Content marketing is, as you might have guessed, a type of marketing strategy.
But how is it different from other types of marketing that you know?
First, think of it as the opposite of traditional marketing methods like advertising.
What is content marketing?
Content marketing is the process of planning, creating, and distributing valuable and valuable content (blogs, videos, podcast episodes, e-books, guides, etc.) with the goal of attracting and engaging a specific audience.
- Brands and marketers conduct research to discover their customers' pain points, questions and information needs about their industry, products or services.
- They then create content to alleviate pain points, answer those questions, and provide that information.
- Over time, as a prospect interacts with your product, reads and interacts with your content, their trust and brand loyalty grows.
- Ultimately, that loyalty becomes the ultimate goal of any content marketing strategy: a sale or other profitable activity for the brand.
Content marketing and traditional marketing
We briefly touched on traditional marketing vs. content marketing.
What is the difference?
In terms of ROI, content marketing costs less than traditional marketing, but generates three times more leads.
Also worth noting: Desktop ad blocking has reached an all-time high, meaning more people than ever are using ad blocking software to remove traditional ads from their internet.
In the Demand Gen report, 70% of consumers reported consuming at least three ingredients during the purchase process.
Content marketing is the present and the future of marketing. It exists in contrast to traditional marketing.
Traditional marketing
Traditional marketing uses external methods to communicate the brand and its products/services to consumers .
This is the type of marketing you see every day in your life. Brands promote themselves all the time, so much so that most of us have learned to ignore them.
Outcome measures include:
- Television advertising
- Advertising signs.
- Publish ads (eg in magazines and newspapers).
- Display advertisements (such as banners or pop-ups on websites).
- Cold call.
- The show.
- Door to door sales.
Content marketing
In contrast, content marketing is an inbound method , meaning that brands create and publish content with the expectation that it will organically attract potential customers through demand, interest, and engagement.
Content marketing is all about presenting your audience with the right content at the right time.
It gently nudges them to increase brand awareness, increase engagement, and lead them down the brand's marketing pipeline to profitable actions (such as purchases).
Why Use Content Marketing?
Now you can be confident that you are using content marketing. No matter where you are now, the benefits of investing in content speak for themselves.
1. Attract more (and better) leads
Content marketing attracts three times more leads than traditional marketing.
Also, the leads are often more relevant (ie more likely to buy) due to the nature of the content.
Consistently good content that educates, reminds or inspires helps connect your audience with your brand over time. These relationships build trust in the brand experience and create brand memory.
The first exposure to a brand through content is powerful, especially when that content is relevant to their concerns, relevant and of high quality. It's just a great experience that keeps them coming back for more... and more.
When they are finally ready to buy, who do they turn to? A brand they trust to always provide them with great content.
2. It is more cost effective and sustainable
Traditional marketing often involves paying for visibility. It sends a message or name to the general public. And no matter where you advertise, advertising space costs money.
This visibility ends when you remove these ads and stop paying.
Content marketing couldn't be more different.
The cost is usually upfront - if you can't build it yourself, you need to pay someone to do it for you. Depending on the content, you may need to pay a writer/editor, graphic designer, video editor, or animator.
Once the content is created and published, the possibilities are endless.
- If the topic is consistent and the content is optimized for SEO, it can drive passive traffic for years on autopilot. This brand equates to passive leads that come without having to work for them or pay extra.
- This content can be used and reused indefinitely, reducing the cost of creating new content.
- A work can remain relevant for a long time with systematic and inexpensive updates such as minor rewrites.
Now the entire website is filled with evergreen content optimized for long-tail keywords that attract unique leads that are more likely to convert. With the right structure, the right strategy, and the right content, this site becomes a lead generation machine.
And it still costs 62% less than traditional marketing methods.
3. Consumers choose
Let's be realistic. Surprisingly, consumers actively avoid traditional marketing (such as advertising) when it is ignored. Some of the strategies people use to block them include:
- Ad blockers
- Change your media habits to see fewer ads.
- Pay for subscriptions that promise no ads.
What do consumers prefer?
Content marketing, of course.
70% say they would rather learn about a company through content than through traditional advertising. They want to see valuable content from their favorite brands and are actively searching throughout the sales cycle, from awareness to decision.
Ultimately, since consumers have more sales tactics than ever before, meeting them where they are with content is just a smart move.
Earn the trust of regular traders.
How to start practicing content marketing
Ready to start content marketing?
Never jump blindly. You need a strategy to ensure you get the results you want.
These are the first steps in implementing a content marketing and SEO strategy.
Step 1. Define your goals
First, determine what you're getting out of content marketing. Choose one or two specific goals and decide how you will track and measure them.
For established brands, you may need to conduct a website and content audit to determine what goals will drive your business (or your customers), where you stand, and what you need to do to make both work.
For new brands, remember that content marketing takes time and consistency to pay off. Setting goals means looking at what you can achieve with the resources you have.
Here are some common content marketing goals and related content types:
- More Traffic – Combine content marketing and SEO with a keyword-optimized blog to drive more relevant traffic from Google.
- More Leads - Leverage existing traffic on your site by nurturing visitors by creating consistent content on relevant topics (blogs, videos, podcast episodes, guides, reports).
- Sell : Create content (testimonials, case studies, white papers) designed to demonstrate the value of your business to potential customers at the decision stage.
Step 2: Define your audience
Next, make sure you know exactly who you're creating content for.
To create content that truly nurtures them, you need to understand their needs, preferences, challenges and pain points. The only way to gather all this information? To explore.
In particular, people research can help you understand who is visiting your site, whether they are interested in what you or your customers sell, and what motivates them.
Also important: One-on-one interviews with ideal customers provide insights into a specific brand's industry challenges.
Step 3: Choose your content platform and formats
Don't take the next step until you understand where your audience is online and what content formats they prefer. Plan your content marketing accordingly.
For example, do you post any blogs? A podcast? Video? where do you write. Which platform will be your primary focus?
Remember, you don't need to be on every platform to be successful. Pick a few to focus your efforts on and the results will be better than trying to appear everywhere.
I recommend focusing on one or two social media support channels for your property, website, and blog.
Step 4 - Plan content topics based on keywords
One of the golden rules of content marketing is:
Don't assume you can create. Stay tuned for information.
For this reason, plan content topics and back them up with research (or before and after research). Find out what your audience really wants to read, see or hear, and then create it.
With that in mind, some of the best content topics come directly from your audience research. Use these topics to create engaging content that directly answers your questions and solves your dilemma.
Finally, match your content topics with relevant keywords that you can win in search engines.
Use SEO strategies to optimize your content for these keywords and drive people (yours) to content that directly addresses the issues and questions you're asking.
Step 5: Decide who will write/create
In order for the content to work, it needs to be of the highest possible quality. This means that your content will satisfy your audience and protect your reputation by building your reputation.
This is hard work and you may need help with this (of course, I recommend that you never write your own content!).
At this point, brands may need to hire a creative (or two or three, depending on scale) to handle the bulk of the creative. Decide which tasks to outsource (writing? editing? video editing? graphic design?) and plan how the content creation will look overall.
Step 6: Plan your content publishing schedule
The last thing you need to plan is your content publishing schedule. However, a common mistake is to overestimate the amount of content that can be safely posted on a regular basis.
Remember: consistency and quality are just as important as quantity. If the former suffers because you overdo it, it will affect your strategy and results.
The key is to find a good balance if you're creating high-quality content on a weekly (bi-weekly or monthly) basis.
While having more content on your site is associated with traffic, if the content is of poor quality, it will fail to attract, nurture and convert.
Content marketing is a smart way to grow.
Content marketing is marketing smart, plain and simple.
It's about planning, creating and distributing great content that engages your audience, captures their interest, builds trust and ultimately leads to a purchase.
Compared to traditional marketing, it is more cost-effective, attracts more qualified leads and is easier to retain. This is what consumers prefer to see from brands they like and care about.
If you have a game plan and stick to a strategy, getting started in content marketing isn't difficult. Content marketing should never be done by the seat of our pants. Careful planning is the key to achieving your goals, achieving success and getting a return on your investment.
With the right ingredients, your content marketing efforts will have a greater potential to stay on your site longer and ultimately convert into customers.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not of Search Engine Land. Staff writers are listed here.
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