The saying that content is king when it comes to promoting your business online still rings true. The internet has transformed buyers, making them far more informed than ever before. As a result they want to see different things from you rather than simple adverts. Now they want you to share content that is interesting to them and engaging, whether it is tips, advice or relevant news stories.
The objective with the content you currently offer should be to build long-term relationships with your target audience. After-all if you can do this they will be more likely to not only shop with you but recommend you to other people too. Remember as well that a huge three quarters of shoppers are more likely to deal with a company after reading their unique content.
Although your focus should be on creating the right content and using it correctly you should also be looking at the opposite. There are a number of reasons you shouldn’t be using this kind of marketing. They include;
1. Don’t publish content just because your competitors are doing it – it may seem like you should to keep from falling behind but you shouldn’t do it from fear of falling behind. Keep in mind that what they are publishing may not even be relevant or good quality.
2. For a quick pay-off – content marketing takes time, there is no way around it. You need to research your audience, then create the right content, and finally move on to publishing and supporting it. All of these things take time. If you aren’t going to give it time you shouldn’t be doing it at all.
3. As a cheaper method of advertising – content marketing does generally cost less than traditional advertising but it still requires an investment in both time and money. If you do it just because it is cheap you will be very unlikely to get the value you want from it.
4. You believe every piece of content will result in direct sales – put simply, it won’t. The main aim of content is to get people interested and give them confidence in your business. There may be some direct sales but the majority of the people who read your content may wait months before even making an enquiry.
The truth is that content marketing can provide really great value, particularly if you have a good strategy and measure how well you are performing. The latter lets you see what is working and what needs changing to help you achieve your goals.
At Web Consultancy we can help businesses with their content marketing, offering a wide array of services to reflect their specific needs. Whether it is a large or small enterprise we can offer our support and advice from start to finish. Please get in touch if you want to speak to a member of our team about your plans and ideas.