What is Content Marketing?
For the best answer, let’s go to the most appropriate source, The Content Marketing Institute:
Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.
Instead of pitching your products or services, which was the way most companies have promoted their businesses in the past, you’re providing truly relevant and useful content to your prospects and customers. Your goal: to build relationships by helping your prospects and customers solve their problems and meet their needs.
Blogs, press releases, emails, newsletters, videos, and graphics are the primary content vehicles used in content marketing
What are the Benefits of Content Marketing?
On the one hand, you’re educating your current and prospective customers with helpful tips in your area of expertise. This helps them know, like, and trust you and motivates them to call for a quote, ultimately to buy from you. The result:
- Increased sales
- Cost savings (Content marketing costs far less than traditional marketing)
- Customers who have more loyalty
- Content becomes a profit center
Additionally, content marketing helps you build your brand’s visibility.
Why should I add content to my plan?
Content has become the backbone of the marketing efforts of companies large and small. It increases lead generation … and that’s important because according to HubSpot, 61% of marketers say lead generation is their number 1 challenge.
Outbound lead generation is still important, but you also need to have an inbound lead generation plan in place, and content marketing is all about inbound lead generation! According to Demand Metric, it’s 3 times more effective at generating leads than outbound marketing. Even better, it costs 62% less.
By focusing your lead generation efforts on creating and promoting great content, your budget will stretch further, and you’ll see more leads.
Plus, you’ll also be improving your brand loyalty as you’re giving your customers something for free and making them feel more like a partner than a sales target.
What about blogging? Is it still worthwhile?
You bet it is! In fact, it’s one of the best ways to communicate valuable content and the cornerstone of any content marketing plan. Plus, if you back your blogs with keyword research, blogging is a real win for search engine optimization (SEO), which is why it’s important to target what people are searching for to help you generate new leads. Beyond that, your blogs are a great place to share your opinions, showcase your knowledge and expertise, and increase your credibility, influence, and authority.
How and when should I share my content?
The best way to do this is via social media or by sending out a newsletter!
One important point: It’s imperative to post consistently. New content should be posted to the site at least once a month, for best results, even more frequently.
To keep on top of what you’re publishing, create a content calendar. This will help you avoid just writing randomly whenever the inspiration strikes. Commit to a schedule and publish!
Don’t have the time to optimize your content marketing efforts yourself?
Hire an outsource firm! At Ballantine, our typical plan includes two pieces of high-quality content that are written, proofread, optimized and published to your site.
Think you’d want more than two pieces of content? We can customize a plan that’s perfect for your needs!
How do I get started?
Ready to add content to your marketing efforts? We’re thrilled to hear that! Get in touch with us today and we can start building a marketing plan that will help you reach your goals.
I'm the Director of Digital Services and Partner at Ballantine, a family-owned and operated direct mail & digital marketing company based in New Jersey. and started in 1966 by my great uncle!
