Here, I’ll go through content marketing benefits and why you should be investing in this form of marketing
Particularly right now – as users are increasingly inundated with disruptive advertising that all too often walks the line between unhelpful and intrusive – content marketing benefits are almost endless; this engaging and informative form of marketing serving to cut through the noise users don’t need, and provide them with useful information they do need – the information they asked for.
Within this context, then, I’d like to take you through the individual [and important] benefits of content marketing and why you should be investing in it!
Content marketing benefits
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO): probably one of the most obvious [and valuable] benefits of content marketing is its contribution to SEO. New, relevant and helpful content being regularly uploaded to your website is going to have an inevitably positive impact on your rankings in search engine page results (SERPs) as Google and other search engines recognise your website as current, engaging and relevant to users.
What’s more, users looking for the information you’re serving them are increasingly likely to stay on your site and read more – decreasing your bounce rate and further cementing your place as relevant and important.
Search engines – particularly Google – view relevance and value to their users as an absolute priority; therefore, the more relevant and informative your content is, the more likely you are to rank highly in SERPs.
Inbound vs. outbound leads: alright, yes, as a marketeer at heart, of course I had to get some [Hubspot] marketing speak in here somewhere – forgive me! But inbound marketing is something businesses simply don’t do enough of and absolutely should.
Inbound marketing is about creating and distributing content users want and need in order to draw them into your business. Whereas outbound marketing means actively reaching out to customers to make them interested in a product or service.
As a result, outbound marketing leads are often cold or take a long time to convert. Why? Because you’re serving up disruptive adverts for products or services users haven’t even considered they need or want.
Inbound marketing leads, on the other hand, are actively searching for what you’re offering; they’re looking to gain more information before making an enquiry or purchase; they’ve already done the hard part of deciding what they want and they’re actively searching for it.
Consequently, inbound marketing leads tend to be warmer and easier to close.
Increasing engagement: the more [relevant and informative] content you have on your site and under your brand, the more relevant and informative content you’ll have to use on social media – and the more likely you are to increase engagement, foster relationships with existing customers, and attract new ones – don’t underestimate the value of a like, share or comment on any of the social media platforms; everything is visible to everyone’s audience.
Maximum efficiency, maximum impact, minimal effort: although the concept of content marketing may seem time consuming and daunting from the outside – perceived as creating multiple pieces of content for multiple platforms on a weekly, monthly or sometimes daily basis – content marketing is actually about making your content work exceptionally hard for you which, in practice, means creating a finite bank of incredibly valuable content specifically designed for multi-use.
For every 1 piece of content created, your aim should be to use it at least 3 times (if not more); editing that single piece for different platforms or audiences and recycling it as and when appropriate.
For example, 1 well-written white paper could create the following material:
- In its original form, offered as a gated download on your site (download in exchange for an email address and/or phone number)
- As an edit for Google My Business
- As at least 4 posts (1 per week for a month) on –
- As 2 or 3 short blogs, edited and adapted where appropriate for your blog/news section
- An offering as part of an email newsletter
And the more [relevant] platforms you use to get your content out there, the more audiences you’ll reach and the more customers/clients you’ll attract.
As a Content Specialist and passionate Content Marketer, I could wax lyrical about content and content marketing benefits all day or, at least, for another 715 words (!) but I’ll spare you the time and provide you with one final thought –
By providing users with the information they’re actively searching for – information that they want to consume – you’re getting your brand and your business in front of them in a meaningful way, and at a crucial time in the buying process, as well as:
- Improving your rankings on SERPs for relevant terms
- Fostering existing relationships
- Reaching new audiences
And positioning your business as valuable, helpful, and relevant – a business that doesn’t force your product or service on your customers/clients, rather allowing your customers/clients the space and time they need to make an informed decision to contact or buy from you.
If, after reading this, you want to tap into the incredible benefits of content marketing and would like more information, please contact me.
Sophie Porter: Content Specialist 