Many people are familiar with the term “marketing,” but most people do not realize that there are many different sub-categories that fall under that umbrella. Here at J.D. Scribes, we specialize in content marketing – but what exactly does that mean? Allow us to explain.
What Is Content Marketing?
On its surface, content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused primarily on promoting brand awareness, establishing expertise, and attracting the appropriate audience to a business via various forms of useful content, such as articles, blogs, emails, and more. At its core, however, it is a valuable tool for providing relevant content for consumers, helping them solve their issues, and leaving them with proper peace of mind before they make the final purchase.
Why is Content Marketing Important
The short answer is it works. Content marketing in the business sense has been proven to provide a significant advantage for those that utilize the strategy vs. those that don’t. If used efficiently, the benefits of content marketing can include:
- Increased Your Online Presence- Having social media accounts or websites dedicated to producing content that offers solutions to potential issues your customers may face is a great way to increase online traffic.
- Being Considered Experts- Depending on the validity and usefulness of your content, consumers may consider your business the leading expert on a particular subject. This will lead to your business being at the forefront of consumers’ minds when considering where to go for information.
- Increased Customer Loyalty- Producing content that focuses on your customer’s needs allows them to feel catered to and makes you more trustworthy as a business. Educating customers will make them more likely to join paid memberships and return to the store to make purchases.
- Increase in Potential Buyers- Once you have established yourself as a trustworthy source of content that cares about its customers, your traffic will likely increase.
- Source of Income- Content can be highly profitable. Once you have created a loyal enough following, various sites are willing to turn those views/clicks/subscribers into a lucrative source of income.
How to Use Content Marketing Effectively
When it comes to content marketing, for the most part, any form of content you use will be able to get your point across; however, we found that there are three general stages your potential customers will fall under. Here is a list of the content that works best in each stage.
Address and Convince- This stage is pretty self-explanatory and is where most of your potential customers will fall. During this stage, you will focus on producing quality content that both creates a sense of relatability and solves customers’ issues so that consumers feel at ease about the problems they have. Another focus will also be convincing them to try a new hobby that may be foreign to them but relates to the product you are selling in some way. This is all before ever having to commit to making a purchase. Examples of the types of media that would be most effective here would be more personal content, like blogs, vlogs, newsletters, and even books. Any content will do; just be sure that it is dedicated to the tribulations of your customer.
Persuade and Inform- You have already started the content marketing journey and shown you know how to relate to the average consumer. Now, to piggyback off the audience you have built from your previous engagements, it’s time to pump out content that is more informative. The content in this stage should focus on guiding consumers through the “How to” process of choosing and using specific products. Content most suitable for this stage of the process would be how-to articles, demonstration videos, and must-have checklists. Be sure to prioritize the products you offer as your content’s main examples so customers are familiar with the brands in your business.
Make the Sell- First, as a business, you should always try to make the sale whether you are just starting or have some experience. For the sake of strategy, however, content that focuses mainly on making the sale is the last line of attack. In this final stage, the content you release should reinforce the ideas from your earlier interactions. Which is that out of the variety of businesses available in your field, yours is the best choice, the most knowledgeable, and overall will lead to more benefits for the consumer. You can utilize content about the products themselves during this stage but keep it to a minimum. The products will sell themselves if you release your content correctly; customers will have already been informed about them from previous run-ins with your content.
Final Thoughts
Content Marketing is a strategic tool used to help better relations between consumers and producers to establish credibility and gain clients. Hopefully this post has shed some light on what content marketing is and how it can help your business. If you have any questions about how to use content marketing in your business, please don’t hesitate to contact us!