A strong online presence is important to any business as more and more clients are using the internet to research and select companies or products they want to use. Creating robust digital content gives potential clients information they need about what you offer, builds trust in your brand, and leads to sales. It will also save you money in the long run, as the ROI for content marketing is higher than traditional marketing.
What is Content Marketing?
Content marketing is the “show not tell” approach. Traditional marketing is about the hard sell of telling folks you’re awesome. Content shows them why you’re awesome by presenting them with information like introducing staff, answering client FAQs in a YouTube video, blogging about a social issue important to your company, and creating a social media post showcasing your community outreach program. It introduces the consumer to your company as a whole across several online platforms while illustrating your value. How does it do that?
Builds Brand Awareness and Trust
When a potential client searches for help and your blog pops up answering their question, that’s the first step in awareness. Soon they are following you on social media, watching your Youtube videos, and reading your blogs on the regular. Now your business is continuously giving them information that they find helpful and informative, as well as introducing them to your company’s core values. They are not just familiar with your brand but positively associating it with useful knowledge, values that align with their own, and deep trust. Having familiarity with your brand, the awareness of what you stand for, and your expertise proven in your content allows your audience to trust your company.
Lead Generation
It only makes sense that if someone is familiar with your brand and already trusts your company, they will want to do work with you. When the need arises, they will hire a business whose reviews were highlighted in a Facebook post, whose video helped them solve a problem, and whose blog answered a big question. In addition, having solid, varied content leads to better SEO. If your SEO ranking goes up, potential clients will find your business easier when searching for your services. A strong content strategy is a direct path to bringing in new business.
Educate and Showcase Your Expertise
Part of your content strategy is to inform your potential customer while exhibiting to them why you are a leader in your field. By answering FAQs, explaining a new product, highlighting your awards, and discussing customer pain points throughout various platforms, you will establish your business’s expertise. Potential clients will be informed while also realizing you understand them, making your company their first choice when in need of your services.
ROI
According to the Content Marketing Institute, content marketing costs 62% less than traditional marketing and generates three times as many leads. The threshold for your marketing budget can lower while your ROI will increase. To get the most for your money, ensure that you have someone who understands the components that make up great content creation and executing your marketing strategy. You can post a lot of content but if it isn’t what the consumer is looking for, it won’t be beneficial to them or you.
Right now people want to do business with companies they understand, trust, and share similar values. Producing great content will showcase your business, your staff, and highlight your company’s products/services and community commitment. While it will establish you as a leader in your field, a strong content marketing strategy will also bring in more clients at a lower cost than traditional marketing. If you need help with creating or executing content, let CloudFast help.
