WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF CONTENT MARKETING?
Content marketing has become a valuable part of online marketing campaigns, but many companies might wonder why. It might not be immediately clear exactly what content marketing is or what it’s meant to accomplish. Others might feel like they have an idea, but actually go about it in the wrong way.
Defining Content Marketing
In reality, the purpose of content marketing is actually quite simple, but first, just for fun, let’s look at what content marketing is not:
- Advertising
- Brochures
- Keyword spamming
- Sales gimmicks
- Carrots
It’s not about holding a carrot out in front of your audience and baiting them into a purchase, nor is it about ranking first on Google (though it certainly helps with that). It’s about informing people, raising awareness of your brand, and cultivating trust. In a nutshell, content marketing is creating valuable content and making it available online.
Results of Effective Content
The positive effects of good content go beyond simple advertising. While a strong advertising campaign does help consumers consider what you have to offer and make purchases, it isn’t as effective as content marketing at building lasting relationships with your customers. Effective content will have the following results:
- Informs the customer: First, effective content informs the customer. Your potential and current customers want information prior to making a purchase. They often have questions, ranging anywhere from “What type of mouthwash should I buy?” to “What do I do if I’m accused of a crime?” If you can answer relevant questions, you help them along the process of making an informed decision about your services.
- Builds awareness: Quality content that provides valuable, practical information will build awareness of your brand. It is very useful in link building, especially when other sites use your content as a reference and give you credit for it. Effective use of keywords also helps spread your name across the internet as your content comes up in web searches.
- Establishes trust: As you build awareness and credibility through quality content, you establish trust among your client base. They see you as reasonable, knowledgeable, and competent. This leads to lasting customer-business relationships.
- Keeps you current: It’s not just about keeping your audience informed. You also need to be kept up-to-date on what’s going on in your field. By putting out regular content, it helps you be aware of news and events relating to your area of business. In addition, it helps keep your site current as well, which is helpful for SEO.
So how do you get content that does this? Web marketing services like Accelerate Online Marketing can help you out there, so don’t hesitate contact us!
