Content is king. At least, that’s what Bill Gates wrote back in 1996. By 2017, a writer in Forbes agreed that it was still true, and in the same breath, hated the phrase as much as the next person. But, love it or hate it, content – blogs, articles, white papers, social posts – when used for business purposes has become known as content marketing. And yes, it’s still king.
Content marketing has shown itself to be the best way to engage an audience while growing brand awareness and even driving sales.
That last part may have you raising an eyebrow since content marketing generally doesn’t aim to sell anything. But content that doesn’t actively sell can still create sales in the form of leads.
It’s not enough to just post a blog entry and hope for the best. To really get results, you need a strategic approach and skilled writers. You could spend time and effort building this capability in-house and hope for results that justify your expense. Or you could save yourself a lot of time and headaches by deciding to work with a content company, whose stable of professional writers know how to write content that truly speaks to your audience.
The benefits of developing a customer-first content marketing strategy are well proven – quality content (like the sort crafted by a content company) can improve conversions, raise brand awareness through improved search engine results, cultivate brand loyalty, and improve lead generation efforts.
And the best part is that, unlike old-fashioned advertising, your audience will thank you for thoughtful marketing content. That’s because, when done right, content marketing serves the needs and wants of its audience first.
Getting the right approach to crafting content that works can take time when you’re just starting out. But when you work with a content company, those early steps are already established, launching you right into where your content can perform at its best.
That said, content marketing is a long game, so tracking results with some patience is key. But as you steadily gain a reputation as thought leaders, your customer base will become loyal brand ambassadors and, through your content, you’ll have developed an influential and humanized brand.
Of course, we’re all swamped these days, with little time for things like posting to social media and writing a blog post every few days. Eventually, you’ll spit out whatever comes to mind just to get it done. That’s not content marketing. That’s a waste of time. But outsourcing your content needs to a firm specializing in quality content aimed at your target audience? That matches your business goals and frees up time to do the many additional tasks that keep your business running smoothly.
