Today, with 4.66 billion active internet users looking for information, content has become a serious business. There is a reason why 84% of B2B and B2C companies have a content marketing strategy. (Source: Semrush) Content is the first form of interaction that takes place between the customer and the business. In the current landscape of Digital Marketing, content is more than a source of information- it is used to rank on search engines, earn links from different sites, trend on social media, earn conversions and so much more. No wonder why Creative and Content Marketing came into existence as an important strategic marketing approach!
What is Content Marketing (and What it isn’t)
In simple terms, Content Marketing aims to attract or retain an audience by creating relevant content and distributing it consistently on different channels. The bottom line like for any other marketing strategy is to generate profit. What often gets sidelined is the fact that this does not happen overnight. Even if you manage to bring the audience to read your content, that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’ll be converted to your customers right away.
Did you know that 51% of the companies feel that the biggest challenge that their marketing team faces is that of creating content that generates quality leads? (Source: Semrush) The process of conversion primarily involves building relationships with the audience and making them come back to you time and again. Thus, the aim should not only be to write content to rank higher on search engines or to persuade people to buy your product or service, rather it should be to answer their questions, build trust with them and eventually improve conversions. The only means to achieve this aim is to create high- quality, relevant and valuable content.
Here’s How You Can Boost Your Sales With Content Marketing:
1. Make Every Interaction Count
To establish a positive influence on the readers, it is important to ‘be human’. As a brand, it is important to go beyond publishing blogs and promoting them. An important aspect that content marketers usually don’t realize is to be a friendly human across the web.
As an instance, you can engage with your followers on social media by sharing some posts, commenting on their posts, participating in chats on Twitter, being a part of Facebook lives, etc. Though these tactics might appear to be small or insignificant, they can go a long way in enhancing the process of building brand reputation. Marketers, remember to break through the clutter, build trust, maintain the relationship over time and see your sales surge!
2. Align Your Content Frequency
Apart from creating the right kind of quality content, choosing when and how frequently to post it is equally important as it can make the audience rely on your brand. Since human is a creature of habits, if you publish your content at a specific time, it is likely that the audience will start expecting your content after a fixed interval, and this way, they will be organically exposed to your brand and will eventually begin to find it authentic and reliable.
In terms of search engine ranking, posting frequently will make Google crawl and index your website more which would increase the website traffic. Further, quality content would help get more repeat traffic and, voila! more leads in your pocket! All of this would only be possible if you create a content schedule that is realistic and adherable.
3. Consistency is the Key
Consistency, both in quality and quantity matters. Exposing an audience consistently will not only help in building brand identity but will also establish you as a reliable source of information within your niche. In addition, it will again help in better rankings as relevant and fresh content is always preferred by Google.
To garner the maximum benefits of internet marketing, it is imperative to build a quantity- focused strategy which focuses on all platforms and time-frames like daily posts, weekly posts, monthly posts, and so on.
4. Build a Content Library
Building a content library can significantly assist you in removing two roadblocks of inbound marketing- not having the time to curate content to meet the frequency and having so much content that sometimes the salespeople are not even aware of its existence.
To be able to share the right kind of content at the right time and maintain its consistency, it is vital to have substantial content at a place with precise categories. Further, it is important to keep it available at a single click so that the sales reps could access them easily for a better connection with the consumers.
5. AIDA Model- Not Out of Fashion
You must be wondering about its relevance in the current consumer market! It’s time to see the funnel concept in a newer light. AIDA is a years-old formula related to consumer’s buying journey where A stands for Attention, I for Interest, D for Desire, and A for Action.
Today, when customers might not know what they’re looking for yet expect answers, ‘Content hubs’ can go a long way by stimulating them at different stages of the AIDA funnel. A content hub is like a destination where all types of content related to a topic are published- articles, blogs, videos, social media posts, etc. This way you can have a better interaction with the customer as they’ll have access to everything at once- options for reading, sharing, signing-up, trying, buying, or attending.
6. Master the Art of Persuasion
It is important to stir the audience’s emotions with your content for establishing yourself as a trustworthy brand. One way of achieving this is by incorporating persuasive writing techniques in your content. Know your audiences well before getting your hands in the creation part. Did you know that 43% of companies find it difficult to develop content that resonates with the target audience? (Source: Semrush) Does our tip sound more valid now? It is because we just used a persuasion tool!
Backing up your arguments with data is an important technique to make them valid. Even the weirdest claims become digestible with evidence. Furthermore, adding information from popular and reliable publications can help build the credibility of your write-up along with improving your ranking on the search engine. Too much use of heavy jargon or buzzwords should be avoided as they can cloud the true message or intent behind the content. It’s high time that creators re-engineer their logical appeals!
7. Different Types of Content for Different Types of Audience
Have you observed a sudden surge in the audio-visual content? This is because 69% of B2C content marketers have increased the use of them over the last year. (Source: Marketing Insider) Below are some popular content forms that can be used collectively:
- Blog posts form the major part of the content marketing strategy and offer maximum value at a minimum cost.
- Case studies can help increase your sales as it is a straightforward compilation of problems, solutions, and results.
- White papers and long-form content are well-researched write-ups that offer details on products or solutions that you provide.
- eBooks, though costly, are an effective tool to give insights into a particular topic.
- Infographics can help you get attention quickly as it is an interesting and informative image.
- Email marketing can be put to use for highlighting your top pieces of content.
- Social media platforms can be used to publish your existing content, link them to your main website to boost traffic, and share content from your customers to establish authenticity.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):
What are some examples of Content Marketing?
One of the popular examples could be Coke’s “Share A Coke” campaign which gave the consumers, an opportunity to personalize the drink with the names on the bottle. Hubspot is another example of doing Content Marketing the right way, it not only started to write blogs about topics that people care about but also used multiple forms of content to ensure its presence, like ebooks, educational content, and videos for Facebook, etc. Another company that went a notch higher is Zomato. It knows how to persuade people well- it takes references from popular culture and relates them to ordering food. Now you know why you have downloaded their app!
How does Content Marketing work?
Converting visitors to customers is an organic and long process. It begins by curating valuable content which answers the audience’s questions. Next in line is the sharing part of it- optimizing it in the search results and posting it on various social media platforms to make sure that when people search for the information, they come across your content and find it useful in some of the other manner. This is where the trust-building process begins! If you have offered valuable content, it is likely that the reader will keep coming back to you time and again. Such leads can be seen as potential customers. Even if they don’t buy your product or services right away, they will reach out to you whenever they’re ready to make the purchase.
What are the best ways to do Content Marketing?
There may be numerous tactics that are floating across the web. Yet, some ways remain classic and never go wrong. Firstly, planning your content is extremely important to maintain its quality and quantity. Next, it is crucial to know your audience and identify their mindset. Time and place matter- publishing the right content at the right time and platform makes all the difference. At last, but not least, experimenting and optimizing can help in generating a better customer experience and eventually better conversions.
Conclusion:
Making conversions happen is a long haul! Marketers need to walk on a tightrope to score their content as they need to bother about the search engine rankings and at the same time provide something valuable to the audience. Remember, not to deviate from the formula of frequency, consistency, persuasion, and human touch when it comes to establishing your digital presence. Even though it is not a tailor-made strategy, it can make your business life easier!
Thinking of investing in Content Marketing? Do you want Content Marketing for your B2B business? Are you looking for a well-documented Content Marketing Strategy for your B2C business? Give us a buzz! We can help you increase your organic visibility and decrease the effort and cost!
