Stop wasting your time reading just about anything on the Internet!
My mother’s voice boomed from the kitchen as my cursor hovered in deliberation. The 'Social Locker' tool was requesting for a twitter login to access the spoilers on a fan page microsite. A DC Comics nerd and an avid enthusiast of its TV series, I ignored her comment and allowed the tool to access my social network.
Why? Despite the obvious marketing intent, my desire to read about the latest exploits of my favorite ‘caped crusader’ was paramount.
Additionally, despite the marketing aim the content on the page was to my liking.
The traditional marketing movements have started to fall short in the present day and age. The ‘promotional’ approach of traditional marketing is intrusive and ineffective.
But what has come to define modern-day marketing is that the empowered consumers of the day have started paying less attention to traditional marketing efforts.
In the wake of digital marketing, customer engagement becomes critical. Consumers use search engine platforms to maneuver through the digital world. A successful business endeavor would, therefore, require consumers to be driven to your website, engaged to your content and cultivating an opinion about it.
This is exactly why they say content is king and content marketing is an art.
Content marketing is the generation of valuable content which is pertinent to your target audience. The content is cultivated to suit the taste of the Buyer Persona in order to stimulate their opinions on the same.
It is intended to achieve a favorable customer response by initiating an exchange between the content and the consumer.
The content generated thus is original and skewed to the taste/profile of the prospects.
Not to forget, it is a strategic, continual process which reproduces the content on a consistent basis with insights that the consumer can take away.
But Why Content Marketing? How is it different from traditional marketing? Why is it so necessary for an organization to pay attention to what content they are producing?
Let us answer these questions for you.
Tailor made for your Buyer Persona
A successful Inbound Marketing strategy would entail a prospect buyer being engaged to the subject matter of his liking. The content generated through a well-thought out content marketing strategy would seek to do the same.
Inbound marketing methodology focuses on targeting quality leads as opposed to the traditional marketing paradigm which targets quantity without selective focus.
Content is not produced. It is crafted and tailored according to the Buyer Persona’s taste. The content is aligned to evoke a response within the buyer persona which keeps him engaged.
For a potential lead, the prospect would appreciate reading quality content. Catering to a vested taste, content is distributed with a sole marketing focus to influence purchasing decision(s).
The Insight?
Simply put, It is the Content that drives the traffic in.
Focus on Owned Media
Traditional advertising focusses on paid media or Media vehicles bought for marketing purposes. Brands invest on these vehicles and publish content there in the hope of the consumer picking them up.
However, with the rampant rise of such vehicles and increased clutter, the consumer is bound to ignore these. Increasing the media weight becomes critical in targeting every additional consumer.
This burns a large hole in your budget.
Content strategies focus solely on owned media, ie. Media vehicles or properties owned by the organization. Every piece of marketing communication is carried out on the property itself. This is virtually inexpensive. It drives the consumer to your communication without being distracted by the clutter in the market.
NOTE: This is an extremely viable method for start-ups who do not necessarily want to invest heavily from the word go and yet, want steady results.
The Insight?
Through a well-regulated strategy, you communicate with ONLY your buyers. The communication is direct without interruption and drives down the cost per lead.
The Content brings the Consumers back
The greatest impediment to traditional marketing is that there is little to no measure of results. Marketing is carried out in the hope of achieving success.
Quality content engages with the persona directly, who can like, share, and subscribe to your communication. Content and good content at that is the reason consumers develop brand affinity. They spend time with the content, consume it, share it and come back for more.
Imagine the consumer being anxious to listen from you. Brilliant, isn’t it?
Additionally, The content they are catered to gives them not only insights into the products or services being offered, but also to your organization.
Consumers want to know of the organization directly from the horse’s mouth. This accounts for a level of authenticity which gains the prospects’ trust, the lead’s faith, and the buyer’s loyalty.
The Insight?
The Content and the constant customer engagement with it increases conversions and initiates brand loyalty.
Higher Feeds on your Search Engine (which means more business)
What happens to the content I post?
How will I ensure that the content brings you more customers than your competition?
Would a traditional marketer be able to answer these questions?
Perhaps not. Ask a digital marketer however and he will tell you that your business is as good as your rank on the search engine platforms.
Higher the ranking on the search engine, higher the engagement, which means greater the business coming in.
Fortunately, search engines feed on content. An optimized piece of content with appropriate tags and meta-tags will rank higher on search engines. Search engines graze through content and rank the ones with better content higher than the others.
It is simple. Rank #1 is always better than Rank #234. And yes, you most certainly can outmaneuver your competitor with a higher rank with content and a little effort on the SEO end.
The Insight?
Quality content which is Search Engine Optimized yields more results and gets more business in.
Know more on how to Dominate your SEO with Hubspot Keyword Tool here.
Content is anything (and everything)
This leaves us with just one question.
What can be used as content?
The answer? Anything.
Articles, blogs, whitepapers, ebooks, infographics, videos, case studies, podcasts, anything.
However, the caveat is that while it allows you room for flexibility, it also brings in a level of Creative endeavor. Repetitive, dull, insipid content is as good as not having any.
If you lack ideas, Content can also be repurposed to produce purposeful inbound marketing results.
While the vessels and the creative liberty is endless care must be given to rotate topics and pursue them as creatively as possible.
The Insight?
There is absolutely no limit to creativity. Get as creative (with the content vessel and the content) as possible!
Final Comments
Content Marketing is perhaps one of the most efficient ways to market AND communicate with your target audience at the same time while engaging with them on a one-to-one basis.
Not to forget. It is the most inexpensive marketing strategy possible which yields the greatest possible results.
Invest heavily in your strategy with time and effort.
Let the numbers do the talk for themselves.
