3 Simple Ways Your Business Can Invest in Content Marketing [FREE GUIDE]

Standing out from the crowd has become increasingly difficult in today’s digital marketplace. This explosion in competition has small and large businesses alike looking for the next investment that will help strategically market their brands and attract new customers for their products and services. Fortunately, the answer may be right in front of you.

I’m talking about content marketing—also known as inbound marketing. Content marketing is defined by the Content Marketing Institute as a “strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.” This approach is aimed at supporting all three stages of the marketing funnel.

So, why is it worth it to invest in content marketing? Not only does content marketing cost 62% less than traditional advertising, but it can deliver 3X more leads and/or traffic to your website. It also improves your search rankings and provides valuable insights into your customers’ preferences and behavior for much less than paid advertising and surveys.
Here are three ways that your business can start investing in content marketing:

1. Community Building on Social Media

The only sales rep that works 24/7 is your company’s social media. One of the first tips that any business will receive is to start using social media to build an online community. In fact, nearly three-quarters of small businesses invested in social media in 2019. However, even large businesses can see a large increase in the success of their digital marketing strategies through the use of social media marketing.

Although the impact of social media on your brand varies by industry, you’re sure to see a positive impact regardless of what product or service your company offers. In fact, studies have shown that social media has a 100% higher lead-to-close rate than outbound marketing. This higher close rate is due to customers feeling more engaged on social media, which allows them to develop a greater sense of brand loyalty. After all, consumers would rather buy from a business that feels more human and personal.

Taking the time to respond to customers and build a community has become more important than ever, with 51% of marketers seeing a positive correlation between product sales and building relationships on social media. By investing in social media marketing, your business will unlock a new way to interact with customers, generate more qualified leads and build an engaged community.

2. Higher-Quality Written Content

With the rise in visual media, why is high-quality written content still extremely important? By consistently creating targeted written content, your business gains an edge over your competition. Written content helps build trust, generate qualified leads, position your company an authority on various topics and improve your overall SEO.

With how much competition exists today, consistency, trust and authority are some of the most important qualities your brand can possess. By writing thoughtful and well-constructed content, customers begin to view your brand as a credible and reliable source of information. Over time, consistent content increases brand awareness. Users will begin to seek your company out when they want to learn more about a topic. Once a potential customer begins to trust you, they’re much more likely to make a purchase and become a loyal customer.

In addition, not only does written content help solidify your position as an industry leader, it also helps rank your content higher on search engines and brings in more potential leads. Google recognizes well-optimized content that it deems high quality and matches the right user with the right intent to your brand. Written content works hand-in-hand with the algorithm in a way that visual media simply can’t.

3. Creating More Video Content

In addition to high-quality written content, your business should invest in video content as well. Though it may seem like a daunting task, creating videos has become easier than ever with access to smart phones and free editing software such as Animoto, Davinci Resolve and even Canva. It also boasts a great ROI and can be used in a variety of ways.

Video content is a great way to demonstrate what your business does to potential customers. The more your customers know, the more likely they are to buy from you. For example, imagine you’re a company that manufactures a software program. Someone who is interested in learning about various software solutions may watch a few YouTube reviews and come across a demo for your product before ultimately deciding to make a purchase. Even though other competitors may have a better product, making your solution more accessible to newcomers through video content gives your business a competitive advantage.

These three areas of content marketing are a fantastic starting point, especially if you’re looking for simple ways to optimize your marketing strategy. It might be intimidating at first, but with a little bit of time and capital, you’ll be well on your way to building brand recognition, trust and capturing new high-quality leads for your business.