Content marketing is essential for attracting leads to your website, but what exactly is it? Content marketing is the way in which you present information about your business and related knowledge, and it can take the form of blogs, articles, infographics, videos, online courses… (you get the point!) The form your content marketing takes is entirely down to what works best for your business, but we will explore some important forms below, so continue reading to discover how content marketing will help you to generate leads!
Why Content Marketing:
Content marketing works! The facts alone speak for themselves: companies with blogs generate more traffic, as well as more qualified traffic than those without blogs. Well-published blogs, aka those that post consistently and frequently, generate up to nine times more leads than blogs which are infrequent and which publish less-refined content. But what is qualified traffic?
Qualified traffic refers to the visitors to your website that already have an interest in your business or services. Content marketing enables you to produce content specifically for these people, which makes the task of converting these leads into paying customers even easier!
So, what should your content consist of? The Content Marketing Institute states that your content should be “valuable, relevant and consistent” to ultimately drive your profits. Additionally, as the majority of traffic coming to your website will be from Google, you need to make sure the content you are publishing answers questions your potential customers may be searching, provides solutions and even offers tutorials if the topic you are engaging in allows for it. You may feel as though this giving away valuable information for free, but this is certainly not the case. Doing this shows your future client that the area you have discussed is well within your expertise and demonstrates the influence you have within your industry. This is your time to show off, so why don’t you?!
However, it must be borne in mind that content without promotion = a big ‘no no.’ Promoting your content is the only way to attract new leads, which can later be converted into paying customers. Promoting your content – whether it is in the form of a blog, or video – can be easily done. Use your business’ Social Media sites, connect and collaborate with others who are big in your industry, as top-10 marketer Neil Patel advises, and make use of content syndication. Spiralytics explains that this is the process of uploading your content onto third-party sites with a following larger than your own to help generate leads. Ensure that the site you engage in this with consists of your ideal audience, as this has the potential to generate a lot of leads for your business!
Which Form?
You are now at the stage where you have decided what content you are going to post, now the only question that remains is what form it should take. Ultimately this decision will be guided by what type of content your target audience is most likely to engage with, but the main content forms will be explored here.
🎯BLOGS:
As Hubspot accurately states, blogs are a great way to show creativity and promote internal and external content. To make your blog a success, make sure the topics you discuss are relevant to your target audience, and ensure your posting is regular and consistent! Have a look at GuidedPR’s guide on blogging mistakes that should be avoided to optimise your results. Having a blog has been proven to make you four times as likely to be found in an organic search! Click here to discover how else blogging can drive your sales.
🎯INFOGRAPHICS:
Visuals are the easiest and quickest way to grab someone’s attention, so why not implement them into your content marketing? According to a Demand Gen Report, infographics can boost your website traffic by 12%, and they receive 650% more engagement than a normal guest post. Exploit the visual marketing game and invest in making infographics in order to receive higher engagement and more traffic to your website, ultimately increasing your sales.
🎯PODCASTS:
Though a relatively new phenomenon, podcasts are increasing at a very quick rate. Podcasts can be used as a way to interact with your audience on a more intimate level, whilst still driving traffic to your website. Podcasts will be most effective when you promote them on social media, and it is advised that if you are just starting out on your podcast journey, you should be releasing at least 3 to 5 episodes on your launch. It would also be beneficial to convert the audio to a YouTube video as you can also share this on your Social Media channels, which will increase your visibility.
Timing…:
Once you have started on your content marketing journey, you need to think about the final, all important stage of securing sales. Converting a potential customer into a sale will depend on what stage they are in: awareness, consideration, or decision.
👀Awareness:
In the awareness stage you will find the people who have a problem and are looking for someone to understand what they are facing. Dear Content suggests that the best content for those in the awareness stage is content that really promotes your brand, but does not ‘delve too deep into products and services.’ The content these people would be most likely to engage with are blog posts, how-to guides and social media content. It is advised that if you are in the B2B sector, specific content such as reports and webinars would be most effective here.
🤔Consideration:
People in this stage know they have a problem, they have come across helpful content (yours and also your competitor’s) and now they are ready to compare these different options before making a final decision. This is the penultimate stage to the sale and the crucial part where you can convert a lead into a sale. Here it is all about convincing this potential customer that you are the right person for the job, rather than your competitor. You must show how your products or services are superior by producing content in the form of successful case studies, videos of your products and services and a comparison of these to your competitors.
🧠Decision:
Finally, it has come to the decision stage. Your prospect wants a solution to their problem but may be on the fence as to which business to settle on. It is therefore your objective to close the sale and convert your traffic into sales. Content at this stage must eliminate all of your prospect’s concerns about why you would be better than a competitor. The types of content that are most effective here are client testimonials and FAQs, as they will quash the concerns your lead has. It is also advised that the landing page your lead ends on has offers or any promotions you could offer which could push them over the line and secure the ever important sale!
📅Content marketing is effective when implemented and used efficiently. Outline a schedule that you can realistically stick to so that you can begin your content marketing, be patient and enjoy the successes content marketing brings!📅
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About the Author:
Camara is a third year Law student at the University of Exeter, with a passion for writing. She’s currently an intern PR Assistant and Blogger at GuidedPR. When she isn't writing or hitting the law books, you can find Camara either working on her own blog that she has created, or on social media keeping up with current affairs!
Find Camara on LinkedIn.
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