Having a content strategy is a significant way to increase visibility online, engage customers old and new, generate leads, and enable your business to stand out amongst your competitors.
The godfather of modern marketing, Seth Godin said way back: “content marketing is the only marketing left.” That’s a pretty bold statement.
But, content marketing or content strategy is authentic and ticks all the boxes for today’s internet users.
So, let’s look at four ways a content strategy can benefit your business.
What is a content strategy?
The term ‘content strategy’ was coined in the early ’90s. In a simplified version, a content strategy is the strategic planning, management, and delivery of a wide range of content that includes images, videos, podcasts and much more. Sometimes content strategy can be referred to as content marketing – or the two combine as part of an overall marketing dynamic.
The majority of content strategies are delivered in the form of blogs.
Why a blog?
A blog gives you the tools to reach your customers, answer their questions and build relationships. We’ve all heard the saying ‘Content is King – written material is powerful, it creates stories, and conveys meaning about who you are as a business.
A blog is also factual – it’s approachable, it’s helpful and it’s meaningful.
Did you know that there are over 440 million blogs in the world?
Blogs are customer-centric but they should also be a reflection of your business values and morals. Blogs are a perfect way to show customers who you are.
If your business doesn’t have a blog, you might want to consider adding one to your site. B2B marketers who use blogs receive 67% more leads than those who don’t and blogs have been rated the 5th most trusted source for accurate online information. – HubSpot
1. Show you are the expert in your field
The content you share with your audience is your chance to show your expertise in your industry and position yourself as an authority.
And it can be any industry.
Cultivating quality content that answers questions your customers may have about your industry, business, or products will demonstrate you know what you are talking about.
Imagine a classroom setting: a teacher asks you a question and you know the answer, you put your hand up. In a virtual scenario, the teacher is the customer and your business is the hand up – you have the answer.
But what if you are in a classroom and everyone puts their hand up. How does someone pick you?
Consistency
If you regularly post content – your reach will be higher. In this virtual scenario – the customer – knows they have seen you before, or if they recognise you have answered their questions before, they will be more likely to visit your site again.
What you are doing is demonstrating to your audience that you are a reliable source. Your giving them something for free – information.
Just as high-quality content should be intentionally crafted to serve a purpose for your business …
High-quality content consumption is also intentional – Hubspot
People will be more likely to send you an inquiry or get in touch with you if you can show you know what you are talking about.
You can do this in many ways – how-to guides, tips and tricks, surprising facts, or a range of other important information people want to know.
2. Educate your customers
Think about it for a moment – when you go searching for information about a product or service you want to find answers to your questions. Imagine – if you read, watch or listen to information that tells you something you didn’t know before.
Most likely you’ll want to find out more.
Giving your customers something to think about is a sure-fire way to generate inquiries.
With inbound marketing, it doesn’t matter which company has the largest budget, but instead the one who offers the best answer.
If you can provide informative answers to questions, you not only increase engagement, generate discussion but you also increase your leads and generate inquiries, or get referrals.
Educating your audience is a great way to get their attention.
3. Attract new customers
People search online for answers every day – and it’s by searching that they discover and find new businesses. If you land on a page and find good useful quality information you will want to find out more. And this is where you want to be.
A good content strategy will help increase your online presence, build relationships and trust.
When new visitors or customers come to your website – you want them to find what they are looking for, get answers to their questions, and more.
Whether it’s a video blog, podcast, or written information – all of these can be used as tools to create relationships with your customers.
Consistently posting quality content will not only help you to build good customer relationships, but it will also increase traffic by boosting your search rankings.
If you think about it a blog isn’t just a blog – it is much more than that – it’s a business.
4. Improve your search ranking
High-quality content is the absolute key to any content strategy. And adding new content to your website regularly will help boost your Google or search ranking. This is where SEO steps in.
SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) together with your content strategy will increase your visibility in search results – when implemented correctly.
Google and other search engines are constantly monitoring for new content and adjusting rank accordingly. If you don’t have fresh and relevant content on your website, you won’t keep a good ranking for long or get one to begin with – Neil Patel.
When customers type in a search query your website or content will be shown to them – so long as it’s relevant.
Google doesn’t care about you, what you sell, or how well you do as a business; Google exists to solve its users’ problems – that’s all – HPE.
There are over 200 ranking factors that Google’s algorithm uses to determine and rank the most relevant information and content and they constantly change and get updated. So having an SEO professional who keeps up with Google’s ongoing updates means you can regularly adjust your content and SEO to get the best results.
Want to know more?
The world of blogs and content strategy is dynamic, fast-moving, and constantly changing.
Regardless of your particular industry, a content strategy will definitely enhance your business presence and build your audience, bring you results, new customers, leads, and sales.
We do the hard yards and find out what your customers are looking for, and how to answer their questions. We help businesses of all shapes and sizes. So if you want to grow your business and generate more sales and leads get in touch with us we look forward to talking with you.
