We’re already more than four months into 2018, and if you haven’t already, it’s time to hone in on your marketing strategies and make it a year to remember. If you want to be seen by as many people as possible this year, then you may want to consider bringing together offline marketing with digital marketing techniques such as social media, content marketing and SEO.
That way, you’ll know that customers can find you whatever they’re up to – whether they’re taking a walk through town or they’re sat at their desk browsing through Facebook.
4 Reasons to Focus on Content Marketing
If you’ve yet to start working on a content marketing strategy for your business, then 2018 is the year that should change. Below, we’ve rounded up the reasons why content is so important.
#1 Your competitors are already doing it
If you saw your competitor selling a new product and making hundreds of dollars from it, you’d follow suit and offer something similar, right? The same goes for online marketing. The chances are that your competitors have their own blogs packed with high-quality, engaging information, bringing in visitors that could be your new customers. So why not follow suit with your own blog?
If your competitors’ blog has become a resource hub for your niche or industry, then you’ll need to work hard to produce content that’s even more engaging and powerful in order to stand out. But the good news is that competitors can actually be a good thing when it comes to content marketing; you can use tools such as Google Trends, social media and SEMrush to find out their most popular content, and then create your own content based on their best-performers.
#2 You’ll be able to rank on Google
Ever wondered why your competitor is ranking at number one on Google, and you’re not even on the first page? There are a wide range of benefits of content marketing for small businesses, but perhaps the biggest is search engine optimization. The more high-quality, impactful content you write and publish on your website, the more pages Google and other search engines have to crawl. And it’s simple: if you write content that’s more in-depth and valuable than other website and build links through guest blogging and outreach, you’ll climb the ranks quite quickly.
Before you start working on a content marketing strategy, think about the sorts of questions your potential customers are asking online. If you run a clothing company, for example, you may want to write blog posts about ‘winter clothing trends in 2018’, for example. Be proactive when you choose the topics for your blog posts, and the results will speak for themselves.
#3 You’ll make your business an ‘authority’
If a customer wants to buy a new pair of shoes and three websites are offering the same products, who will they choose? The website with the best, and most authoritative, brand. By writing high-quality content on a regular basis, you’ll rank for competitive search terms and show up when people are looking for products and services. Remember that customers need to be exposed to an advert or brand at least seven times before they buy, so every time a potential customer clicks through to your blog, they’ll be exposed to your brand and be more likely to remember you when they’re ready to make a purchase.
There are other benefits to writing content to boost your authority, including SEO. If you write content that’s better than anyone else on a topic that’s close to your business, you’ll be more likely to get backlinks from other bloggers and website owners, which will, in turn, help you climb the ranks on search engines much quicker and grow your brand even further. The best way to write this in-depth, long-form content is to adopt Brian Dean’s skyscraper content technique; that is, take the best content that’s currently available on a particular subject and add more value.
#4 Your customers want it
It’s no longer an option to stay silent online. As well as working on an offline marketing strategy for your business that includes billboard advertising, you need to create a brand that people can interact with. And creating super engaging content is the best place to begin. If you publish a new blog every week, you can share it on social media and build a community in the comments section, increasing your chances of finding new customers and keeping existing ones loyal to your brand. And those loyal customers will, in time, become more likely to share your content themselves on social media, which will boost referral traffic and help your business grow.
And creating great content doesn’t have to be constrained to 500-word blog posts. Think about other content marketing techniques, like creating videos, infographics and GIFs that you can share on social media, or guest blogging through guest posting services or blogger outreach on other people’s websites for backlinks and increased brand awareness. The opportunities are truly endless – you just need to step outside of your comfort zone and create something that stands out from the competition.
Content Marketing: Wrapping it up
In short, content marketing is important. If you’re still neglecting your blog and don’t know where to begin, then take a step back and see what the competition is doing. The sooner you start creating content that your audience can interact with, the better. Good luck with your strategy!
About the Author
Max Greene is the Managing Director of Muffin Marketing, a marketing agency specializing in content marketing, social media marketing, and search engine optimization.
