The term ‘content marketing’ has become a buzzword, capturing the attention of businesses and e-commerce shops globally. However it’s a big commitment, on both time and resources. It can often feel like a waste of time, without a way to measure its impact.
So, why is content marketing important?
With almost half of individuals aged 18–49 already get most of their news online, it’s vital to ensure your business appears where they spend their time (http://www.journalism.org/2016/07/07/pathways-to-news/). It’s an effective strategy to creating a strong brand awareness, actively engaging with your target audience and bringing quality traffic and leads to your website.
Brand promotion
Content which provides value to your target audience through education and entertainment, is shareable. With a higher chance of being shared on social networks like Facebook, Instagram and Linkedin, carefully crafted content can position your brand as an authority within your industry. Content marketing is perhaps the most effective way to reach a large audience without spending a extravagant amount on paid advertising.
Not only is content marketing a great way to get your business’s content shared by your target audience, but also news outlets, industry influencers and search engines themselves. As you publish more content, Google will continue to increase your page rank, making it easier for customers to find you. Hubspot found that companies that blog have 434% more indexed pages than businesses without blogs.
Develop a genuine connection with your customers
Demand Metric found that 82% of customers have a more positive outlook on a company after reading custom content, and 70% of customers feel closer to a business after engaging with their content. Instead of bombarding your target audience with countless sales pitches, creating a blog post or infographic which provides value to them, is a great way to drive real connections. In the age where consumers have the power to research and find the best service or product on the market, it’s important you help them understand the market and what to look for when purchasing a product similar to yours.
Grow website traffic and leads
Of course we understand that content marketing needs to provide results. The purpose of content marketing is to create more website visitors and sales. Curata found that 74% of companies find that lead quality and quantity went up as they introduced a content marketing strategy. Often, if your business frequently interacts with key industry topics and addresses important questions from your target audience, visitors tend to convert into sales.
Conclusion
Content marketing is a powerful strategy to grow your business’s brand and create leads. By providing useful information to your ideal customers on a regular basis, it’s likely they will be encouraged to engage with further marketing channels like signing up to your company’s email list and social media to consume more of your content. With a greater presence within search engines, more visitors to your website and stronger brand authority, your business has the potential to grow by significantly increasing your website’s traffic, leads and sales.
