It really does not matter in which industry you serve, everyone markets to their prospective consumer. Some call them clients, some call them customers, some even call them members; they are all experiencing the effects of your marketing. That friends, is the power of content. Tailored correctly, content that is “persona-fied,” that is, crafted directly at the type of consumer for which you are aiming.
Marketers have a huge responsibility. Whether you market to the B2B, B2C, B2Gm B2NP or individual entrepreneurs, you have to not only generate interest, but also do it in such a way that they are actually paying attention. That is the power of content.
For those with very tight budgets, content marketing is very affordable. Cost-effective methods for content creation are abundant, and are viewable on a number of platforms. From blogs to video email, article marketing to webinars, today’s devices make it easy to access your clientele, because they are almost always connected. The smartphone, tablet, e-Reader and desktop can easily access your targeted content.
The holdback is the amount of effort involved with supplying a consistent amount and variety of targeted, persona-geared content. It takes a fair amount of strategic planning, specific branding, content creation and promotion. After that, then there is the issue of distribution. The investment in content marketing is both time and financial resources to set your business apart with the power of content.
Recently we spoke of search engine optimization being an extremely important facet of inbound marketing. Making sure that your web site can be found, and easily located by the use of keywords, back links and so forth is part and parcel of SEO.
SEO Aided by Powerful Content – When individuals search the net for a particular string of words, say a product or service description, the search engine returns an assortment of content that is found to match your inquiry. Therefore, by crafting your content piece with the proper keywords, your chances of making it to the front page of the search results improves. The better created content (effective copywriting using keyword strategies) rises to the top like well-made bread dough in the proofing oven.
Diversified content formats also aid in “getting found” easily, as the search engines respect the quality of the content provider that is genuinely attempting to provide “worth-while, engaging content” and not just fluff or word-farm generated spin documents.
The more content visible on the internet, the better your chances of making to the top of the keyword search. That takes time, as you will need approximately 50 pieces of SEO’ed content to make a real impact, according to The Hubspot report – State of Inbound Marketing (disclosure: we are a Hubspot shop and a value added reseller). Depending on your capabilities, you may have to supplement your in-house content creators with outside copywriters. Each business is unique to itself, so
Content Marketing is Low Cost Advertising – While content marketing is not a panacea, it definitely helps support your advertising budget. Content can replace a great part of it over time, as the library of pertinent, engaging content grows in volume. Rather than pay-per-click, or pay-per-impression ads generate leads, the quality of leads will be better the more the content is viewed by returning site visitors. In that fashion, content can not only aid in reducing your advertising costs, but drive better quality leads through the sales process, allowing for your sales team to bring them to close more quickly.
Remember, once the content is on the internet, it is permanent. Over time, the content may become stale and no longer viewed by current visitors, but no one said that the previously created content couldn’t be re-purposed, rejuvenated and re-published. Turning a series of articles that are perhaps a year old can easily be re-purposed and re-published into an eBook or Special Report(s). Voila! New Content. The cost of generating a new ad or even new content is extremely less through this strategy.
Lead Generation is the Result of Content Marketing – As mentioned earlier, higher quality leads come from those visitors that find value in your content, as opposed to PPC and other paid online ads. With a well-rounded and comprehensive content strategy, leads of varied interest can be further targeted. A visitor that is viewing your site for the first time is not the same as a visitor that has returned with regularity. That is an indicator of being somewhere in the sales funnel, heading toward “buyer ready” status.
The reasons this particular prospect is returning are presently unknown to you other than they find value in your content. Sales should not intervene until said prospect has been judged to be in the final stages of the buyer ready. This is known as lead scoring. An internal system of knowing where the prospects are in the buying cycle. These leads that continually make their way through the process are naturally higher in quality than someone responding to an advertisement, and therefore stand a better chance of being closed.
In closing, what also needs to be considered is identifying the powerful content from what doesn’t perform. Through internal analysis, you can determine that your prospective, target audience may respond to webinars better than online video, or your digital magazine more so than your email campaigns. Defining metrics and routing analysis can help you create better, more power packed content.
Would you like to find out more about the Power of Content? After all, you are seeing how it works firsthand…
