You’ve heard the buzz. In fact, it is difficult to ignore when you are trying to refine the strategies by which you engage your audience – and win them over. Content marketing. Consider it one of the buzziest of buzzwords. But you have a business to run, a department to handle, a C-suite or management team to convince. You need more than buzz: you need answers.
Learn more about content marketing, its role in your company, and its impact on your audience – and your bottom line.
Content Marketing FAQs
Q: What Is Content Marketing?
A: We may as well start at the beginning! Traditional forms of marketing are known as push marketing. That is, you are pushing your company, your products, and/or your services to a target audience. It encompasses everything from designing packaging to encourage people to purchase (even if they had no intention of doing so) to having a salesperson meet customers in a shop, store, or showroom.
Content marketing is different. It is a form of pull marketing. Here, you are pulling customers to you. You draw them to your company through relevant and engaging marketing materials. In this case: content. The goal is to create useful, helpful, and interesting content that resonates with your audience. Through content, you establish your authority in your field, build trust with potential customers, and create a strong brand image and reputation.
Q: So… Blogs?
A: Yes, blogs are one type of content that you can (and should!) create to appeal to your audience. But there are many more that you should consider, including:
- Whitepapers
- Articles
- Ebooks
- Case studies
- Newsletters
- Press Releases
- Infographics
- Videos
- Webcasts
- Podcasts
- Webinars
The goal is to grab their attention, answer their questions, scratch that itch that drew them to you.
Q: Does Content Marketing Bring In Customers?
A: Yes. That is the entire goal of content marketing. How do your content assets work to pull or draw the right people to your company? It gives them value right from the start. Imagine that you have a challenge or a problem. It could be as simple as needing a new pair of running shoes or as serious as needing a lawyer for a legal issue. Where do you turn? If you’re like most of us, you go to Google. You search for the answers you need.
You find a blog post on the best running shoes or an article by an attorney who specializes in the area of the law in which you require assistance. You read. You engage. You answer your question – and now you trust that source. It was helpful; you derived value. When you need to take the next steps, whether a purchase or a consultation, you are more likely to choose the authority that helped you as you took the first step.
Content does bring in customers when assets are informative, helpful, relevant to the needs/wants of your audience, and clearly convey your expertise in your space.
Q: How Does Content Marketing Impact My Bottom Line?
A: It is important to recognize that content marketing is one of the most cost-effective forms of marketing available to businesses. On average, it costs 62% less than traditional marketing, empowering even small companies to leverage their budget for maximum effect.
So, it costs less. But does it provide a return on investment? Let’s look at the numbers:
- According to recent statistics, the number one marketing priority is generating leads. Businesses that blog generate 67% more leads per month.
- 71% of business to business (B2B) buyers read blogs during the purchase process.
- Nearly half (47%) say webinars are important in the mid-stages of the buyer’s journey.
- 40% of consumers digest three to five pieces of content (regardless of format) before connecting with a company.
- Email marketing (a form of content marketing) generates an astonishing $36 for every $1 spent.
- 86% of businesses who use video say that it is excellent for lead generation and 81% say that it has a direct and positive impact on sales.
We could go on and on, but the point is that, yes, content marketing does impact your bottom line – and for the better.
Q: What Businesses/Industries Does Content Marketing Help?
A: Virtually any business in any industry can benefit from content marketing. We see amazing efforts from Nike and Apple, for example, but content marketing is just as – or even more so – vital to small businesses. It works to build awareness, build trust, generate leads, improve rankings in the search engine results pages, and convert customers. In short: the business that content marketing can help is… yours.
Q: I Posted a Few Blogs… Help!
A:. Content marketing is much more encompassing than jotting down some words and throwing them up on the blog. It requires a coordinated strategy that takes into account your company’s unique goals and the needs/wants of your target audience.
Where do you start? With us. Connect with THAT Agency to learn more about content marketing – and how you can leverage it to see the results you want.
