The socioeconomic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has forced businesses to adapt to new customer buying behaviours. To stay alive, businesses have implemented digital strategies and moved processes online in order to remain engaged with the strong majority of customers who now shop there. In fact, COVID effects have thrown a wrench into many companies’ marketing plans. Today’s marketer has shifted everything online. In-person events and tradeshows have gone virtual. Promoting products through channels such as social media, videos, email campaigns, pay-per-click (PPC) ads and webinars have risen significantly.
A large portion of this new communication strategy overhaul entails sharing content to educate the masses. Although content marketing has been “king” (or queen) for years, it has never been more relevant to improve conversions. This is because content answers people’s questions about your product, brand or industry. It provides insight into benefits and cultivates customer loyalty. Offering your audience consistent high-quality content in different forms, will result in building trust that in turn, helps increase sales.
Content marketing works for several prominent reasons:
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Because people no longer want to be sold to
Long gone are the days when the pushy car salesman coerced you into buying the car. Today, this tactic simply doesn’t work. Consumers do their homework before they’ve even shown up to the car dealership. They’ve already used online tools to build the car of their dreams and researched all the necessary features and gadgets they require. They’ve already asked their friends and family for their opinions. Chances are they already know how much the car will cost them each month before even stepping into the store. In today’s digital world, all the data we could possibly want is at our fingertips. Therefore, that overly pushy salesman whose authenticity is somewhat questionable, actually prevents businesses from reaching their sales goals.
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Because it improves the customer experience
People are spending a lot more time at home and the sudden surge in online shopping has only accelerated the triumph of content marketing. Companies are using online content to educate their potential customers on the benefits of their products. These pieces of content can include anything from videos, brochures, articles, ebooks, webinars, to social media posts and tutorials, to name a few.
The Content Marketing Institute found that 51% of enterprises with exceptional customer experiences have highly successful content marketing techniques, according to a recent survey. What sets these companies apart from others is that they make sharing relevant content at optimal times, a priority. Results also show that these organizations put the needs of their customers above their own, and that is the key to providing superior customer experiences that will get shoppers coming back time and time again.
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Because people want to be educated
Content marketing works when it instructs the audience on how to resolve various problems. It is meant to enlighten, not leave a sour taste in one’s mouth. Thus, the arrival of the empathetic sales representative who understands how the customers feel, and anticipates their needs and wants.
Just as people buy from people they trust, the same is true for content. Effective content has been proven to deliver profound results, for it persuades your audience to come back for more information. And, when the information provided is helpful and consistent, that’s when your business can begin to strengthen its reputation.
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Because it’s important for SEO
Search engines like Google need enough information about your business and its benefits in order to rank you higher on search results. And the higher you rank, the better your chances at driving people to your website to purchase your products.
Social engine optimization (SEO) and content marketing should work in harmony. By creating relevant content that contains keywords and phrases your ideal customer is searching for online, your brand’s visibility on search engines increases. Moreover, quality content helps you gather backlinks that unlock SEO traffic.
Think of Google as a machine that sorts all the data it gets, putting the most compelling content on top. Engaging, useful information about a company or brand will become more searchable than sloppy content that isn’t relevant to its readers. There is no better way to build authority than to empower customers with insights that turn your brand into a reputable industry leader.
The truth is, increasing visibility and traffic to your website through content takes dedication and effort. However, it’s important to remember that quality content always wins over quantity. It is better to share resources that customers are searching for less often, than push out loads of it with no value. Although effective content creation takes time, recognize that the risk is worth the reward.
