Why Content Marketing is Important in Digital Marketing
I bet that when you hear “content marketing,” you think about blogs, Twitter, Facebook, and viral YouTube videos. But content marketing has been around far longer than the Internet. Because content marketing is all about storytelling, and humans have told stories for as long as they could speak. Our attention will always go to those who tell great stories. Continue reading for more details.
Content marketing is the process of creating and sharing valuable free content to attract prospects and convert them into customers. The goal is to educate, entertain and inspire people to earn their trust and build brand awareness.
What is Content Marketing?
Content marketing is a form of marketing focused on creating, publishing, and distributing content for a targeted audience online.
It is often used by businesses in order to achieve the following goals: attract attention and generate a lead, expand their customer base, generate or increase online sales, increase brand awareness or credibility, and engage an online community of users.
Content marketing attracts new customers by creating and sharing valuable free related information. It helps companies create sustainable brand loyalty, provides valuable information to consumers, and creates a willingness to purchase products from the company in the future.
Why Is This Important?
Content marketing as a marketing strategy can be valuable to educate your target audience and help them get excited about your business. It’s also a good way to stay in touch with and re-engage existing customers.
To understand why it can work as a strategy, think about the buyer’s journey. For many companies, it may look something like this:
• Awareness phase: this is where the potential customer is seeking information on a topic. They may be looking for a solution to a problem they experience or are simply looking for information on a topic they’re researching.
• Consideration phase: the potential customer is learning more about the options available that solve their problem, including your product or service.
• Purchase phase: the potential customer is looking for information on how to make a purchase.
It is a scalable way to bring in customers and potential customers to your site via each of these stages.
You can create content that targets those in the awareness, consideration, or purchase phase.
As long as the content is optimized and provides what the audience is looking for, it has the potential to continue to bring in potential customers long after it’s been created.
What are the best ways to accomplish content marketing?
There are many different ways to get started with the topic in question. A content strategy might include some or all of the following:
• Posting regularly to a blog. This can help you connect with customers and potential customers at any stage of the customer journey.
• Downloadable content (ebooks, templates). Gated downloadable content can work well to attract prospects at the top or middle of the funnel.
• Rich media (videos and podcasts). Rich media is a popular way to interact with your target audience and can be used across many marketing strategies, including SEO, social, and PPC strategies.
• Webinars. Webinars can help educate your target audience and form a deeper, more personal connection with customers.
• Interactive tools. Interactive tools can showcase what your product has to offer, or simply serve as a way to engage your target market.
• Emails. Emails help companies regularly re-engage their customers and prospects who have expressed interest in their content or business.
• Landing pages. Good landing page content can be crucial to helping site visitors understand your product or service, see the value, and want to learn more.
Specifically, there are three key reasons — and benefits — for enterprises that use content marketing; Increased sales, Cost savings, and better customers who have more loyalty.
Go back and read the definition one more time, but this time remove the relevant and valuable.
That’s the difference between content marketing and the other informational garbage you get from companies trying to sell you “stuff.”
How Does it Relate To Digital Marketing Branches?
Regardless of what type of marketing tactics you use, content marketing should be part of your process, not something separate. Quality content is part of all forms of marketing.
Social media marketing: Content marketing strategy comes before your social media strategy.
SEO: Search engines reward businesses that publish quality, consistent content.
PR: Successful PR strategies address issues readers care about, not their business.
PPC: For PPC to work, you need great content behind it.
Inbound marketing: Content is key to driving inbound traffic and leads.
Content strategy: Content strategy is part of most digital marketing strategies.
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