffic and increase engagement.
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Produce the content. Once you have your topics and schedule, let the content generation process begin. Start writing, filming videos, or posting information, and then distribute it.
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Analyze and improve. After publishing, track your results and analyze what works and what doesn’t. Use this data to update your content plan so you can continuously improve and adapt.
To learn more about how BrandZilla can help you with your social media strategy and how to create an effective planning calendar, schedule a free consultation with our specialist.
