What is Content Marketing? - Learn the basics
- Olivia J.
- Jul 4, 2022
- 6 min read
The content marketing strategy engages, attracts, and retains audiences by sharing relevant articles, videos, podcasts, and other types of content.
This strategy promotes brand awareness and establishes expertise.
Also, it keeps your business in mind when the time comes to purchase what you have.
Jump to:
What is content marketing?
Content marketing refers to creating and distributing useful, relevant content, such as blogs, newsletters, whitepapers, social media posts, and emails. It's part of digital marketing.
This content is distributed to current and potential customers. The content communicates expertise and shows that the company values its customers.
Your consistent content marketing builds and maintains relationships with potential and current customers. Your audience will be more inclined to consider your company as a partner in their success and a source of valuable advice and guidance when it comes to buying.
Why it is important?
It's a tried-and-true strategy that works. It gives you a competitive edge. Let's take a look at the data on content marketing.
Companies with blogs get 67% more leads than other businesses.
47 percent of consumers read 3 to 5 pieces before engaging with a sales representative.
Businesses that use content marketing see 30% more growth than those that don't use it.
72% of marketers claim that content marketing improves engagement and leads generation.
How content marketing works
Content marketing can help your business attract leads and close sales.
Providing the right content for each stage of your sales cycle is essential, from awareness to consideration to purchase.
This may sound not easy, but it is pretty straightforward.
This is how content marketing works in every stage of the sales process to help companies engage and sell.
Awareness stage
Your content should be focused on your target audience at the beginning of the sales process.
You have the best chance to engage with your audience by writing about their problems, challenges, and questions.
The awareness stage content should include how-to and educational advice. Your selling should be saved for the consideration or closing stages.
The best content for this stage: articles, blog posts, e-books, and newsletters.
Examples:
A restaurant writes a blog about planning a menu at a graduation party.
A short video is created by a bike tour company on the topic of "3 Ways to Select the Right Bike Trip."
A company specializing in architecture created an electronic book called "Questions to ask before hiring an architect."
Stage of consideration
Content should be a mix of marketing and helpful information during the consideration stage.
It should educate the reader about which features and functions they should be looking for and how different features can address their specific needs.
Your content should be tailored to the offerings of your business.
The best content for this stage: case studies, how-to articles, how-to videos, checklists/worksheets.
Examples:
A cloud-based phone company has created a checklist called "8 Ways To Improve Your Phone Customer Services," which details the features and functions that make excellent customer service possible.
A landscaping company presents case studies on "The Biggest Mistakes People Make When Hiring a Landscaper."
Case studies of successful events by catering companies are highlighted with a focus on the benefits they provide. This includes "How to accommodate food allergies at your next event" or "How do you ensure that your caterer uses sustainable practices."
Closing stage
When it comes to the last step, content marketing plays a crucial role when a prospect is ready to buy.
You can concentrate on sales at this stage, provided you keep highlighting why you are the best choice, not just how great your products or services are.
The central message should be your knowledge and expertise, as well as the unique benefits you offer.
The best content for this stage: case studies, user-generated material, buyer's guides, product videos, and research reports.
Examples:
A consulting firm created a research report showing that businesses who engage in strategic planning, outside assessments, and other services shaped according to their offer, experience greater growth.
A design agency makes short videos that showcase its expertise in different industries.
Patients are encouraged to write testimonials about their orthodontist practices' state-of-the-art equipment, top-notch service, and other details.
How to start with content marketing
It can feel overwhelming when you have to begin, but it doesn't have to be.
A successful content marketing campaign should be easy to manage and sustain. These steps will help you get started.
Identify your audience. You need to know the priorities, challenges, and preferences of each reader before you can create content. You can choose one or two segments to write for if you have detailed descriptions. If not, create profiles of your prospects and audience members before you start.
Choose the correct formats. This corresponds to the stage of your sales cycle for which you are creating content. It is essential to consider what format will be most effective in showcasing your value. This may be a video for some or a checklist for others.
Choose who will edit, proofread, and write your copy. Your content will be judged by its quality. Find the right resource to do this work, whether it is internal, external, or you, who's going to be creating it. No matter who created it, if you have the resources, you could hire a professional editor to proofread it before it is published.
Decide how it will be distributed. You can post content to your website, email it to others, or print it out for an event. You can start with "where" to determine who your audience is likely to respond to the best. Then, choose the format that makes sense. An example of this is an article that can be sent via email. A checklist or worksheet that can also be posted on social media. A buyer's guide, however, is a great follow-up to a pitch.
Make a sustainable plan. Don't be too ambitious with your content marketing plan. After you have identified the audience and the content formats, you can make a short-term plan (3-6 months) to create the number of content elements you can produce. Take into account your resources and budget. You can keep track of how long it takes to make each piece and incorporate that time into your schedule.
Use best practices. Clear and concise content that you and your peers can understand. You should include how-to information. It's best to keep it short and actionable.
SEO and Social Media
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Good prospects will find your business easily through content marketing.
Search engine optimization (SEO) is one way to make this happen.
There's plenty of information available on SEO. However, it is vital to start with a few best practices.
Identify keywords
Your SEO efforts will be built on keywords. These keywords and phrases are what prospects type into search engines when searching for a company, product, or service.
It's pretty straightforward, you'll get more traffic if you use the right keywords in your content. These are the best keywords:
Plain-language Language your audience uses for describing their pain points or needs.
Relevant keywords: keywords that correspond to the expertise, products, and services you offer.
Specific: is a combination of your focus, industry knowledge, prospect pain points, and other relevant details.
Deliver on your promise
SEO is evolving so that search success relies partly on the quality of your content.
Search engines analyze content copy and assess its relevancy to determine if it lives up to the headline.
Keywords are important because search engines value copy. It is essential to use keywords in your content. You can follow these guidelines:
Use 1 to 2 keywords. Write about the most important things to your prospects by focusing on several keyword phrases.
Use keywords for the title. Make the purpose of the article clear and specific.
Include keywords throughout your content. Discover a way to incorporate your keywords in your content naturally.
Keep it on the topic. High-quality content with advice that is related to a headline will be most effective.
Social Media
Once you have the content, it is time to spread the word about it.
Promoting your content using social media such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Medium, and Instagram is pretty easy. Simply write a post, link to your content, and voila!
This can be done in 3 steps.
Concentrate on high-potential social media channels. Sometimes your audience is the best source of information. You should consider both the popular, well-known channels as well as smaller, more industry-specific ones that can connect you with great prospects. You may ask your audience which channels they prefer and make a list based on these preferences.
Create your copy to suit the channel. Every social media channel requires a certain level of professionalism, an accepted voice, and many other details. Spend some time reading through posts before you start writing. Next, add some company spirit to your posts.
You can modify and test your approach. It takes trial and error to make a successful social media campaign. You can track the quality and quantity of responses to various channels.
Conclusion
Use content to build your business. Your unique value can shine through in content that attracts, engages, and sells. You can reach the right people with some planning and consistent content marketing to inspire loyalty for your brand.
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