Most of their stuff is pretty absorbing, isn’t it?
It’s easy to take all of this content for granted because it’s all created to be entertaining, interesting and valuable to you.
But, have you wondered why they do it? What’s the goal behind using resources to produce material that doesn’t directly sell like an advert?
Well, it’s all a part of what’s known as Content Marketing strategy, and if a business does this correctly, it can produce fantastic results in so many different ways- from brand awareness, lead acquisition, customer engagement, status, growth and ROI.
The best part about it is, your business can do it too! And reap the benefits it brings.
Here’s all you need to know.
Prefer to listen, rather than read? Here’s the Podcast summary!
Content Marketing is a particularly powerful strategy that a business can use to cut through all of the noise, and engage customers in a more significant and meaningful way. In fact, Content Marketing can be a very cost-effective way to get the right attention within the highly competitive environment or today.
What Is Content Marketing?
Content Marketing is where a business creates and distributes relevant and valuable content on a regular basis, using a much softer sell to attract and inform a specific target audience, and encourage a desirable behaviour from them.
Content Marketing is about communicating with your target audience by offering them interesting content they actually want to interact with
___
This approach is so effective because it caters to changing customer behaviour which requires a more subtler message to persuade.
Why Is There Now A Need For Content Marketing?
In the past, Marketing a brand revolved around expensive advertising campaigns, which forced direct messages onto the audience to make an impression and drive them to purchase the product.
A lot of this Marketing still exists today, but it’s far less effective now because the growth and adaptation of technology has empowered people to become internet savvy and highly educated. This has completely revolutionised customer behaviour and shifted how they respond to Marketing communications from organisations about their products.
People are becoming far more resistant to paid advertisements via mass media, and are now searching online for information about everything before they decide upon their best option. This is where Content Marketing practises come in.
Creating pieces like articles, website copy, blogs, articles, white papers and videos offer these potential customers something to engage with when they are researching. Through the providing of content, a business can communicate with potential customers earlier and in a more fulfilling way. It’s also far more accommodating to businesses with smaller budgets!
Why Is Content Marketing Crucial for Businesses?
Businesses are competing in industries chock full of advertising noise. Because of this, your customers are ploughing through a lot of clutter, in an attempt to find information they actually want. As a result, they are:
- tailoring their browsers
- customising their social media feeds
- beginning to completely ignore disruptive advertising.
This is why your business shouldn’t be wasting money on advertising that people are disregarding, and instead, producing content that they actually want to spend their precious time engaging with.
Realigning Your Marketing Perspective
Content Marketing means that businesses like yours must re-assess the way you communicate with customers, because your intention is to inform your customers, not to sell directly with pushy messages. This means replacing the pitch with more helpful information.
In doing this, they will begin to see your brand as a valued information provider, and not an interruption.
Don’t interrupt what your audience is actually interested in.
Instead, use Content Marketing to become what they’re interested in.
___
Content Earns Your Target Audience’s Attention
So, what kind of content does your audience want from you?
‘Winning attention’ really is the aim of the game for businesses, because people are time poor and very selective in what they choose to engage with.
You can relate better to your target audience by putting less effort into highly expensive advertising campaigns, and instead, giving them what they really want, which is educated insight into your industry, your brand and everything that goes with it. You can inspire people with your website, your blogs and your social media channels to give them useful information, and win them over on their terms.
Content Marketing works so well because it wins them over on their terms
___
Attracting people to your business and persuading them on the benefits of your particular product or service means you must capture their attention and pique their interest.
Traditionally, this was difficult for a small business, because consumers have long held trust in more mainstream forms of advertising, such as TV, Print and Radio. Furthermore, the budget required for these media was very high, which created a barrier as smaller businesses lacked the capital resources to use them for promotion, especially during the launch, start-up and growth stages. However, with the growing popularity of the digital marketplace now, the power of these traditional forms is now diminishing, and the demand for Content Marketing is on the rise.
As you know, when you are a smaller business, you are working with a much more manageable market size, by operating at a more niche level. This really allows you to understand your customer, as opposed to a large company trying to reach the masses.
This factor puts your business in the perfect position to get the most out of a Content Marketing strategy, due to three factors:
- The more personal relationship with your customer
- Customer satisfaction
- Customer loyalty
Having a better understanding of your customer means that you are better able to communicate directly to them, catering content for their everyday needs. They will then respond with satisfaction and loyalty, because your content is engaging them at a more personal level, putting you ahead of your competition, no matter what their size.
Creating Content that is Valuable To Your Audience
In order to be successful, a Content Marketing strategy should always begin by precisely identifying your target audience in order to align your content as closely as possible to their interests. This is because this type of strategy revolves around directly addressing the information needs to your customer. Failing to do this at square one will mean that your content will not be targeted correctly to their requirements.
Most people search on the internet to gather information, find answers to their questions, and see what other people’s experiences have been with your business. This means that your business absolutely must be active where they are looking, or you may become invisible to them.
Therefore, your content should ideally be created so that it offers them value that is relevant, entertaining, and spurs an emotion that will lead them to follow your Call To Action. In order to gain a consumer’s trust, your product must be linked to positive emotions, which is a goal rarely achieved by traditionally ‘pushy’ adverts.
A business with a strong Content Marketing strategy seeks to rise above these forceful advertising, and develop a rapport with people instead, because customers want to be treated as people, not a number. Content can achieve this goal for you, as your message can be highly tailored to care about their welfare in satisfying their needs.
The 4 Ways Content Marketing Can Drive Results for You
Here are four ways that Content Marketing can really have an impact on your business’ success and increase your bottom line.
- Grow Brand Awareness
The more that people engage with fresh and absorbing content your business provides, the more exposed to the brand and your messaging they become. This keeps your business’ product offering top of mind and increases their chance to come to you when they have a need.
Publishing new and relevant content creates a stream of opportunities for your potential customer to interact with your brand, making you a stand out option for them, and having a greater influence over their buying behaviour.
- Become a Key Opinion Leader (KOL)
If your business is actively providing the community with helpful and relevant information amongst a sea of other competitor businesses, which one will people likely turn to? Yours!
By producing content, your business will start to be seen as a leader in your field, and customers often prefer to go with an option that has the most experience and expertise. Content Marketing demonstrates your knowledge to prospective customers and builds a reputation as an industry leader, ensuring you are seen as genuine and trustworthy.
- Extensive Reach
People today not only like to engage in absorbing content, but also share it via their array of social media accounts with friends and family who may also be interested. This means that good quality content has far reaching potential.
In addition, other people are more likely to engage in content when it has been shared by someone they know.
When this happens, your business is getting the attention of a wider audience and building a brand awareness with a large network of people. Therefore, creating a steady flow of new information about relevant subjects really puts you in touch with your audiences and drives people to contact you.
- Keeping Your Website Fresh
Your customers are searching throughout the digital space for your business to help them keep informed, and your website is usually one of the main points of contact they come across.
It is also the first impression of your business, so it’s important that it does a great job. A boring, unchanging website means that people will tire quickly and never return, or bounce to find something better, which means you’ve lost them. Whereas a website full of absorbing information, interesting videos and regular blog posts gives them a reason to stay longer on your page and return at a future date, meaning that the probability of conversion is far greater.
The Advantage of Content Marketing
The main reason why Content Marketing is ideal for businesses like yours is that it is one of the most cost-effective ways to drive traffic and build awareness of your brand.
Creating new and fresh content that attracts, acquires and engages your target audience may take some time to see the results, but don’t give up. If you persist and always continue to refine it, a Content Marketing strategy will lead your business to great success.
What’s The Key To Content Marketing?
Behind effective and quality Content is a professional Copywriter who can produce great content to get you the results you need.
Without a strong writer, your Content Marketing may not reach the results you set out to achieve. A Copywriter can really make all of the difference.
How Can Melotti Media Copywriting Help You With Your Content?
At Melotti Media, we understand that high quality copywriting is essential for business success, but it is easier said than done. You’re time poor and spread thin, and writing isn’t your expertise. So, focus on what really matters, while we take care of all of your copywriting and marketing needs!
If you need further clarification about content, or if you need a quality copywriter to get the results you need, contact me now at chris@melottimedia.com.au. Or leave a comment, below.
I can sharpen your words to achieve your goals, today!
Christopher Melotti
Melotti Media Copywriting and Marketing Solutions
www.melottimedia.com.au
TheCopywritingBlog.com.au
