What is content marketing and how can it improve your business?
Experienced marketers have realized that traditional marketing is becoming less and less effective and that there are better ways to promote the brand. One of those ways is content marketing.
Content marketing is a marketing technique that entails the creation and distribution of useful, relevant and consistent content, with the purpose of attracting and retaining specific audience that can bring benefits in the form of increased profits.
Content marketing is the type of marketing based on the idea of not interrupting the users. Products and services are put in the background, and the main focus is on providing additional value to customers through content and useful information that will make them more intelligent.
The essence of this strategy is faith: if we as a company provide valuable information to the customers, they will in return reward us with their loyalty. Therefore, useful content should be the basis and center of all your marketing activities.
What makes the difference between content marketing and other content that can be found on the internet and which is created for the pure purpose of promotion, are its value and relevance. If we take away these two properties from the content, it would completely lose its meaning and turn into spam.
Good content marketing easily attracts peoples attention so that they stop, read, think and behave differently.
If you manage to create and put into practice a long-term strategy based on content quality and providing value, you will succeed in creating a brand new image of yourself or your brand in the mind of your target audience, which will help you build authority and achieve competitive advantage.
How does content marketing work?
Content marketing is used by even the most powerful global companies such as Coca-Cola, Ikea, etc. Why would your company be any different?
In essence, this technique involves communication with your potential customers through content. Content must fulfil the following requirements:
- That the audience enjoys it, and
- To demonstrate to your audience that you are the right person for this business.
However, combining these two “simple” factors could be a bit tricky to obtain. Here is how to do it.
1. Provide a solid basis for the content construction
To create a good content it is necessary to invest a lot of time and energy. But even before that, it is necessary to provide a reliable platform with a domain you own and which you are able to control. In plain words, you need a reliable web hosting with CMS for easy content management.
2. Set up a deep foundation
The basis for your platform should be your audience’s interests. Before the web project starts, it is necessary to carry out a competition and keyword research. After that, you adapt the content to the theme and create landing pages based on the results.
3. Ensure that your content is worth reading
Lengthy content is not enough. It is worth reading only if people actually read it and if it offers them some value. If the content does not get enough likes or social shares, if it reduces traffic and increases bounce rate, all those are indicators of its poor quality.
Good content right from the title attracts the attention of the audience, focusing on problems that readers have, is made to engage and hold the user attention.
To check how efficient your content is, use web analytics as a key tool for content promotion.
4. Ensure your content
Make sure your web hosting provider takes safety seriously and protects your website from hackers.
5. Do not leave your great content in bad company
Though your words may be brilliant, if you put them into an amateur, unprofessional design, your readers will abandon you. Show your readers they matter to you by offering them a professional website design and great UX.
6. Create content that attracts wider audience
Your main content should suffice to build strong relationships with your potential clients. However, it is necessary to find more readers for your content. This means that you need to create content that will attract and expand your audience.
First of all, you need to be skilled in finding interesting topics and writing headlines to attract attention. There is no need to go too far with the headlines, always make sure you fulfil all the promises and offer answers to the questions from the title, or you will have the opposite effect.
7. Build mailing and newsletters lists
The content on the website or a company blog is fantastic for getting attention, but email lists are a better solution for establishing deeper connections.
E-mail has the best influence on customers and attracts their attention better. If you want to direct users to a specific action, just send them an email.
8. Create the content for a long-term commitment
The next logical step in expanding your content availability is guest posting or guest blogging.
Posting on other websites offers your content to a much wider audience spectrum. Besides that, you can use other promotion channels, such as webinars, interviews, videos, which can put you in the sight of a new audience.
Just remember that, whichever channel you use, you should send readers to a website with fabulous content, which is in your control. Other websites should be just a “bait” to attract new audience to your original website.
9. Do not wait too long to make an offer
If you use content marketing, do not forget the marketing part. Your content is directly bound to your business, make sure the audience knows everything about it.
Well-designed landing pages should explain the audience the products and services in a manner that makes their purchase easier. These pages have to be clear so that there is no need to look any further.
Whatever the offer on the website is, make sure that it aligns with what your target audience wants (not something you think they want) and that there is a clear and simple call to action on the website.
10. Go to social networks when you have something worth mentioning
Do not make an announcement on social networks if you have nothing to offer to your audience. All black-hat methods, such as buying likes and attracting users through click-bait titles, can deter your prospective visitors and negatively affect your progress.
The social networks audience will begin to grow only when you offer them something truly valuable. Do not rush to step 10 if you have trouble with step 3 (ensuring your content is quality reading).
Content marketing is not a short-term game that brings instant results. Rather, it is a long-term strategy to build an audience that contributes to and keeps your business running.
How can we help your content?
- BRANDING – When you meet the target customer personally, you have the privilege to present yourself in the best light through verbal communication and body language. One way to achieve this online is through words you use on your site. By publishing content which presents you as an expert in your field, you gain your clients’ trust and work towards successful branding.
- SEO – We could say that content is the most important SEO aspect today. Highest quality content is better ranked in search engines, brings more traffic and more incoming links.
- ENGAGEMENT IN DIFFERENT CHANNELS – Publishing your content on your website and promoting it in mailing and newsletter lists and social media helps you attract more audience and presents your brand in the best light to your visitors, subscribers, fans and followers.
- SALE – There are countless evidence and facts that people prefer doing business with companies that offer comprehensive information online, whether through a website, social media or email content. A large amount of users make purchasing decisions based on the blogs content and the social networks posts frequency.
Order content marketing services
Did you know that you can improve your company's authority and attract new customers with brand building? Content marketing, oftenly called the new SEO, allows for this. Our writers create content for your website using keywords and phrases in informative texts which promote your services, educate your audience and help solve your visitors' problems. With the help of content, you will leave your competition behind and rule the digital world.