What Is Content Marketing?
So, what is content marketing and what makes it so special?
Simply put, content marketing is a type of marketing that involves creating and sharing unique online content. This could be anything, from videos, blogs, downloadable content, website pages, photos or memes, and others.
The goal in content marketing is to promote your business – and this is where it gets a bit complicated. Research done by the Content Marketing Association of UK (CMA) claims that majority of people are turned off by blatantly promotional posts.
The content that you create and share has to be useful and relevant. At the same time, it has to be subtle. You can’t hard sell with your content marketing. It just has to be good enough that your audience remembers you and associates quality with your brand.
Remember that, according to the same study by CMA, 70% of the respondents judge poor content as a negative for your brand.
What Are The Benefits From Content Marketing?
If you’re still not convinced that you should start drafting a content marketing plan for your Sydney business today, here are a few benefits that you can look forward to:
1. Increased site traffic
A study made by the Aberdeen Group found that content marketing leaders enjoy a 7.8 times increase in website traffic. With good quality content that is shared through their social media accounts, they are able to engage with people who are interested in what they share. They can lead these people to their website, blog or other online properties outside social media.
Note that the audience isn’t necessarily looking to buy. But, they are interested, and they will likely remember the brand once they’re ready to move to the next step.
It is crucial here to know what your target audience wants. Your goal is to create and put out something that is of value to them.
2. Improved brand awareness
Personalised unique content that is marketed optimally can improve brand awareness. 56% of today’s practising marketers believe so, according to 2015’s IBM Digital Experience Survey.
When you get people interested through your unique content, they remember your brand. They learn about you and, if truly interested, they will go further. They will explore your website and know more about what you offer.
3. Better search engine optimization
Quality content is not just about your readers. You get search engines interested too. When you put out unique relevant content, you may see an increase in shares, mentions and editorial links. This tells Google and other search engines that you are an authority in the subject. Likewise, you make it clearer to search engines what your website is about.
4. Direct and indirect customer conversions
It is important to note that content marketing is 62% cheaper than outbound marketing, according to DemandMetric. Add to that, it can give you three times more leads and six times more site conversions.
This could be done directly, from your social media accounts and your unique content. You lead interested parties to your website, and then they buy. Or, it could be indirectly. You can get people interested in what you offer through user-generated content. There are tons of review sites and blogs out there that come up with product reviews every now and then. The BrightLocal’s Local Consumer Review Survey claims that 88% of online users trust these reviews.
Your unique content and user-generated content work hand-in-hand in bridging the gap between you and your prospective clients.
