Why should I invest in content marketing?
Marketing has changed dramatically over the last decade. Customers, both consumers and businesses, have access to massive amounts of information. Some types of information are outside of a brand’s control, such as reviews or opinion pieces. Other types, however, are within a company’s control and are very effective at building relationships and converting leads.
Content marketing is defined by the Content Marketing Institute as:
“Content marketing is the marketing and business process for creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire, and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience – with the objective of driving profitable customer action.”
I’ll let you take a moment to catch your breath… That’s a bit of a mouthful. For now, let’s think of content marketing as a way to provide useful information to your audience across a variety of formats.
Here are 4 reasons why you should invest your time, money and effort into a content marketing strategy.
1)Nearly all marketing campaigns rely on content
Content truly is king. It can be used in nearly every marketing campaign. In turn, nearly all campaigns rely on having a large base of content. You can improve your search engine optimization (SEO) and page rankings by consistently updating your website with relevant and quality content. Email marketing and social media require a steady stream of new information. Lead generation campaigns need something to give in exchange for capturing information about the lead. Without content, all of these campaigns would be unable to produce the results you need.
2)You can market to every stage of the buying process
Picture the buying process as a funnel. There will be many people at the top of the funnel simply looking for information or just discovering that they have a need. There will be some people in the middle who have categorized their need and are looking for solutions. There will be a small number of people at the bottom who have an immediate need and are choosing between a few options. Finally, there will be your existing customers who have already purchased from you.
Each stage in this funnel needs its own unique content. People at the top need to understand what they need. They are probably looking for a solution to a problem rather than a specific technology. You want to be the source that provides this information. Similarly, people at the bottom already know what they need, and they want to confirm that your product meets or exceeds these needs. Existing customers need supporting documentation and can be sent information on new products or opportunities for repeat purchases. A content marketing strategy lets you give each stage of the funnel a unique and tailored offering.
3)Content is a long term investment
One of the best things about content is that it lasts. Sure, from time to time revisions will need to be made to account for new technologies or features, but for the most part, you can use content for multiple campaigns over time. This differs from traditional forms of marketing. TV ads, for example, need to be run repeatedly, and lose their effects once the ad is discontinued. Your content, on the other hand, will live forever on your site and provide the same benefits it did when you first produced it.
4)Content can be repurposed
Similarly, a well-designed content marketing strategy allows you to repurpose content into many different forms. For example, one whitepaper can provide enough information for multiple campaigns. It can be used as is in email marketing and social media campaigns. It can then be sliced up into blog posts, each with their own email and post. Finally, it can be shortened into different briefs on key topics. The same messaging can be spread across all of these different channels to make the most of the initial brainstorming, research, writing and review processes that took place.
Grow your content library
Content marketing is a necessity in today’s environment. It provides the basis for nearly all other marketing efforts and positions your brand as a source of useful information regardless of where the customer is in the buying process. It’s a long term investment that continues to provide value well after it has been written. For these reasons, content marketing is well worth spending the extra time and money required to make it a success.
Bridge the Gap Marketing Solutions offers high quality content writing solutions for all of your business needs. Whether it be an educational whitepaper or a recurring blog series, we have the expertise to create lasting content that makes your brand stand out from the competition. Check out our services today!
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