The content marketing industry is set to generate over $400 billion in the next year or so. Yet many business owners remain unconvinced about the importance of content marketing.
If you’ve been hesitating about investing in content marketing, you might have questions about the costs or even the benefits. Will content marketing really help your business?
The answer is yes. These 10 reasons show why content marketing is so essential for any business today.
1. Importance of Content Marketing for Visibility
The most important advantage of content marketing is its ability to increase brand visibility and generate more leads for your business.
In simple terms, the more content you have out there, the more likely someone is to see it. This might be because someone else shared your video on social media. It could also be because your blog post turned up in the Google search results.
You may not get immediate clicks, but people will see your brand turning up over and over again. They might see your logo on a video. The next day, they see an ad with that same logo.
Most people engage with brands they know and recognize. Visibility improves audience engagement. After all, people can’t shop with you if they don’t even know your business exists.
2. Boost Your SEO with Content
The benefits of content marketing spill over into your other marketing efforts. You’ve probably heard about search engine optimization (usually shortened to SEO).
SEO helps you rank higher in the search results. In turn, it helps your business get noticed.
What are you ranking for if you don’t have content? Many people search for answers to questions, not specific businesses or products.
A blog post answering those questions could be what they’re looking for. You can’t rank if you’re not answering the question. Content can change that and get your brand in front of search users.
3. Content Builds Brand Trust
Stemming from brand awareness and brand visibility is also trust. Customers click on ads from companies they recognize because they trust them.
Content can help you build that trust. When someone needs an answer, they can turn to your brand for the information they need. If they’re looking for troubleshooting tips or a how-to guide, you have just the thing for them.
If you can provide them with answers, they’ll be more likely to turn to you the next time they have questions.
In short, content can help you prove your expertise. It’s this expertise that makes you a valuable resources that people will come to trust.
4. Leverage Content to Generate Leads
The advantages of content marketing also address generating more traffic and more leads.
How does content generate more leads? In effect, you can build a pipeline that nurtures customers. Great content not only drives traffic to your website, it captures visitors as well.
People can then explore this content on their own, moving them toward a buying decision. You may even be able to create a content offer that puts them in touch with your team. You could also encourage them to get in touch.
You can then follow up with these leads, which creates more opportunities for your team.
5. Keep Them Coming Back
Another reason you should think about investing in content marketing is that it keeps people coming back.
When you have great content, people are more likely to come back over and over. You can create content that mirrors their journey. In the process, you can answer their most frequently asked questions.
6. The Cost Effectiveness of Content Marketing
You might find this surprising, but content marketing is actually quite cost-effective.
Most people see content as a time-intensive type of marketing. It’s true that it requires a fair amount of back-end work.
Once your content is live, though, it can become the gift that keeps on giving. Evergreen blog posts and videos that go viral months later are examples of how content marketing keeps giving back.
The experts at Motion point out that content can also be repurposed. You can turn a video into a podcast, and from there, create a blog post too.
You can also leverage content in your other marketing efforts. A sales rep may direct a customer to an informative white paper. You might call out some of your blog posts in an email marketing campaign to your mailing list.
7. Grow Your Social Media Following
Social media content marketing is another way you can use the content you’ve created. Sharing a post or video can be an effective way of reaching a wider audience.
Your audience members may also share your content to their own networks. In turn, you may gain some new interactions or new followers. This, in turn, plays back into brand awareness and visibility.
8. Stand out from Your Competition
Content marketing strategies can also help you get a leg up on your competitors.
Your audience may come to expect informative blog posts or entertaining video how-tos. They may turn to you not only when they have questions but when they want to be entertained as well.
If your competitors aren’t blogging, then you have an opportunity to become a resource for customer education. If the competition isn’t using video yet, you have an opportunity to connect with your customers here too.
Your content can also contribute to your brand identity. This helps you stand out as well, since people come to expect your voice.
9. Improve Your Conversions
Content marketing can also help you boost sales. It gives customers the information they need and want to make informed buying decisions.
Content marketing can also provide a wealth of data about your audience. In turn, you can tweak your ad campaigns and messaging to better reflect their needs.
It can also provide insights about which leads are most likely to turn into paying customers. You’ll always know where to direct your efforts.
10. Customers Want Content
The best reason to invest in content marketing may be that customers want content. Consider that most B2C customers do some research. The average B2B buyer might be over halfway through their journey before they talk to one of your sales reps.
Content gives you a chance to reach these customers and connect with them early. Whether they’re looking for entertaining or answers, content can provide.
Build Your Business with Better Content
If you didn’t see the importance of content marketing before, you might be convinced now. The good news is that content can be simple to create, and even easier to turn into real marketing wins for your business.
Looking for more great marketing ideas for your business? Check in with us often for all the latest trends.
