What is content marketing?
Content marketing, as the name suggests, is a form of marketing that uses the creation and publishing of valuable content as a means to build and grow an audience, which can later be converted into paying customers.
If you wish to learn more about this topic, check out the FAQ section below:
Question #1: How does content marketing work?
As we have seen in the previous section, content marketing is all about attracting and retaining an audience using valuable high-quality content. You can use it to attract leads, pitch your product or service to someone doing research on what to buy, and ultimately close sales—provided you are able to provide prospects the correct type of content at each sales cycle stage.
In the awareness stage, your goal should be to provide them with content that addresses their primary pain points and answers their most pressing questions, so educational-, how-to, and advice-type posts are your best bet.
Sample topics you could cover at this stage would be:
- 3 Steps to a Better Resume (if you run an employment-related business)
- Jumpstart Your Fitness Journey With These Six Tips (if you run a fitness-related business)
- How to Create Content That People Want to Share (if you run a marketing-related business)
During the consideration stage, on the other hand, you should still deliver valuable, informative content but also start mixing in a bit more marketing. The goal is to help your prospects find the best solution to their main pain points while positioning your products or services as that solution.
Sample topics you could cover at this stage would be:
- 10 Things to Look for In Your Next Smartphone (if you sell smart devices)
- Four Mistakes People Make When Booking Flights (if you run a travel-related business)
- How to Learn a New Language Faster (if you run a language learning-related business)
Finally, during the closing stage, you need to shift your focus on selling. Keep in mind, though, that ‘selling’, in this case, does not mean you should just talk about how awesome your products or services are. Instead, you should still focus on why they are the best way for the prospect to get rid of whatever is causing them problems.
The types of content you can share at this stage include:
- Case studies
- Reports
- Buyer’s guides
- Product Videos
- User-generated content such as reviews and testimonials
Question #2: What types of content can I use for content marketing?
You can use virtually any type of content for content marketing, including:
- Videos
- Infographics
- Articles
- Whitepapers
- Social media posts
- Music
- Audiobooks
The goal here is to deliver content that your target audience would find interesting and/or helpful. The format of the content does not really matter all that much as long as it is accessible and delivered at the right stage of the sales cycle.
Question #3: What are the benefits of content marketing?
The benefits of content marketing include:
- Increased brand awareness
- Improved prospect and customer retention
- Top-of-mind positioning for your brand
Let us take a closer look at each one.
When you consistently deliver informative, high-quality content on important and/or relevant topics in your industry, people keep coming back to you for the information they need. This allows you to not only keep your brand on their mind, but also build a more long-term relationship with them, ultimately improving your prospect and customer retention.
Of course, when prospects and existing customers are always interacting with your brand even when they are not looking to buy anything, once they are ready to make a purchase, you are the first brand on their mind, significantly increasing your odds of closing the sale.
Question #4: How do I find success with content marketing?
To find success with content marketing, you need to take note of two things:
- Who your target audience is and what they want and/or need so you know what topics and types of content to focus on
- Where are they in the sales cycle so you can deliver the exact content they are looking for at any given time