We’ve all heard the phrase ‘content is king’ – but if you’re new to digital marketing or a small business owner getting a content marketing campaign underway for the first time, you may well be asking why exactly that is the case.
If you assign budget to paid search, it’s very easy to measure your return on that investment. With content, it can be a little trickier because your traffic won’t necessarily read a blog post and click to buy a product or service as they might after clicking on a PPC advert.
That’s not to say that great content isn’t a supremely powerful asset for any brand. In fact, 53% marketers say that content creation is now a top priority for them. To illustrate just how foundational strong content is, here are a few ways it can help to move your business forward and turn search traffic into confirmed clients.
It answers buyer questions
Great content informs, educates and is useful to the audience – and it can be deployed to answer their questions, allay their fears and help them make a decision which moves them further along the path to purchase. This could take the form of a detailed question and answer page, an interview, a handbook or even a piece of research.
It’s great for lead generation
Strong content can be a lead generation powerhouse. One common example of this is asking for users to provide their name and email address in order to access a piece of content. If you’ve spent hours crafting a truly useful ebook for example, most site visitors will be more than happy to provide their contact information in exchange for access. Placing strategic calls to action within your content can then further move that person through the sales funnel.
It builds trust and authority
Content, whatever form that takes, is a great tool to build trust and establish authority. A video, thought piece or article can go a long way towards showcasing your expertise and knowledge in a particular subject, which in turn instils trust in the reader that your business can do what it says it can. Demonstrating expertise also cements your brand name as a leader in its field, which means consumers are more likely to turn to you when they are ready to buy.
It’s necessary for SEO
A steady output of high quality, informative and unique content can make a substantial contribution to your SEO efforts and play a direct role in increasing your search visibility.
If your content is of a good enough quality, it will not only tick off the on page SEO factors that Google’s looking for but also help with link building.
You can use it to craft a compelling social media presence
Having your own library of content makes life much easier when it comes to crafting a meaningful social media presence, too. You can share videos, infographics and article snippets in numerous ways across social media, giving your audience new reasons to engage with you in the form of likes, shares and comments.
