Content is King, they say. With the importance of SEO in content marketing ever evident, one is tempted to say: “If Content is king, then SEO is queen.” But wait a minute! With so many going wrong on SEO lately, I think Gary Vaynerchuk was right in saying:
“Do not listen to any so-called SEO experts, listen to the user.”
Shockingly enough all the SEO experts who tell you to focus 20% of your time creating content and 80% marketing are actually what I call “content animals”. This is the worst advice you could ever give to someone starting a new website.
This strategy will totally make sense if your name is Neil Patel. I mean if you have millions of social media followers on multiple platforms and a huge mailing list to market your content to.
If not, then rethink this strategy. I recommend the opposite: 80% Content and 20% marketing. That’s the best 80/20 rule to go for.
Perhaps the following thought makes more sense:
“Content is king. Sales is the emperor while all others are soldiers.”
Sounds good to you? If so, then let’s look at the importance of content.
Why is Content Marketing Important?
Learn the Importance of Content Marketing for Your Business
To help you better understand the importance of content marketing, we’ve put together a list of the top advantages that content marketing can provide your small business:
1. Improve brand reputation by building trust through content marketing.
One of the greatest benefits that really shows the importance of content marketing is the reputation building qualities of great content. In today’s busy digital marketplace, it’s vital that businesses work to build trust with their leads and customers. Building trust can help your business establish a positive brand reputation.
Creating custom content is a great way to get to know your leads and customers while building goodwill.
Great content can help you build trust with your leads and customers. When consumers read your content, they start to develop an opinion of your brand. If the content that they find is engaging, educational, and valuable, then they will start to think the same things about your business. The more value you can provide with your content, the easier it will be to build trust with your target audience.
In addition, when your leads and customers start to see that you are consistently publishing content across platforms, they may come to see you as a leader in the industry. Publishing content through third-party publications or sharing your content with influencers can also help you further build trust within your target market.
2. Great content helps influence conversions.
If you’re really wondering why content marketing is important, then look no further than the conversion statistics. Here are just a few of the stats that really speak to the importance of content marketing when it comes to improving website conversions:
- Content marketing provides conversion rates about 6 times higher than other digital marketing methods. (ABG Essentials)
- After reading recommendations on a blog, 61% of online consumers in the U.S. then decided to make a purchase. (Content Marketing Institute)
- According to 74% of companies surveyed, content marketing has increased their marketing leads, both in quantity and quality. (Curata)
- Video content can help provide a great ROI and significantly increase conversions, according to 72% of businesses surveyed. (CrazyEgg)
- Inbound marketers are able to double the average site conversion rate (from 6 to 12%), in part due to their content marketing efforts. (HubSpot)
Quality content-marketing can significantly help you improve your website conversion rates.
Content marketing helps to improve conversions because it allows you to connect with and educate your leads and customers. Not only are you working to build trust and relationships, but you also encourage conversions by giving consumers the information they need to make an educated purchasing decision.
To optimize your content for conversions, be sure to include a clear call-to-action. Your CTA tells the reader what they need to do next, guiding them to the next step in the conversion process. Whether converting means making a purchase, getting more information, or contacting your sales team, it’s important to make it clear to the reader within the content what you want them to do next.
3. Optimized content helps improve your SEO efforts.
The importance of content marketing becomes more clear when looking at the role that content plays in helping your business build and improve search engine optimization (SEO). SEO plays an important part in improving visibility for your business online. However, if you want to improve SEO, you need to create optimized content.
According to Tech Client, content creation is the most effective SEO technique. In fact, business sites that post consistent blog content have on average of 434% more pages indexed by search engines than those that don’t publish at all. The more content you have on your site, the more pages the search engine has to index and show to users in their search engine results.
Though more pages do not necessarily result in higher traffic, it does give your brand the opportunity to rank for more keywords. For instance, creating blogs on different topics that are relevant to your target audience gives you more chances to rank for the keywords that these target users are searching for on the search engines.
Not to mention, the more content you have on your site, the more reasons you give visitors to stick around. This means a higher on-site time, which can also positively impact your search engine optimization. Google sees time spent on site as one indicator that your site provides valuable content.
Want to consistently provide valuable content to your website visitors? You should! Consider our blog writing services as an option to boost your content marketing game.
4. Creating great content is a cost-effective way to bring in new leads.
For those wondering why is content marketing important, take a look at all of the ways that content can help your business bring in new leads. Lead generation is important for small businesses that rely on consistent traffic to grow their brand and boost sales. Content marketing is not only great for lead generation, but it’s also affordable.
Though content marketing costs about 62% less than traditional marketing tactics, it generates about 3 times as many leads, according to DemandMetric. The affordability of content marketing makes it a necessary tactic for small businesses that want to maximize their budget.
It’s important to note that content marketing is time-intensive, and it can also take a while to see the results of your efforts. This is especially true when it comes to SEO. However, when it comes to creating quality content, a little can go a long way. In fact, according to Social Media Examiner, more than 81% of marketers found that they experienced increased traffic by investing as little as 6 hours per week in their social media content.
Not only is content marketing an affordable tactic, but it also provides an ROI that small businesses just can’t ignore.
The importance of content marketing is easy to see when you consider the return on investment. Since creating content is fairly affordable and highly effective, many small businesses will see an impressive ROI on their content marketing over time. In fact, per dollar spent, content marketing efforts produce 3 times as many leads as paid search ads.
The key to maximizing content ROI is creating a content marketing strategy that takes your target market into consideration. You should never just create content for the sake of creating content. If you want to get your money’s worth, your content should be strategic in the topics you choose, types of assets you produce, and your promotional methods.
5. Content enables your brand to showcase your subject matter expertise.
Consumers want to know that they are dealing with experts who know the ins and outs of the industry. This is another answer to why is content marketing important. Content marketing allows your brand to demonstrate its expertise in the field while providing valuable knowledge that can help readers make a more educated purchasing decision.
Every time that you publish a new blog post, white paper, or other piece of content, you’re showing leads and customers how much you know about the industry and the challenges that they face. When it comes time to make a purchase, consumers will remember the brand that provided them with the information they needed to better understand their problems, solutions, and other options.
Let’s say it comes down to purchasing from a business that publishes consistent content that’s educational and informative or one that doesn’t have any content. The consumer is more likely to purchase from the business that has demonstrated their knowledge and expertise. That way, they can have peace of mind in knowing that they are being taken care of by industry experts who can answer their questions and easily troubleshoot any issues.
6. Want to build relationships with customers? Publish great content.
If you’re still wondering, why is content marketing important? Consider how great content marketing can help you build relationships with your customers.
Previously, we discussed how content is an integral part of building trust and establishing a positive brand reputation. This can help you grow your audience and reach new leads.
But what about those who have already purchased from you? Repeat customers are the bread and butter of many small businesses. In fact, according to BIA Kelsey, 61% of SMBs say that half of their revenue is coming from repeat customers. Furthermore, Marketing Tech Blog reports that a loyal customer is worth, on average, up to 10x as much as their first purchase.
It’s clear that loyal customers are nothing but an advantage to your business. If repeat sales make up a significant portion of your company’s revenue, then you’ll need to find ways to strengthen your relationships with current customers.
This is where content marketing comes in. Providing great content doesn’t stop after a lead becomes a customer. Content that provides value for your customer base will help increase brand loyalty by strengthening the relationships you have with customers. This can encourage repeat sales and help you establish powerful brand advocates.
As you can see above, not only do customers feel more positive about a company with custom content, but they also feel closer to that brand.
So what type of content is best for building brand relationships? Assets like how-to videos and other types of informative visual content can help your customers get more out of your products or services. The more value they get, the more likely they will be to return.
Brand guides and comparisons are another great examples of content that can help provide more value for your customers. By helping customers make smarter purchasing decisions, you are working to build further trust and encourage repeat sales.
7. Your leads and customers want great content!
Why is content marketing important? Well, your leads and customers want to read great content. In fact, 20% of the time that internet users spend online is spent just reading content.
And if you’re thinking that people don’t want to spend time reading content from brands, think again. As the infographic below shows, 68% of people like to spend time reading about the brands they find interesting. Additionally, 80% of internet users like to learn about companies through the custom content they provide.
These statistics show that not only do consumers like content, but they want to read great content from brands like yours!
So why not give the people what they want? If you want your content marketing to be effective, then don’t ignore the data that you’ve collected from your audience. Gather data for your customer insight from journey maps, user feedback, vanity metrics, and customer persona. This information is vital for your content planning. Create custom content that speaks to your target audience and provides some type of value. Whether it’s entertaining or educational, use your content as an opportunity to show consumers what your brand is all about.
The key to creating effective content that helps you connect with your eager audience is focusing on topics that are relevant to their needs, interests, and challenges. And don’t forget to show a little bit of personality to help consumers get to know your brand and what sets you apart from the rest.
Which brings us to the next answer to the question, why is content marketing important…
8. Content marketing helps you set yourself apart from competitors.
In the busy digital marketplace, it’s vital that your small business differentiates itself from competitors. This is the importance of content marketing. Content marketing is an effective way that small businesses can work to set themselves apart from others in the industry and show what makes their company special.
The topics that you create content around and the value of the content you provide can mean the difference between a consumer choosing your brand over a competitor’s. For instance, if a buyer is doing research about their challenges and certain products that can help solve those challenges, they will be more inclined to work with the business that’s provided them with helpful information.
If this isn’t enough to show you why is content marketing important, consider the role that content plays in helping you develop a brand personality and voice. Beyond just the type of content that you produce, you can also set yourself apart from the competition through your content’s language and the way that you present your information. Is your brand personality serious and professional? Fun and educational? Maybe a mix of both?
Determining how you want to portray your brand and developing a brand voice can help you create content that is unique to your business. This brand personality can help you connect with your target buyers and show them what makes your business special. One of the best ways to show this personality is through the marketing content that you create.
9. Content is important during each step of the marketing funnel.
Now let’s think about the importance of content marketing when it comes to your marketing funnel. There are three major areas of your marketing funnel that you need to think about while you’re developing your digital marketing campaigns. And content marketing plays a role during each stage of the funnel.
Here’s where content marketing comes in throughout the marketing funnel:
- Top-of-Funnel (TOFU): At the top of the funnel, your prospective customers are just starting to become aware of their problems. They are also starting to become aware that there are solutions available. During this stage, content can help educate them and get them the information they need to decide which type of solution might help.
- Middle-of-Funnel (MOFU): At the middle of the funnel, leads are evaluating their options for products or solutions. Content during this stage of the funnel is meant to educate leads on what their different options are so that they can start to narrow their choices and come closer to a final purchasing decision.
- Bottom-of-Funnel (BOFU): Once leads reach the bottom of the funnel, this means that they are ready to convert. Content during this stage is meant to give a final nudge of encouragement to the buyer and empower them to make an informed purchasing decision.
To get a better understanding of content in each stage of the funnel, take a look at this graphic:
Here you can see how content marketing plays a role through every stage of the marketing funnel as well as which types of content work best to top, middle, and bottom-of-funnel leads.
When creating content marketing to reach potential customers at each stage, be aware of what each lead needs at this point in their buyer’s journey. Prospects at the top of the funnel need more general information that helps them better understand their challenges and potential solutions. Leads who reach the middle of the funnel need more detailed information that encourages them to evaluate their options. While leads at the bottom of the funnel need content with specific details about your unique product or solution to help them make an educated purchasing decision.
10. Content helps support nearly every other digital marketing strategy.
Yet another importance of content marketing is that consistent, quality content helps support every other part of your digital marketing strategy. Most small businesses have more than one tool in their digital marketing toolbox. From email marketing to social media to PPC ads, there are many different tactics that you can use to attract and engage your ideal audience.
Do you want to know what all of these strategies have in common?
Great content!
Your business needs to create engaging, high-quality content as part of any tactic that you employ in your digital marketing campaigns. For example, let’s say that you want to launch an email marketing campaign for lead nurturing. You have to develop email content that is engaging and encourages readers to take the next step. You can also use pieces of content that you’ve already created to help nurture those leads, such as a blog or whitepaper that gives them the information they need to move them through the funnel.
There should no longer be a question of why is content marketing important because content marketing integrates into all other areas of your digital marketing strategy. It’s also the glue that holds together your campaigns and what ultimately helps make them successful. Without great content, all you have is ideas. And ideas, no matter how great, don’t convert on their own!
P.S:
With all the benefits described above, it’s easy to see why content marketing is important for businesses of all sizes. Not only does content marketing help you boost visibility, but it can also help you build stronger relationships with your leads and customers.
If you really want to see the importance of content marketing in action, it’s time to get started. Work on developing a content marketing strategy that has your target buyers at its core. Then, you can be on your way to creating valuable content that helps boost conversions and improve customer retention.
If you want to learn more about how partnering with a content marketing agency like Netkipedia LLC can help you drive more traffic and increase conversions, be sure to check out their Content Marketing Services page for more information.
Creating SEO optimized content for your website consistently can be a daring task. You can hire me and my team through Fiverr to help you out.
Heard enough and ready to get started? Contact our team to discuss your content marketing plan.
5 Reasons Why Content Is King
Here’s why killer content needs to be your best friend.
Content marketing is not a new concept in the world of digital marketing, but right now, it is more important than ever before. Content is the king and it is increasingly working its way to the forefront of all digital marketing strategies, as it becomes a crucial element that reaps big rewards.
In saying that, a one-size-fits-all approach will not suffice when it comes to content marketing. Instead, a focus on creating unique, high-quality and utterly authentic content that is entertaining, useful and interesting for consumers will get you the crown. From text, video, and imagery to infographics, surveys, webinars, and podcasts, whatever your preferred content medium is, ensure it is shareable and relevant to your industry.
So, why is content king?
It’s great for SEO
High-quality, unduplicated content on a brand’s onsite blog has a significant impact on SEO and search engine ranking for a couple of reasons. First, unique content published regularly with 300-500 words, internal links to other relevant content and naturally placed keywords helps a website rank organically for relevant search terms and keywords. A higher ranking ultimately exposes the brand to more digital consumers searching for content in its industry. Second, consistently publishing great content creates authority and opens up opportunities to build a glowing backlink profile.
Encourages engagement
Good content, whether it is in the form of a blog post or social media update, encourages users to engage with the brand, whether they realize it or not. If the content is genuinely good, users will pause to consume the content, understand the brand message and perhaps even comment, like or share the piece of content. If it’s not, they’ll continue scrolling past and the content will disappear into the black hole that is cyberspace. To further encourage engagement and foster a relationship with consumers through content marketing, ensure all content is pushed out through social media channels and make sharing easy.
Generates new leads and sales
Good content creates brand awareness and authority in a saturated market, which then has the potential to generate new leads and increase sales as more consumers become exposed to the brand. Good content is generally less “salesy” than advertorial, so it gives consumers an opportunity to authentically engage with the brand without a blatant sales message disturbing the engagement. Drowning consumers in product-oriented content can have a negative effect on their relationship with the brand, whereas good editorial fosters the relationship as they move from consumer to customer to brand advocate.
Adds value to your product/service
Content that adds value in some way is generally received well by consumers because it solves a problem in their everyday lives or teaches them something new. The value is intangible and doesn’t have a direct monetary value, however, it is invaluable to the business model and the relationship between the brand and consumers. Content that adds value to consumers by educating them on the product/service via how-to blog posts, instructional videos and webinars are ideal for adding value.
Increases traffic
Not only is good-quality, original content great for SEO purposes, it’s also a brilliant way to drive traffic to a website and keep consumers on the site for longer. For example, a website with just a homepage and contact page will receive much higher bounce rates, limited page views, and very little engagement, whereas a website with an onsite blog packed full of engaging content leaves an impression on the user and encourages them to interact with the site and visit multiple pages.
We could list 5, 10, 20 more reasons why content is king as we inch closer to the end of the year, but we’ll save them for another time so you can continue on with your web browsing. But before you go, we’d love to hear your thoughts! Why do you think content is important? Leave a comment below or chat with us via email – info@moneymastertutorials.com
To keep you inspired and motivated, we added 19 Inspirational Content Marketing Quotes to Breathe New Life Into Your Strategy.
19 Inspirational Content Marketing Quotes to Breathe New Life Into Your Strategy
What motivates you? Who do you turn to when you need a push to keep you going?
I bet it’s other people.
People help us make the big changes in our thinking and in the way we choose to spend every day of our lives.
The quote I have as my wallpaper says: “Don’t let yesterday take up too much of today”. I don’t know who said that, but that helps me every morning focus more on the day that lies ahead and my achievements.
Here are 19 empowering content marketing quotes from well-known experts, that I hope will inspire you and lead you towards creating amazing content!
- 1) “Content is the reason search began in the first place.” – @leeodden
- 2) “Content is anything that adds value to the reader’s life.” – @avinash
- 3) “Your goal should be to own quality time in your customer’s inbox.” –@TPLDrew
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- 4) “The best marketing doesn’t feel like marketing.” – @tomfishburne1
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- 5) “Useful & Enjoyable & Inspired = Innovative Content.” – @MarketingProfs
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- 6) “Content isn’t King, it’s the Kingdom.” – @leeodden
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- 7) “The key ingredient to better content is separating the single from the stream.” @LinkedInMktg
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- 8) “Good content is not storytelling. It’s telling your story well.” –@MarketingProfs
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- 9) “Traditional marketing talks at people. Content marketing talks with them.” @dougkessler
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- 10) “These days, people want to learn before they buy, be educated instead of pitched.” @brianclark
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- 11) “Create content that reaches your audience’s audience.” –@MarketingProfs
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- 12) “Traditional marketing and advertising is telling the world you’re a rock star. Content Marketing is showing the world that you are one.” –@Robert_Rose
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- 13) “A great headline mixed with a lame opening is like inviting someone into your house, only to slam the door in their face as they approach.” –@brianclark
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- 14) “Content builds relationships. Relationships are built on trust. Trust drives revenue.” @TPLDrew
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- 15) “You don’t have to reinvent the wheel; you just need to share your unique perspective on why the wheel is important.” – @pageonepower
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- 16) “Here’s everything you need to know about creating killer content in 3 simple words: Clear. Concise. Compelling.” – @demianfarnworth
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- 17) “The only way to win at content marketing is for the reader to say, ‘This was written specifically for me.” – @AskJamieTurner
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- 18) “What you do after you create your content is what truly counts.” –@garyvee
- 19) “The paradox is the more info you give away, the more people will buy what you have to give.” – @brianclark
If you like the quote-blocks I made especially for you, you can tweet them, post them on Facebook, Pin them or even use them as wallpapers ?
Tell me, which is your inspirational quote?