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If your goal is to connect with your target audience, as well as provide answers to the questions they ask in a meaningful, creative way - then you’ll want to invest your time in a content marketing strategy for your brand or business.
In this article, we’ll cover just what content marketing is, why it’s a valuable addition to your marketing strategy and the different types of content marketing that you can use for your business.
Read on to learn more:
Content marketing, at its core, is the process of planning, creating, distributing and repurposing content that will allow you to reach your target audience in an effective way.
Many marketers see this as a ‘top of funnel’ activity, but alongside that, it can also help you boost sales, increase lead opt-ins, increase brand awareness and create better brand perception online.
Now more than ever, customers are looking for the ‘story behind the brand’, the ‘why’, if you will. They want to feel connected with brands to which they give their hard earned money, rather than the sales pitch that’s as old as time itself.
Because of this, many brands are turning to content marketing and storytelling to get their message across, reengaging current customers and finding new ways to attract prospective paying customers.
It’s important to understand why content marketing is important before you blindly charge into investing in this type of marketing strategy. Without a reason or a purpose behind it, content marketing has the potential to underperform and underwhelm. However, when done well - the benefits of content marketing are immense. You’ll be able to reach your target audience, increase revenue and build relationships with your customers. But that’s not all:
How you are perceived online often goes hand in hand with the type of content that you put out. A content marketing strategy that’s built around quality content can create a positive experience for current and prospective customers, improving the perception of your brand online as well as building a higher level of trust with your audience.
You want to increase your follower count and expand your reach. Who doesn’t?
But does your content perform the way you would anticipate it to? If the answer is no, don’t worry, this may be your signal to re-think your content marketing strategy and replace your current content with another type or variation that better resonates with your audience.
Creating quality content can help you put your best foot forward when it comes to generating better traction on your social media platforms.
“You need to earn the right to sell to your customers by serving them engaging, informative and valuable content first.” - Jenna Kutcher, The Goal Digger Podcast
And she’s absolutely right. Customers that consume your content - no matter the platform - have a higher likelihood of purchasing from you than those that don’t.
Why?
It has to do with your trust factor. If you are serving your audience content that they can trust, they are not only more likely to purchase from you outright - but also to give you their email and other information in the early lead stage.
Gathering new leads through content is great for increased revenue goals now, and down the line.
Search engines LOVE content. Especially if you are consistently producing high quality content. With a content marketing strategy that consistently builds on itself, you should be able to better rank in search results - giving your website a better chance at attracting organic traffic.
Not too long ago, many people put a high volume on the amount of content that they were able to put out, rather than the quality. These days, it’s done a full 180. Quality content not only enhances your SEO, but it also gives you a better chance to be recognized as a credible source of information within your niche market. This carries multiple benefits within itself, the utmost important one being that customers are more likely to buy from a brand that they trust rather than one they don’t.
Just like any marketing strategy, there are different types of content marketing strategies that you can use for your business. Sometimes marketers are looking to make a statement, other times they’re looking to generate more leads for their sales funnel. But how do you know which one is best? The key to choosing a content marketing type, is to make sure that it can satisfy the goals you’ve set for the piece. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
Think blogs, case studies or podcast show notes. Long-form content, like blog articles, is a great way to boost your site’s SEO and drive organic traffic at low cost. You can use this type of content to answer any questions your audience might have, create buyer persona content or even use it as a cornerstone for creating other types of content down the road.
Similarly, a case study may be able to help you convert a customer that’s sitting on the fence to a happy, paying client.
A good review is powerful. A great review can show how your company stands out within its given niche or against its competitors. Similar to user generated content, they come straight for your customers - giving you (and potential or current customers) an insight as to why they buy into your brand.
Testimonials and reviews can be an incredibly powerful tool if used properly - like in an email marketing campaign, through strategic placement on a website or as a stand-alone piece of content on your social platforms.
Promoting influencer or user generated content is a great way to engage your audience, as well as another audience you previously may not have been able to reach. This type of content can be organic or paid-for, and has the potential to increase your conversion rate.
Sometimes your audience may gravitate towards a visual rather than a long-form article or podcast. If that’s the case, try creating an infographic! They’re eye catching, fun and a great way to display statistics, graphs or otherwise data-heavy content that might be a necessary component to your brand’s messaging.
Video resources are becoming more relevant and are a very effective way of driving engagement. In some cases, B2C companies experience a boost of CTR by 2-3x when video is used in their marketing. You can use video content to demonstrate products, show products in action with real world applications, as well as answer any questions your audience might have. This all leads to creating that perception of 2-way communication with you and your customers.
In 2020, video isn’t just restricted to vlogs (video-blogs). There are multiple video types that may fit with your B2C business! Some include:
Product video:
Commercial videos that demonstrate a product in detail - think of it as a studio photoshoot. Careful attention to lighting, focus, editing and more!
Lifestyle video:
Products being used in-situ is an ever-increasing portion of video production for products. The most common example of this type of video is TV commercials where the product is front and centre.
Unboxing videos:
The original influencers’ favorite tool! The unboxing phenomena originating in the mid-2000s with the increasing popularity of YouTube, these unboxing videos feature influencers unpacking products for the first time, describing them in detail and using them on camera.
How To / Demo / Tutorial videos:
Demo and How To videos are becoming more important with platforms like Amazon encouraging brands to include video with their product listings. Platforms like Tik Tok are also becoming popular with tutorial and how-to videos for certain products where influencers use the product on camera and give immediate feedback to their viewers.
We get it, coming up with original content ideas is hard. The constant output of content for various platforms, email campaigns, website updates and more can feel overwhelming. Often we might feel repetitive or even stuck in a rut. But don’t worry - it’s completely normal. We all could use a helping hand sometimes, even if it’s just for a new content topic to dive into.
As a content engineering platform, Cohley can assist you in your search for new content ideas. We do this by providing content generation tools as well as analytics software all under one roof. Our goal is to help you understand what content works best for your business, and to drive content strategies backed by the data that proves they work. Brands today need content more than ever, and it’s important to us that we help you put your best foot forward.