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Content marketing has been around for years. Yet it has evolved over the years to become an even more powerful force with the rise of the internet.
This marketing style is a tool you can use to promote and cost-effectively grow your business. Content marketing is one of the most effective ways to attract new customers, raise brand awareness, and increase sales.
Content marketing is more than just slapping articles up on a website and waiting for the sales to come in. It’s a complex process that requires resources, skills, and patience, but it will pay off with more sales and business if you’re patient and don’t expect immediate results.
Are you on the fence as to whether it will work for you? Here are five top benefits of content marketing that will convince you of its multiple advantages.
Content Marketing Will Help You Build Relationships that Lead to Sales
Content marketing is the process of building a relationship with people who are ready to buy your product or service.
It’s about leveraging your efforts so that you can get what you want from your audience: their attention, loyalty, trust, and ultimately, their business.
By posting helpful content that answers people’s questions, you can build a relationship that, over time, will lead to sales. You’ll also forge a personal connection with your audience, giving them a reason to listen to and buy from you.
Content marketing is a long-term strategy. Focus on creating content that people want to consume and share with others. You won’t get results overnight, but you will see results if you’re consistent.
Share valuable information your audience needs, and they’ll keep coming back and remember you when they need your products or services.
Content Marketing Helps You Build a Strong Brand
The goal of every business is to build a strong brand that people can recognize and connect with. There are many ways to accomplish this goal, but one way that’s gaining traction is through content marketing.
By creating and sharing informational resources and interesting articles, you’ll build a customer base but also get the chance to show off your thought leadership, authority, and expertise.
Content marketing extends beyond posting written information. It can be anything from helpful blog posts to engaging infographics, YouTube videos, and more.
New Customers from Increased Traffic and Higher Rankings in Search Engines
Content marketing is often framed as a way to build a brand in the eyes of consumers, but to gain the most from content marketing, focus on search engine rankings.
That’s where your new customers will come from.
Your brand isn’t something that will get you sales; it’s an outcome of sales. If you increase your search engine rankings, you’ll get more traffic to your shop or website.
This may seem like a classic “chicken or the egg” kind of question, but it’s not. Content marketing builds business because of search engine rankings, and search engine rankings gain traffic because of content marketing.
The way to gain search engine rankings when you’re starting out is to post content answering questions people ask about your product or services.
Targeting questions and long-tail keywords with your content will help you gain search engine rankings even when the competition is fierce online.
You may not rank for “home improvement,” but “home improvement projects for the kitchen” is less competitive and can help you build some traffic and build authority with the search engines.
Target less competitive, long-tail keywords and questions at first. Over time, you’ll build search engine authority that will allow you to rank for more competitive, high-traffic keywords.
Generating Qualified Leads with Email Marketing
Email marketing is one of the most effective ways to grow a business and is particularly effective when targeted to lead generation.
There are a lot of ways to generate email leads with content marketing, but the most effective is creating a blog that focuses on what your potential customers want to read and learn more about.
For example, they might want to read about success and self or home-improvement tips or about other people like them who are getting excellent results. They may also want to know more about the benefits that can come from incorporating your product or service into their lives.
To get readers to join your list, offer something relevant of value, for example, checklists, complete guides, or in-depth instructions for how to do something in exchange for an email address.
Most people will gladly read your email content if it’s relevant to their needs or interests.
Content Marketing Helps You Build Trust
More and more companies are discovering the benefits of content marketing and quickly seeing how content is a powerful tool to build trust with customers. The more customers trust a brand, the more likely they are to buy from them.
That means content marketing should be a top priority for any business.
When you publish authoritative and engaging content, you become a trusted source and build brand awareness and lead to more leads and sales.
The more expensive a product purchase is, the more customers turn to a trusted source. Be that source!
The Bottom Line
Content marketing is a long-term strategy that takes time to see results. But these benefits are worth it because they make your brand stronger and more attractive to customers.
There’s no question that content marketing is a great investment. If you’re not using it in your business, you’re losing money and customers. Find out how it can help your business grow.
