Over the years, marketers and business owners have implemented many methods to get their products in front of potential buyers, generate sales and grow their businesses. Content marketing is just one of them. The problem is that the world has become overrun with advertisements, and the average consumer is no longer interested in them.
Content marketing, out of all of them, has emerged as a gold standard in the world of business and product promotion. If your business is to survive, then content creation must become the cornerstone of your marketing campaigns, without which you will be unable to build your brand or maintain a favorable conversion rate.
Why is content marketing such a big deal? Below are just a few of the benefits.
Decreased Overhead
When looking at the benefits of content marketing, consider your overhead expenses. According to Demand Metric, “Content marketing costs 62% less than traditional marketing and generates about three times as many leads.” How is this possible?
Content that is well crafted will inspire engagement and user interaction, so people start sharing your content. When that happens, you begin receiving that much more organic traffic to your website, blog or sales page.
On average, consumers are more likely to buy a product that their friends recommend (Nielsen), serving to enhance your conversion rate. But for this to work, you must put together content that is relevant to your audience’s interests and that provides value.
Search Engine Ranking
Although repeating a keyword over and over was enough to rank on the No. 1 page of the search engines in years past, doing so no longer works. If you want to receive natural search engine traffic, then you must create content that is useful to web surfers.
Google determines how helpful and relevant an article is based on the number of links pointing back to it from other websites. If you create articles that are interesting, unique and compelling, then people will naturally start linking to them. But getting the best possible results also requires you to target a relevant keyword, focusing on natural placement.
Building Trust
Unless you are already a well-established brand, people are not going to know or like you the first time they visit your website. Most people have been ripped off at some point during their lives, so they will not be quick to trust a company of which they have never heard.
Creating great content helps you to combat that problem by allowing you to offer value. If your content is written well and provides your readers with useful information, then they will start to view you as someone they can trust, serving to grow your brand.
Inspire People to Take Action
Placing a picture of your product and the price for which you are asking on a website would not generate many sales. In fact, such a method would cause your business to fail, which is why it must be avoided at all costs. Producing quality content that helps people solve a problem or meet a need will draw them in and grab their attention.
Once they start to enjoy the value with which you have provided them, they will want more. You can then offer more content to anyone who joins your mailing list or buys your product, generating sales and leads.
Final Thoughts
Although content marketing will help you take your business to a level of success that you once thought impossible, it’s a process. “Content marketing is a commitment, not a campaign,” said Jon Buscall. You must work at it each day if you want to reach your goals and increase your sales. It might feel tempting, but never give up on your marketing campaign because sticking with it will allow you to enjoy success.
