Content marketing has been around for more than two decades, and it is still one of the most powerful tools in any marketer’s arsenal. In fact, content marketing should be the foundational pillar of your digital marketing strategy, as it will allow you to achieve many sales, marketing, recruitment, and other goals. Without a shadow of a doubt, you need to invest in content marketing if you’re a small business leader or if you’re trying to get your startup on the digital map.
This is the year when you can nail your content marketing strategy, and take your sales and marketing efforts to new heights. Do it right, and you will have no problem finding new customers that will quickly become loyal brand advocates who will boost your word of mouth and social proof.
Let’s put all of this into perspective, and talk about the biggest benefits of content marketing and why you need it in your digital marketing strategy.
Content boosts brand visibility
Content marketing is the essential element of search engine optimization – which aims to boost your visibility across the web. If you want to rank as high as possible in the relevant search results, then you need to optimize your entire digital presence for the users and the search engines. While there is more to effective SEO than great content, it’s important to note that content is what will get your brand on the digital map.
By writing informational long-form articles with relevant keywords in mind, creating optimized website copy and landing pages, and by sharing your amazing content across the web, you will essentially tell Google that your brand is relevant to the online audience. This is how content marketing can skyrocket your visibility and brand awareness, allowing you to reach more potential customers.
Become an authority in your industry
There are many ways you can grow your authority in your industry and niche, but content marketing is the fastest way to build a loyal following and show the world that you’re the foremost expert in the field. Why? Because quality content travels far in the digital space, and the better and more educational your content is, the more it will get shared across the web.
People will start talking about your brand and recommending you to their friends and colleagues as the foremost authority in your field, further boosting your visibility and expanding your brand’s reach. This will not only generate new customers but will also keep the existing ones happy and coming back for more.
By dishing out quality content regularly via a content calendar, you will also create a loyal following that will know exactly when to expect fresh information from their favorite brand. The more value you provide in your content, the more leads and satisfied customers you’ll generate as well.
Drive lead generation forward
Speaking of generating leads, content marketing is all about boosting qualified lead generation. What does this mean? You see, not all leads are equal – some leads are cold (not interested in your brand) and some are warm (interested in what you have to say) – which means that you need to create as many qualified leads as possible. You need people who are interested in your products, services, and stories.
You can generate qualified leads in a number of ways, but ask any experienced content marketing agency and they will tell you that content marketing is the king of lead generation and nurturing. People are hungry for quality content that will help them solve a specific problem or learn more on a particular subject.
That’s why they search for informative articles and educational landing pages. When they do land on your page, you can use your informative, story-driven content to spark their interest, position yourself as a trustworthy expert, and entice them to continue through your website.
Content comes in many forms
The beautiful thing about content marketing is that you can diversify your strategy to encompass many types of content. This is a great opportunity to optimize your content for specific audience types and target demographics, various social media networks, platforms and other websites.
There is a need for every major type of content out there, and it’s important that you create:
- Long-form, SEO-optimized articles.
- Videos.
- Short videos like reels.
- Facebook and Instagram stories.
- Impactful images.
- Infographics.
- Podcasts.
- Quizzes.
- And more.
You can also use automation to grow your business and streamline your content marketing processes by using video animation tools, image creation software, and various SEO tools.
Using content marketing for talent acquisition
There are many digital marketing techniques for your business that will generate qualified leads, improve sales, and help you achieve numerous other goals. But what about talent acquisition? How do you inspire the best of the best in your industry to join your business? With good content, of course.
You can create blog posts that directly target the talented professional you’re after, but you can also optimize landing pages, email copy, social media posts, and other content to reach this specific demographic. This will inspire the top talent to reach out and apply to work at your company.
Over to you
In the end, there is no denying that content marketing is a crucial element of success in the modern business sector. Now that you know how content marketing can take your brand forward, go ahead and start creating content that will dazzle your audiences and the search engines.
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