The term ‘Content Marketing’ though relatively fresh, has elevated marketing to a whole new plateau. Thoughts and methods to reach a concerned target market have evolved, leading to the grand inception of this concept. Simply put, content marketing is the creation and distribution of posts, videos, blogs and such to stimulate a pre-existing need among potential customers. It is the stimulant which drives them to purchase products or services that meet their needs. Content marketing is essentially a psychological game, which often benefits the most preceptive marketers.
This may seem vague, but don’t worry, you aren’t alone. In fact, according to a survey conducted by the Content Marketing Institute, 55% of B2B marketers said they were unclear about the structure of a good content marketing campaign, despite stats which showed that they allocate 28% of their budget to content marketing. Such is the intricacy and thought that needs to go into content marketing. The next time you think the job of a content strategist is easy, think again!
A content strategist needs to analyze each piece of content, to ensure that the following facets are touched upon:
Social media engagement: Traditional marketing methods have given way to digital channels. The old marketing methods of postal letters and phone directory optimization are dead. Today, everything is online. Without an online presence, no brand would be as grand. With every passing day, the evolution of content marketing brings in newer methods to engage potential customers on social media.
Engagement is not confined to a certain stage in the marketing life-cycle. Before creating content, a content strategist needs to outline engagement objectives and goals to map out a content marketing strategy. After establishing the desired result, it is relatively easy to work backward and create content. However, it does take a good amount of thought to create content that gets clicked and initiates conversations. Content is crucial, as a survey conducted by Demand Gen Report showed that 47% of buyers viewed at least 3-5 pieces of content before engaging with a sales rep.
Without innovation, it is impossible to attract online interest. Custom URL shortener solution is the latest in innovative content. They are eye-catching and receptive to branding. mylnk.is/MeaningfulLinks is more click-worthy than uvw12xyz90.com/sjddh009. In an age where 76% of people use their Facebook feed to find something interesting, custom URLs are too novel to go unnoticed.
Gain trust with relevant content: Brand loyalty is one of the most important aspects of marketing. Though initial content will surely not get any customer close to the sort of devotion that can be classified under brand loyalty, trustworthy information can go a long way in sowing seeds for a long-lasting relationship. In keeping with this notion, the importance of blogs has steadily risen over the past few years. According to a survey conducted by Hubspot, 53% of marketers stated that blog content creation was their top inbound marketing priority.
It is not easy to initiate a relationship, but it is equally hard to cut ties once a relationship is established. For the purpose of illustration, consider Nike. Though the sweatshop ordeal was widely publicized, brand loyal customers hardly budged to give other sporting brands a second glance.
Create curiosity: Human beings are curious by nature. As we progress in years, we learn to disguise our curiosity, which gives “keen observers” the impression that kids are more curious than adults. But, this is far from the truth.
Content strategists have used shrewd content to pique the curiosity of audiences for ages. Consider the Yamaha advertisement from yesteryear, which began with numerous questions on a blank screen. The questions were very mundane in nature, such as “what should I eat” and “what should I wear.”
When the screen was inundated with questions, a rider shattered it with a Yamaha motorbike, and the text read, “It may not be the answer to everything, but at least it doesn’t raise more questions.” Curious to know the answers to the first set of questions? Well, there are no answers, but Yamaha’s shrewd content strategists ensured that people saw the motorbike and were left, not with questions, but the thought of riding to forget the many pedestrian questions that life throws at us on a daily basis.
This advertisement was way ahead of its time. It probably paved the way for the strategic content, which today is vital to the success of any business. A recent study by Adobe showed that 51.9% of marketing professionals trusted videos to deliver the best ROI. It is not just written content, but how it is delivered that truly makes a difference.
The role of content has moved from being product-centric to customer-centric. Extensive studies on this topic have shown that stellar content revolving around a product does not affect sales if a customer cannot relate to it. Potential customers must embark upon a journey of awareness, consideration and decision making, all of which is fundamentally facilitated by strategic content.
Story telling: People love stories! When a brand has a story to tell, people take notice. It is one of the most powerful marketing tools, not only for its ability to attract listeners, but its potential to turn into a juicy piece of conversation. While telling your story, you create compelling marketing content and stimulate word of mouth.
It is like hitting two birds with one stone. This is a competent strategy to gain the attention of your audience. You may need a raconteur to turn your story into engaging content, but it is definitely worth the investment.
A raconteur can turn a dull story into a fascinating fairy-tale, but if your viewers are not stimulated to read it, the effort is wasted. As the adage goes – You can take a horse to the water, but you can’t force it to drink… unless it is thirsty. Visual effects create that thirst in viewers to read your content. In fact, research by Xerox has shown that people are 80% more willing to read content that is accompanied by striking visuals.
Search engine optimization: Years ago, brands vied for top stop in telephone directories. Similarly, but with the use of different practices, brands compete for the top spot in search engines, simply because potential customers hardly ever visit the second page when hunting for anything online. The single most important driver of SEO is content.
The research-based marketing firm, Ascend2, noted that 72% of marketers felt that relevant content was the most effective SEO tactic. Google has tacitly monopolised the term search engine, so much so that ‘online search’ has become synonymous with Google. The fight for Google’s top spot is so intense, that though Google regularly changes its algorithms to make its search more relevant for customers, businesses find a way to beat the algorithm.
E.g., if you look for the synonym of any English word on Google, the first three search items will show www.thesaurus.com, which logically doesn’t make sense. But the people writing content for that website have so flooded it with keywords that other synonyms generating websites don’t stand a chance of finding a spot in the top three. This increases their chance of getting more visitors to their website. It is to nullify these illogical search results that Google regularly revises its back-end algorithms.
It goes without saying that businesses have to keep up with Google and its whims and fancies to get noticed by potential customers. Though this is essential for success, there are other simpler ways to get noticed. The use of custom short link generators, is a novel method to get more clicks, views, and shares.
Create brand reputation: With educative and trustworthy content, brands can become reputed sources of information. Once established as the go-to source for information, the reputation itself can create a legacy that will be hard to come undone.
Though this may seem like a tedious way to acquire brand loyalty, it is tried, tested and trusted. Great products create brand royalty, but great content drives brand loyalty. Royalty does not last forever, but loyalty does!
Subtle advertising: Hard selling is a thing of yesterday. Try hard selling to today’s savant customer base, and you’ll ruin your chances of ever making a sale. Therefore, it is of immense importance to keep away from “in your face” advertising. That being said, divulging information without a go-to-destination can lead your customers to your competitors.
Won’t that make your competitors glad!
Nuances of content marketing and intuition play a vital role in judging where the line must be drawn between marketing aggression and customer consideration when advertising a product or service. You don’t want to be too passive, and yet being aggressive can implode instantly.
Product manual: It is imperative to provide customers with an easy to read and understand “product manual.” Customers who can’t use products that they purchase are likely to be so ticked off that their negative opinion can not only keep them away from your brand but stop others who hear their opinion from venturing to try your products or services in future.
This is reinforced by stats, which show that 53% of smartphone users prefer companies whose mobile sites and apps provide instructional video content.
Now you know why it is of vital importance to have the right content specialist on your team. Without a content anchor, your marketing campaign will sail the stormiest of seas and eventually capsize, though the sea maybe full of potential customers who are waiting for the right sort of bait. Get that game-changing anchor on your team, and your brand will certainly flourish.
This blog was originally published in website: Customer Think