SEO, digital marketing, social media marketing, and search engine marketing are just some of the buzz words in today’s highly tech-dominated business world. It doesn’t matter whether you are running a medium-sized company in Tampa or one of the big conglomerates based in San Francisco or New York, these concepts help to improve your brand image and financial bottom line.
Are you overwhelmed by it all and don’t know where to start? The good thing about SEO or digital marketing is that with enough research and your savvy in-house team, you can do it with no added cost. Sure. Plan in the future to get an SEO service provider. Pending that, however, one thing you can do is to focus on content marketing to push your branding and product awareness.
An Overview of Content Marketing
Some paid advertisements on digital platforms can be a double-edged sword. Those ads that pop up as soon as you click on a link on your mobile phone or your PC can be blocked. The estimate is that 11% of online users use ad blockers. Ad blockers are better for online customers, but they’re bad for advertisers.
So if paid adverts are rendered partially ineffective, how do you lure them to visit your website?
In comes content marketing. Misunderstood very narrowly as mere blog pages, articles, or social media posts, content marketing goes beyond these formats; it focuses on using content to forge a more committed relationship with your audience.
Paid advertisement encourages consumers to bring out their wallet. Content marketing is about providing information that adds value aimed at establishing trust. Ads take. Content marketing gives.
Trends and Insights
Is it worthwhile to do it? Yes. Even for small to medium-sized businesses, there’s benefit in doing content marketing. Around 70% of consumers prefer to read an article to know more about a company rather than be bombarded by ads.
- It’s a long game. Remember, content marketing is a long-term strategy and not just the form of the content that you put out. You need to be patient. Don’t expect the result to happen overnight. You need to continually make adjustments with your marketing efforts to match the changing desires and needs of customers.
- Build your base. Your content marketing will go nowhere if you don’t have subscribers. Your first task, therefore, is to build your subscriber base. Customers agreeing to, “Please send me regular updates about your company.” or something similar is your magic potion. Your customers’ allowing you to talk to them, is your goldmine. Because now, you get to remind them about your offerings delicately.
- Get personal. Generic email blasts have a strong chance of going to the “trash bin.” Your content must be more personal and easily relatable. “Still struggling with your self-confidence and not performing well during interviews? Ace your next one with these tips.” Content like this makes a natural connection with readers, and therefore adds value to your brand.
- Video is king. Digital marketers will always point to video content as a continuing trend in content marketing. Maximize this format and use it in a variety of ways, e.g., 1:1 form, live streaming, or video thumbnail.
This list is just the tip of the iceberg. Conversational design, artificial intelligence, and many more will play a large part in content marketing, which will push your business to the next profitable stage.
