Content marketing! Digital marketing! Online marketing!
I know, they’re a bit confusing.
But what is the fuss with content marketing?
Every business is coming up with a “content marketing strategy.” Everyone on LinkedIn is branding themselves as a top content marketing expert.
Plus, content marketing is becoming a well-paying career with an average annual salary of $60,000.
If you don’t know what content marketing is, this is the guide that will shed light on this industry.
We’ll dissect the industry and figure out how it’s important in growing your business.
Ready to roll? Let’s start with a personal scenario.
The Idea of Content Marketing
Before I started my content writing career, I never heard of the word “freelancer” until I bumped onto a website on Google.
You know when you’re bored with your 9-5 job, you always find yourself browsing for the better part of your time at work.
That was me.
So I got interested in becoming a writer, and this website seemed to know everything about it.
I delved into their blog, reading every post I could find addressing my need to become a freelance writer. I also subscribed to their mailing list which they kept sending me lots of guides and free training.
The guy had a paid writing course which I was quite sceptical to purchase at first. Why? I needed more convincing. But after ingesting the content for several months, I was sold. I easily purchased the course without batting an eye.
And that, my friend, is the power of content marketing.
So What Really is Content Marketing?
In simple terms, content marketing creates and gives valuable content to attract leads and transform them into paying customers in the future.
It’s a type of marketing that stands the test of time, compounds a positive ROI, and helps you attract leads and customers.
It can be in the form of:
- Blog posts
- Youtube videos
- Downloadable PDFs
- Social media posts
- Infographics
- Case studies
- e.t.c
Content marketing aims to entertain, educate, and inspire your target audience to be aware of you and connect with your brand.
As of 2019, 85% of companies in the US, with over 100 employees, invested in content marketing. Plus, 40% of global marketers believe that it is the most important part of their overall marketing strategy.
Now, here is where it gets interesting. Content marketing is not like traditional marketing methods where you’d expect returns instantly.
I have heard many businesses complain, “We posted one article on our blog. It’s three months now, and we haven’t made a sale. This thing doesn’t work!”
If you’re like them, you didn’t give content marketing a fair shake. It is a long-term strategy.
Over at land and watersheds, we’ve been posting four articles every month. We put out youtube videos regularly and have created a lot of free downloadables.
We’ve invested a lot of money since we started the affiliate business. It’s over nine months, but we haven’t got any good ROI.
And you know what? We‘re still doing it. Why? We know our content marketing will soon pay off.
Why Is Content Marketing Importance to Businesses?
When done well, content marketing becomes the rocket fuel to your business. That means your business becomes more and more valuable to your target audience.
A perfect example is the Coca-Cola company. Though their beverages have many negative effects on their users’ health, billions of people still consume their products because of their powerful marketing strategy.
They have dominated every form of media with powerful content that makes everyone yearn for their products.
To get an idea of why they have nailed it. Let’s look at a few reasons why content marketing is important.
- Your Content is Your Virtual Asset
In one of his videos on YouTube, Spencer Mecham compares his hundreds of Youtube videos to assets.
The same way the rich would store millions of dollars in real estate, bitcoin, or forex, that’s what content marketing is to your business.
Great content compels your customers to come back again whenever you have something new. The more you create helpful content, you consistently gain new customers in the long run.
- Content Marketing is Your Brand’s Voice
A study by the Content Marketing Institute in 2019 found that 81% of businesses believe that content marketing improves brand awareness.
If you can define your brand’s voice well, you tend to strengthen your relationship with your target audience.
And when you consistently create helpful content without asking anything in return, your target audience is easy to trust and will easily go by your advice.
- Generate More and Quality Leads
That’s the goal at the end of the day. You want to bring some ROI.
Since content marketing is a long-term strategy, your audience will easily buy from you or buy your recommendations after they have gained your trust.
But this is not like the old push marketing where you’d write a 1000-word meaningless article and include a strong BUY NOW button.
These don’t work now. Consumers have changed. They want high-quality content that touches on concerns. When they see you’ve hit their pain points, they will easily buy from you.
- Your Business Becomes More Visible
As long as your business has a website, you have already entered the SEO battled field, which isn’t a walk in the park.
Content marketing plays a huge role in winning the SEO game. The more you create high-quality content, the more your business becomes visible on the search engines.
To do this, you need to develop a powerful content strategy such as pillar content, which helps you rank higher in search engines.
This takes us to the next step.
How to Create a Robust Content Marketing Strategy
Now that you’re convinced that content marketing works, Where do you start? With a content marketing strategy, of course. Sadly, 63% of businesses don’t have a documented content marketing strategy.
As a result, their content marketing strategy isn’t effective.
A content strategy is a plan for building an audience by posting consistent and educating content that inspires strangers into buyers.
The right strategy shouldn’t only be about maintaining your business brand. The vital thing is to make sure it provides helpful content.
To create a robust strategy, have the following points in mind.
1. Describe Your Target Audience
Russell Brunson is one of the most successful marketers we have today. He has a massive following of loyal entrepreneurs who wait on his every word.
The reason for this is because he has a deeper understanding of his audience. He knows what they want, why they want it, and how to give them an answer.
Describing your target audience is not simply saying they are in this age group and what gender they are.
Ask yourself questions like; what are they looking for? What challenges are they facing, and how are they consuming content. Is it through blog posts, videos, or ebooks?
2. What Type of Information Are They Looking For?
Let’s take an example of me. My target audience is businesses in the SaaS, B2B, and digital marketing niches that need written content.
I might be tempted to write articles explaining why I’m the best writer (A little bragging isn’t that bad).
But my target audience isn’t interested in knowing that.
They’re busy looking for writers who understand their niche and can write informative articles flawlessly.
For this reason, I focus on posting content that’s about their niches, what they need to know when writing, and how they can write better content that beats the competitors in the ranking game.
3. Determine Your Type of and Posting Frequency
Blogging is the most popular type of content marketing because it can account for up to 13 times your ROI. The challenge is that every business has camped here, bringing a massive competition on ranking.
If blogging doesn’t work for you, why not try video marketing? Research by DataBox admitted that 74% of marketers believe that videos are better for generating leads than blog posts.
Still, if videos don’t work for you, you can try the many available options like infographics, downloadable content, webinars, case studies, and email marketing.
When it comes to posting frequency, it’s recommended to have a regular posting schedule. You can’t write one high-quality article and sit back waiting for massive sales.
Post at least three 1 -3 times per week depending on the type of content you have chosen. And remember that you’re building your assets.
4. Establish Realistic KPIs
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are vital to any business. They help you know that you have achieved a milestone that you can check off.
In content marketing, the KPIs are your revenue over a specified time, traffic, SEO, sales, social media, and email marketing metrics.
These will have numbers attached to them. For instance, you may want to get 1000 email subscribers in a few months.
Most importantly, you’d want to keep an eye on your expenditures to ensure they don’t cross a certain threshold. This means you must compare the cost of getting new leads with the sales you’re making.
Bottom line
Content marketing is the future of marketing. Why? More businesses are getting to understand the importance of having a solid online presence.
And it’s not only important to create a brand but also a new way to educate and inspire consumers.
If you haven’t decided to incorporate it as one of your marketing strategies, I think it’s time to copy what the big dogs do.
Do you need content to kickstart your marketing strategy? Why not contact me for a quote.