Content - Where to begin?

Whether you're just starting out with content marketing or you've been using the same approach for a while, it never hurts to revisit your plan or content strategy. It’s good to review it, to make sure it's up-to-date, innovative, and still going strong.

What is content marketing?

Content marketing is the strategic process of building relationships with audiences through various types of media. This is where you craft the stories and messages that capture people’s attention and guide them along the journey until they become your customer.

While many strategies focus on a single channel (e.g. social media), content marketing is a multi-channel approach that integrates with your SEO, online marketing, social media and maybe, your email marketing approach too. These channels act as platforms to deliver your content to the right target audiences.

“The aim is to create a strategy that leads users in the direction to engage and/or enquire or purchase as they move between these channels.”

Why is content marketing important?

Content is the substance that allows people to engage with your brand or product before making a purchase.

From the very first search online to the moment they hit the buy or find out more button. Without content there are no web pages, search results, online reviews, brand credibility, demo videos or anything else that helps people make buying choices.

In a world where people are overwhelmed by purchase options and bombarded by ads, content marketing allows you to connect with your target audiences on a personal level and guide them towards engaging or buying from you.

Your other strategies are also going to fall pretty flat without content marketing too. Good luck trying to hit your SEO, social media or email marketing targets without integrating them into your wider content marketing strategy.

How is content marketing different to SEO?

This is a common question and it’s important to understand the difference to do both effectively.

Content marketing is a broad strategy that targets users across various channels these might include search, social, email, direct mail. Channelling and engaging users to know about them and move between them. Without the different channels, nobody would be able to see your content. A key part of your strategy is understanding which channel or channels will deliver each piece of content on and how to target users on them. Different channels may offer different opportunities, this is what we have to establish and develop an approach to each channel.

SEO is about making your content as easily accessible as possible for search engine users and helping it perform effectively and as efficient as possible. This starts with all the content that is on your website. Optimising your pages and content for visibility in the searches that matter most but also involves broader, technical factors that affect how people engage with your pages, through mobile optimisation, appropriate loading times, tracking, etc.

What are the benefits of content marketing?

Above all, the key benefit is guiding people towards buying or engaging with your service with confidence. When there may be other businesses like yours, content is how you differentiate your brand and show them why they should be working with you or purchasing your product or service over another. This will always be your goal, although there are other benefits worth mentioning too:

Meaningful relationships: A successful content marketing strategy builds meaningful, lasting relationships with people likely to buy from you.
Trust: These relationships earn the trust of your target audience, which is crucial when it comes to choosing who they’ll buy from.
Engagement: Keep your target audience engaged over a long period of time so your brand becomes a valuable part of their lives and the first one they think of when they need what you’re selling.
Awareness: Grow your audience to increase brand awareness and earn more customers.
Branding: Allows you to craft your brand story, differentiate yourself from the competition and demonstrate what you can do for people that your rival brands can’t.
Repeat purchases: Keep your audience engaged and excited about your brand after the initial purchase to turn them into repeat buyers and brand loyalists.
ROI: Over time, content marketing should be your most cost-effective lead generation and nurturing strategy

Go-To Studio can assist with both a strategy for content marketing & your SEO. Talk to us today to find out more about how we could help you!