Content Marketing

There is a maxim in the sales world that all things being equal, people buy from people they know, like, and trust. Given that the goal of any marketing plan is to generate leads who then become buyers and eventually long-term advocates, the question is this: how can this be done in the most cost-effective manner possible? Enter the world of Content Marketing.

While there are many methods to develop know, like, and trust – and a good marketer will use many of them working together – few are as cost effective as pairing compelling content with online tools to deliver it and engage your prospects.

7 Characteristics of Compelling Content

1. It provides the answers to the questions your target market are asking
2. It is audience-driven and tells stories that put your prospect at the center of the story
3. It provides value to those who consume it by educating and informing them about how to overcome a challenge
4. It leads the audience along the path of their buyer’s journey by giving them a clear next step
5. It holds the audience’s interest through use of imagery and appealing visual layout
6. It is available in a variety of forms

What Happens When You Feature Compelling Content?

Brand Awareness Increases – When you have compelling content, you can expect your visibility to increase because you’re providing the answers to the questions people are asking. In addition, because your content is compelling, it will be more likely to be shared.

Your Business Becomes More Likable – When your content puts your visitor at the center of the story and offer solutions to their problems, your likability factor increases.

Your Trust Factor Grows – Taking an educational and informative tone that offer solutions to your audience’s challenges and problems is a surefire way to raise your trust level and be seen as an “authority” in your area of expertise.

Your Conversion Rate Improves – By setting yourself apart from your competitors by positioning as a trusted authority in your field, you make doing business with you the clear choice.

Your Repeat Business and Referrals Improve – By using post-sales content to keep your customers engaged after the initial transaction, you will keep them coming back for more. Perhaps even more important, you will get more referrals to help grow your business.

Content Marketing Delivery Methods

It is important to have a variety of content delivery methods. This is because different people taken information in different ways. Some people are visual, some people are auditory, and some people are kinesthetic. Publishing the same content in different forms maximizes the likelihood of connecting with any individual member of your target market.

The following are some different ways to deliver content:

• Blogs (one of the most important for ongoing SEO)
• Videos
• Infographics
• White papers (Case Studies)
• eBooks
• Webinars
• Podcasts
• Email Newsletters
• Checklists
• Slideshows

Managing the Complexities of Content Marketing

One common concern that many business owners have about content marketing is the time it takes to be successful implementing it. True, content marketing does take time, but consider the alternative. Without content marketing, you will work harder and attract less qualified leads which will cost you more in the long run.

Here are some tips for implementing content marketing in your business:

1. Develop a content calendar. Yearly cycles, quarterly themes, and monthly topics all help make the content creation process something that can be planned in advance. Advance planning translates into time being allocated for creating the content.
2. Repurpose content into a variety of forms. Once you realize that the same piece of content may be sliced and diced several different ways and packaged in several different forms, the content creation task seems a little less daunting.
3. Recruit others to help create content for you. Guest bloggers, image submissions by clients, frequently asked questions, customer testimonials, and case studies are all ways to cut down your workload.
4. Use marketing automation tools where possible. For example, an email automation sequence can be used to “drip” content to someone who is join your email list. An incentive to join your list might be to be able to download a free report on a topic of interest.

Finally, recognize that to implement a content marketing strategy, you don’t necessarily need to become an expert on content delivery systems or even content creation. If you are willing to work with others to get these things done, you can be the authority figure and subject matter expert while they do the heavy lifting.

How We Can Help with Your Content Marketing Challenges

At Austin SEO for Growth, we understand that content fuels your marketing machine.  We can help with not only content creation, but also with how to build complete content marketing systems.

Our Principal Consultant, Jeff Stec, is not only a Certified SEO for Growth Consultant, but he is also a Certified Duct Tape Marketing Consultant, and is Content Marketing Certified by HubSpot Academy.

Contact us today to see how we can put inbound marketing to work for you.