Why Content Marketing is important and should be part of your Marketing Strategy
While content marketing isn’t a new concept in the world of digital marketing, it’s now more important than ever before.
Today, EVERY business, including yours, has a story, a great product, a unique selling point – but how you communicate this with your audience is what sets you apart from the rest.
Online users are tired of having to sift through irrelevant content and search engines like Google have recognised this.
But before we dive into how irrelevant most online content is these days, we should probably define what content marketing is, why businesses need it and how they should be using it.
What is Content Marketing?
Content marketing is the process of creating content that offers readers something of value and making it readily available for them to access and consume.
It should involve less of a sales pitch while rather aiming to inform readers and create interest in your brand as a whole.
Content comes in various forms – blogs, videos, social media posts and podcasts – to name just a few of the most recognised and widely used.
But, keep in mind that content marketing isn’t just blogging, creating at-home videos or speaking your truth through your podcast about the recent distasteful redesign of your favourite supermarket.
It involves research, more research, keyword analysis, good writing skills and a website design that enables you to take advantage of the positive effects content marketing can have.
Content Marketing – Why is Content King?
Consumers have become more conscious about who they are purchasing their products and services from and are now looking for brands that are aligned with what motivates them to invest their money.
Not only does your should your company be ranking at the top of the search engine results, it also needs to have a good social media following and a solid narrative to back it up.
With hundreds of companies out there and more popping up each day, not to mention how easy it is to search for businesses online these days – it’s understandable why it’s so important to make your brand’s unique selling point conspicuous to the public eye.
The beauty is that, when content marketing is done properly, it can help you achieve search engine stardom as well as create and grow the social media following your business needs.
Publishing high-quality content and having it well-received by readers will positively impact your website’s search engine optimisation (SEO) and as a result, its search engine ranking.
Search engine rankings are determined by using very specific algorithms. Search engine bots then use these algorithms to scan websites, assess how relevant they are to a search query and report back with the most relevant, informative websites that they find.
Integrating Social Media Marketing
To further encourage engagement and foster a trusting relationship with consumers, content should be pushed out through social media channels in order to make sharing easy.
However, a one-size-fits-all approach will not suffice when it comes to content marketing through social media. The type of content, as well as the appropriate platform and method of publishing is largely determined by your target audience.
Quality Content Encourages Engagement
Engagement plays a key role in understanding who your brand should be speaking to and who is listening.
Good content which is shared to social media encourages more users to engage with your brand. If the content is genuinely good, users happily consume it, understand the message it delivers and will perhaps even like, share or comment on the piece of information.
Although your content should be designed to target a specific audience, by making it shareable across various platforms, you are now given the opportunity to analyse who exactly is engaging with it.
These analytics can further assist you with creating even more appropriate and valuable content specifically for the people who are already interested in what you have to offer. See where we’re going with this?
If the content is not relevant or compelling, users will continue to scroll past it and the content, as well as your efforts will eventually disappear into the black hole of cyberspace.
Creating Brand Awareness – The Value of Content Marketing
Always keep in mind that good content is generally less “salesy” than an advertisement, so it allows consumers the opportunity to engage with a brand without a blatant sales message disrupting the engagement.
Quality Content can Position Your Business as an Industry Expert
Quality content creates authority in a saturated market which, in turn, has the potential to generate new leads and increase sales. It adds value either through solving a problem in the everyday lives of consumers or teaching them something new and useful.
Although content is king, it doesn’t carry a direct monetary value. However, it’s vital to the business model as well as the relationship between the brand, its consumers and its sales.
To learn even more about the content and why it is important, make sure to read our other articles on the same topic:
Content Marketing Plan and Content Strategy
Content SEO – Your Online Business Partner in Success
What Types of Digital Content will Benefit your Business?
ITM – Your Digital Marketing Agency
ITM is a full service, online marketing agency, and our team of content creators, SEO whizzes and marketing specialists are guaranteed to produce the most compelling, relevant content for your brand.
Contact us, and we’ll help you get your crown.
