I am a content writer. I’ve written a lot of recent blogs and LinkedIn posts about what I mean by content, how it’s different from copywriting, and why content marketing is important for the success of any business. If you need more convincing, here are five very specific benefits of content marketing.
Content Educates and Informs Readers
When I talk about content, I mean long-form pieces like blogs, articles, e-books, and web pages. This leaves time and space to include information that helps readers understand how a product or service can benefit them. Maybe it solves a nagging problem or enhances their daily life. Content can offer relevant statistics, testimonials, research studies, etc. The intent is to make the reader understand the product or service better. In contrast, the intent of copywriting for ads and social media is not to inform but to inspire action (sales, phone calls, clicks.) Content is a long-term marketing strategy.
Content Engages Readers at a Personal Level
I’ve said this many times. Content tells a story that places the reader in the center as the hero. The hero is feeling some type of way (as the kids say) that only your brand’s product or service can fix. And that’s how the story ends, with the hero’s problem solved. The reader sees how your brand can enhance their lives through the story.
Content Establishes Your Brand as a Thought Leader
Because content offers deeper insights into your product or service, your readers will often think of your brand as an expert in the industry. Content marketing is very effective in building credibility as a thought leader. That can be crucial in markets with fierce competition or where purchasing decisions take time and thought. Consumers who feel your brand is leading your sector are more likely to do business with you.
Content Moves Customers Along the Entire Sales Funnel
Where other forms of content, like sales ads, are only viable at the bottom of the funnel, there is a formidable use case scenario for content marketing at every point in a customer’s sales journey. From e-books to educational and informative blog posts shared through your website and social media, the educational phase can be quick and easy with well-written content. During the consideration phase, brands send content designed to show how their product or service is the best for solving a problem via e-newsletters or on packaging. Content marketing is very important in the purchase phase because it can build customer loyalty. The central message is explaining how the customer will be happy with their purchase. Good content for this stage is a buyer’s guide or a “how-to” video.
Content Can Improve Your Search Engine Ranking
It’s a fact. We do not search Google using keywords. Instead, we tend to type out complete sentences when we search. And with the increase of voice search, this is becoming even more the norm. Google has finally gotten hip to this detail and is serving better results based on the context of our search and less on the keywords. This is good news for content marketers. We no longer have to worry about stuffing keywords and longtail phrases into every paragraph. Instead, we can write content in a conversational style that is more engaging and appealing to the reader and still achieve rank. In this case, the Google algorithm is our friend.
I hope you can see how crucial content marketing can be to a brand’s overall marketing strategy. Content marketing is a necessary business strategy that all brands should engage in if they want to grow. If you need help building your brand, increasing your sales, or building customer loyalty, I can help. Let’s talk.
