What is content marketing and how does it work?
In marketing, the word “content” refers to a high-quality blog, article, white paper, e-book, video or social media post. The type of content you choose to share will depend on you and your business. Video is very engaging, but written content has its place too, and provides an opportunity to incorporate keywords.
In this blog, we look at why this high-quality content should be part of your marketing strategy, and how it works to convert leads into paying customers.
Content marketing attracts the right customers
Content works by gently informing customers about your business so they can make up their own minds. It is the opposite of a hard sell.
Content marketing is rather like having coffee with a friend and telling them about, say, your new car. Imagine the conversation. You would talk about why you like your new car and how it’s made life easier. But you wouldn’t want to make your friend scrap whatever they’re driving at the moment and buy the same car you’ve just bought. However, in the future, when they do need to replace their vehicle, they might remember what you told them and choose the same make. That’s because you told them about your car in a friendly way, and recommended it with their needs in mind. The conversation was personal – maybe you’re both parents so you talked about how much space there is for the children; maybe you’re both petrol-heads and talked about speed and control.
Of course, in content marketing, you’re talking to customers, not personal friends, but the principle is the same. You use your content to connect with customers and show how your product or service aligns to their priorities. This will not only encourage them to buy from you, but also build brand loyalty and ensure they come back in future.
Content marketing establishes you as the expert
Content marketing is also a way to show your readers and viewers that you know what you’re talking about. This is called positional content, because it positions you as an expert in your field. You can achieve this through creating detailed, informative written and visual content.
Positional content works by inspiring confidence in your customers and clients. They can see that you have solid experience in your field, and they want to buy from you because they want to benefit from it. Customers can see that your product or service is backed up by your industry knowledge, making it superior to your competitors’.
Content marketing helps your SEO
A brilliant thing about content marketing is that it carries on working even when no one is watching! This is because it is boosts your SEO and helps Google find your website. It mainly does this through keywords – a blog or a video description is a great opportunity to incorporate the words and language that Google looks for to direct customers to your website.
Sharing content frequently and regularly lets Google know that your business is operating right now. It tells Google that your website is up to date, so the information on it must be relevant to readers. So, thinks Google, your website must be the right one to show people searching for whatever keywords you are trying to rank for. Which is how (theoretically) you might find yourself on the front page of Google!
Content marketing should be part of your strategy because it works in these three ways and more. Ignore the opportunity and you miss out on connecting with customers, establishing yourself as the expert and boosting your SEO.
Outsource your content marketing
The marketing team at Get Ahead has expertise across all areas of content marketing, from writing blogging and articles to creating videos and graphics. To find out how we can support your content marketing, get in touch today on 01483 332 220 – we’d love to hear from you.
