Many people question the importance of content in successful Search Engine Optimization (SEO) efforts.
The marketing culture has certainly evolved since the days of simple newspaper ads or radio segments, and to this day it is an ever-changing vessel. The one thing that has and will remain constant in marketing is the need for one trait: value. The search engine favors that very trait and that trait alone.
Internet users are more hip to the advertising gimmicks and shameless self-promotions than ever before. 200 million people now use ad blockers. According to eMarketer, three out of every 10 internet users will be using ad blockers by the end of 2018. In fact, music services such as Spotify and Pandora leverage ads as a means by which to get customers to purchase ad-free listening experience.
Content marketing however, costs 62 percent less than outbound marketing and generates more than three times as many leads.
So what’s the secret?
Encapsulating your ideal market is all about cultivating a relationship between your brand and its intended market, establishing trust so they will genuinely want to engage with and purchase from your brand.
This can be done in various ways, but it all centers around the central idea of providing relevant and useful content to your prospects and customers to help them solve their problems.
When you solve your markets’ problems, you see their appreciation in their newfound desire to engage with your business above others.
Content Marketing Encourages Customer Loyalty
The difference between the antiquated version(s) of marketing and content marketing is that marketers have finally realized that people don’t want to be spammed with mechanical, sales-y garbage.
Human beings are wired to connect socially, and that doesn’t change simply because they’re in the decision-making stage of the buying process. In fact, I would argue that when we are able to connect with brands, it satisfies a desire that we perhaps didn’t know we had, thus making us more likely to stay loyal to said brand.
Back in those before-the-internet days, people had these things called face-to-face conversations during every purchasing decision.
They built relationships with brands by shaking hands with the owner of the hardware store, or by delivering fresh baked goods to the local supermarket manager. Even with all of the technological advances our society exhibits, our insatiable desire to connect as human beings cannot be superseded by impersonal and disingenuous interactions.
Content marketing makes your brand stand out in a world full of sales pitches and advertisements.
You’ll be the leader of the pack if, instead of trying to push your product or service, you’re offering genuine engagement with and adding value to the lives of your current and potential customers.
Take a look at a brand like Cabot. Cabot is a farming co-op. They leverage the personal touch by putting a face and a name to farming families and their animals, almost personally introducing the internet user to each. This establishes nothing, I mean nothing, other than simple human connection. It’s important to note that content marketing must be genuine and true to your brand as well.
How does a brand like Cabot become SEO-favored and inadvertently, lead magnetizing?
Simple: Making a personal connection with their market through successful content marketing efforts.
Good Content is Mutually Beneficial
When you push out content that is valuable to your targeted customer base, you can expect to see increased sales.
The starting goal of a content marketing strategy is to drive demand for your products and services by creating “friends” or “subscribers” or “followers” who easily recognize your brand, enjoy it and become customers.
You nurture people who are engaged with your branding but aren’t yet at the purchasing decision. When they’re ready, you’ll come to their minds.
In addition, it cuts costs substantially. Instead of implementing the tired way of marketing with shameless self-promotion, you can invest in creating valuable and innovative resources that will feed audiences for a substantially longer amount of time.
Going back to nurturing them, this is a much better tactic than pushing ads in their faces–ads that cost money to publish and may only stay relevant for a short amount of time. This allows you to cut costs by using a strategy to deliver information to a targeted audience, resulting in a highly-targeted lead pool.
When companies implement content marketing, they have conversion rates nearly six times higher than competitors who do not utilize its power.
Content is the Foundation for All Things in SEO Marketing
If you don’t have a content strategy, you don’t have a leg to stand on when it comes to marketing. If your plan lacks high-caliber content, you can’t move forward with your marketing initiatives and you won’t stand a chance in ranking well in the (Search Engine Results Page) SERP.
For example, content marketing strategy effects how you format your inbound marketing, pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns, public relations efforts, search engine optimization and social media strategy. Sites are generously rewarded for creating quality content on a consistent basis, and you must create captivating content for the ads. In an effort to drive inbound leads, content is what baits and hook your prospects.
You get the picture, content is a big deal:
Can you imagine how your business would evolve if your content was something clients awaited with great anticipation? What if you made them laugh? Do you think that would change how they view your brand and their loyalty to you?
You bet it would!
As with any marketing strategy, there are many different moving parts. If you’re ready to learn more about how to up the ante with your own strategy, you don’t have to do it alone. We are happy to provide you with any assistance you may need. Feel free give us a call or complete our online form to learn more about developing your content marketing strategy.
