Before I start explaining why your business needs content marketing, I should probably start off with what content marketing is. Content marketing is a lot of things, but as my boss Billy Ash, CDO at Today’s Business so eloquently put it, “content marketing is the bridge between social media and SEO”. It is the creation of engaging, consistent, and strategic content that will not be overlooked by audiences as an advertisement, but rather something of value to them. The goal of content marketing is to reach new audiences, provide something of value to a business’ target audience, and to ultimately be rewarded with customer loyalty.

If your business is not completely sold on the idea of content marketing, here are a few reasons that your business should invest in it as soon as possible.

Content Marketing is the Future of Traditional Marketing

Traditional marketing and advertising practices are simply not as effective today as they used to be, and some would even argue that these practices are already dead. Content marketing is nothing new, but it is becoming increasingly popular because of its effectiveness in replacing more traditional, ineffective marketing methods.

Traditional marketing strategies treat all consumers the same, with a constant push of marketing materials to the audience. Consumers caught on, and are so inundated with advertisements already that they are increasingly scrolling past these advertisements, installing software to block ads, and even lashing out at traditional marketing methods.

Content marketing speaks to the individual. It treats consumers as the savvy individuals they are. Instead of pushing information out in their faces; it pulls the consumer in with interesting and relevant content. This content is high quality, consistent, and relevant to the consumer’s needs, while also tying in the business’ goods or services.  Here is an example of content marketing we did for our client, Clear Gear Sports Spray. As you will see, we discussed the dangers of a dirty yoga mat, and organically tied in that a disinfectant spray like Clear Gear can keep it safe and clean. This article was able to attract new visitors to Clear Gear’s website, while also providing useful, high quality content to their audience.

yoga

Image via Yoganonymous

 

It Bridges Together Digital and Social

Content marketing is not a separate entity, but rather an important part of your overall strategy. The content produced by your content marketing team will serve as a bridge between digital and social. For the digital team, it will provide keyword-rich backlinks to the desired webpage for optimal SEO. For the social media team, the content created by the content marketing team should be highly shareable. This will allow them to share the content on the appropriate social media platforms to engage your audience. The content produced can also be pitched to offsite publications, to reach an even larger audience than you currently have access to.

 

It Establishes your Business as a Thought Leader

As a brand, you want to lead the way. Content marketing is the ultimate tool to establish your brand or business as an industry thought leader. With an effective content marketing strategy, your business will be coming up with both evergreen and newsworthy content to share to your audience. As your content marketing efforts begin to build a following, your brand will be established as the place to go for industry-related information.

 

It is Highly Effective

This should be the biggest sell for any business. Content marketing is highly effective in engaging an audience, reaching new audiences, and encouraging brand loyalty. Basically, content marketing sells without selling. This highly effective marketing practice speaks to the needs of the consumer while also achieving your business’ goals. What’s not to love?

Interested in getting started? Want to learn more about what content marketing can do for your business? Contact us!