Content
What’s Content Marketing?
In short, Content Marketing is a strategy that uses content to target a specific audience with information they will find valuable.
The Content Marketing Institute defines it as, “a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.”
Content Marketing is a huge part of Inbound Marketing, because the whole point of Content Marketing is to use your content to attract your ideal audience and build trust with your brand. It brings people to your brand. They interact with your content online. When they call you or send an email requesting service, they are ready to go.
Types of Content
While there are many formats of content that can be used for Content Marketing, they can be grouped by written and visual content.
Each piece of content is a seed that will grow into inbound business. Some are shorter lived (social media images) while others are “evergreen” (blog posts with staying power). Like a robust garden that is filled with annuals and perennials, your content garden needs many varieties of content.
Written
Blogging is an example of written content. It is probably one of the easiest and most accessible forms of content marketing. A blog is a great platform to answer common questions, provide tips, and generally provide information that helps your target audience see you as the expert in your field.
Visual
Visual content has become very powerful. From YouTube videos to infographics to memes, using visuals can help break down processes and complex topics into digestible bites for the online consumer of information. It is extremely important to utilize visual content with written whenever possible.
Why Use Content Marketing
Content marketing helps potential customers know, like, and trust your brand.
Think about your own journey when considering a product or service. You likely do some research before committing. After all, you want to find the best product or service provider for your money.
People searching for your widget or service are doing the same thing. They want the best they can get for their money.
Your ideal client is looking for information first, and you can provide it for them.
- A small businesses with a blog gets 126% more lead growth than a small business without a blog
- 82% of consumers feel more positive about a company after reading its custom content
- Content marketing generates over three times as many leads as outbound marketing and costs 62% less
- 70% of customers would rather learn about a business through an article than an advertisement
After the sale, Content Marketing helps clients remember your name, which means they are more likely to return and more likely to refer business to you. Again we see why Content Marketing is so essential for Inbound Marketing. Imagine your phone ringing consistently with return clients and referrals with minimal effort on your part. That’s powerful!
Plus, your competition is likely already using Content Marketing. Many long-term successful businesses have been utilizing content marketing. They planted the seeds long ago. But, that doesn’t mean you can’t do the same. The sooner you implement Content Marketing, the sooner your business will be on a path to growth.
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