As a blogger or online business owner, you may have been wondering what is content marketing. Content is anything you use to communicate – all of the information, text, images, videos, and more you put out into the world to communicate with your prospects or customers.
You can provide content through different channels, including blog posts, emails, social communications posts, slides, etc.
Creating content without having a content marketing strategy is generally not advised, as you’d waste a lot of effort and get poor results.
That’s why this article will guide you through the basics of content marketing, including:
- What is content marketing
- Why content marketing is important to your business
- How to create content that captivates your audience
What Is Content Marketing?
Simply put, content marketing is using content to market to your audience. With content marketing, you create, distribute or publish content to attract, engage, and convert your target audience.
The main goal is to use content to build your sales and profits. Content marketing is used by many successful businesses and large-scale corporations. Still, it’s even more important for small businesses to embrace it. This is because small businesses often have to rely on niche marketing to succeed, and content marketing is an effective way to capture audiences in your niche.
Why Content Marketing is Important to your Business
Should your business invest in content marketing? That’s a question that’s easier to answer with a “yes” than it is a “no.” Today, content marketing is a hot topic among marketers and entrepreneurs alike. Yes, creating useful, relevant, and valuable content can be time-consuming, but the payoff can be enormous.
1. Content marketing makes it easy for your target audience to find you
You’ve probably heard of “search engine optimization.” When someone searches for a specific keyword, they get results that match their chosen words or phrase. If someone is looking for information on creating websites, for example, then they might search for “how to create a website.” The results that they get will usually be packed with information on the topic. If you’re a website creator or developer and you create content around that topic, then your content will likely show up on the search engine results.
When you do your SEO right and publish content consistently on a topic, you will boost your credibility and attract people who need exactly what you’re offering.
2. Establishes you as an authority in your niche
You don’t have to be an expert to be an authority in niche. You just have to know more than an absolute beginner and create consistent content based on what you know and learn about your niche. Your audience will come to associate you with your niche, and this will boost your credibility as a brand or business.
3. Can earn you more profits
While not all content should be promotional content, you can use your content marketing strategy to promote products and services. You can monetize the content and earn money when people click.
Good content also helps your audience to make buying decisions. It converts prospects into customers. According to surveys, 60% of people are inspired to look for a product after reading about it. And if that information comes from a peer or is viewed on social media, the percentage is higher.
4. Educates your audience
When you create content that is valuable and packed with information, you educate your audience on relevant themes, ideas and solutions. For instance, if you have a skincare business, you could educate your audience on different skin types and the proper routines and products to care for each type. A more informed audience makes better decisions. and since you’ve guided them on their journey, they are more likely to buy from you.
5. Can help you build a community
When you do content marketing right, you consistently provide your audience with valuable, interesting, or relatable content. This will lead them to know, like, and trust you. When you engage with your audience, they become more than just numbers on your dashboard; they become your community. Also, the more valuable and helpful your content is to your audience, the higher the chances of them sharing your content to their friends and followers. This builds awareness for your business and drives traffic to your website. Once prospects are on your site, your content will motivate them to subscribe to your site or newsletter, comment, and become part of your community.
How to create content that hooks your audience
All of the content planning and strategy in the world won’t matter if your audience isn’t interested in what you’re saying. You have to create content with topics that hook your audience and ideas that interest them. Let’s start by taking a look at what goes into great content.
1. Good content is easy to read
Content needs to be easy to read or understand. That requires a few key elements, including but not limited to:
* One main theme per content piece
* Subheadings to break up main points
* Simple formatting – Bullet points, numbers, and small paragraphs are easier to read.
2. Make your writing conversational
As you’re writing or creating your content, consider using your personal voice. Write content as if you’re talking to a customer, peer, or friend. That means using words that your audience understands, no industry jargon, and clearly explaining concepts.
3. Provide value with your content
Before you sit down to create any piece of content, whether it’s audio, video, or written, ask yourself one important question: “What is the benefit to my reader?”
Why will they pay attention, read your content, and consider it valuable?
4. Use the word “You”
When you’re creating content, write to your audience. Make them feel like you’re writing just to them. You can accomplish this by being a bit informal and using the word “You” in your writing.
5. Your content should be relatable
Share personal stories and examples and get involved in your content. Show your audience that you care about them and engage in a little authenticity and transparency. You’ll connect with and engage your audience on a different level.
6. Include a call-to-action
At the end of your content, always include a CTA that tells your audience what to do next, eg, sign up to your mailing list, leave a comment or read another article.