Content marketing has become the way of the world. Companies large and small are now focusing their efforts on creating engaging material from podcasts to video tutorials. Making valuable content that’s going to attract potential customers is a time consuming affair, but the benefits far outweigh the investment.

Altered Buying Behavior
The Internet has become an inextricable part of our daily living, as nearly everyone owns a smartphone, laptop or tablet. A potential client doesn’t have to call your office to find out more about your services, they can just run a quick Google search. The client has an unprecedented amount of control and will base their purchasing decisions on the content you provide. Helping your customer is key, so think carefully about topics in your area of expertise that will inform your audience.

New Rules of Engagement
Businesses that were once able to simply tell their potential customers how great they were are now forced to adjust to today’s rules of engagement. Using large amounts of capital for flashy adverts to showcase your greatness is no longer the best way to market a business, you’ll now need to engage the client in a different way. Instead of saying “look at our level of excellence”, you should be saying “look at how we can solve your issues”.

Increased Search Engine Optimization
When the Internet and company websites first became a major factor in the consumer’s decision making, all a business had to do was stuff their website’s copy with crucial keywords and wait for the unique visitors to arrive. Search engine algorithms have now become far more sophisticated and a lack of unique content will cause a company to plummet in any organic search engine ranking. Avoid duplicated content and write naturally for your reader’s enjoyment. Even the pros are finding it hard to out-smart Google.

Lead Generation
Generating brand awareness in a crowded business environment can be difficult and quality content will always win out over the long haul. Leads are not generated by content that reads like it was written with the objective of driving sales, they are generated by content that allows the consumer to authentically engage with the company, without having to read blatant sales messages. To build a relationship with your brand that is built to last, offer your advice through multiple channels and maintain a healthy flow of regular updates. If you’re not using a channel, unpublish it or delete it to keep your business looking active.

Driving Traffic
Once you’ve drawn customers to your website by using content marketing to increase search engine optimization, traffic is driven to the site and customers are encouraged to stay for a much longer period of time, in addition to coming back for return visits. By creating engaging content, you are making it much easier for customers to recommend your goods and services to their mates and they will be sure to check back on a regular basis. Use email newsletters with a web sign up form to take your message directly to your audience.

If you have found this useful, check out our article ‘5 Simple Marketing Channels’ for more marketing tips.

Dean Williams

Dean Williams is a design and marketing blogger working for Print-Print Limited, promoting business and building brands through quality print marketing. If you’re interested in small business promotion then please get in touch hello@print-print.co.uk