Content marketing: The most over-used phrase in modern marketing? Perhaps. The most critical component to earning trust and customer loyalty? Absolutely.
According to the Content Marketing Institute (yes, there really is one!):
Content marketing is a marketing technique of creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire, and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience – with the objective of driving profitable customer action.
As a consumer, when was the last time you purchased a car with the intent of relying completely on the salesperson for detail about the feature packages, dependability and gas mileage? Instead, you likely arrived at the dealership armed with a decent understanding of performance and price. Would you purchase a flat screen TV or desktop hardware without seeing what the experts at CNET have to say? Probably not. You’ve come to trust certain resources to share the news you need to know.
As a group, today’s consumers are not the same passive audience once content to subsist on shiny pontification about how amazing your company’s products or services are and the problems their purchase will solve. Consumers don’t want to be sold to – they want to be educated. They want unvarnished truth. And that’s the reputation you want to have in your area of specialization.
As a business owner, in the absence of a big, brilliant staff of marketing geniuses at hand, you can make a compelling case for your professional expertise by simply keeping both your site and your blog well stocked with fresh content.
You don’t have to be the smartest guy in the room, just the most informative one willing to share what people want/need to know.
You Can Be Google’s BFF. Among other things, Google (and her sisters) are in the information business. Besides paid advertisements that appear at the top of the results page, Google rewards the relevant, the fresh. They have trillions of customers to please, and pleasing them means providing current information to searchers of everything from pet care to appliances.
You Can Be Impressive. Potential clients checking your business out could interpret outdated details as a company out of touch with the latest industry trends. It may not be the case, but obsolete information reads as either that…or indifference. Be up-to-date, you’ll be considered notable.
You Can Be the Expert. You know more about your business than anyone. To develop a veritable library of topics, start recording ideas for blogs with your phone’s voice memo feature, and keep notes on interesting projects in progress. Ask your employees and even clients the type of information they seek. You will quickly amass an abundance of topics of interest to your target market.
You Can Write. Writing’s not your strong suit? So what. You still have the expertise and a genuine voice to be heard. Hire someone to organize, edit and polish your words.
Blog posts are the foundation of your content marketing strategy. Their versatility is keen.
- They drive visitors to your website.
- Their links are easily added to social media platforms.
- They can be re-purposed as articles in email or print newsletters.
Ultimately, the power of consistent, new content is easily harnessed. Google needs to be fed and it rewards those who feed it. Just keep it real, and get it out there.
