Content marketing could be the best thing to ever happen to your business. I say could because it depends on how you do it. This methodology saves money, leads to more sales, and builds trust with your intended audience.
Creating blogs, videos, and social media posts are great standalone tactics. But without a cohesive strategy, your efforts may be wasted. Your content must be purposeful, timely, and build trust in order to make a significant impact on your B2B audience. With consistent efforts across the proper platforms geared towards the right people, you can look forward to increased website traffic and better-qualified leads for your business.
Here's an overview on the impact of content marketing, from Emily, our Content Editorial Manager:
Where to Start With Content Marketing?
Always Be Closing Helping
Your content should be created to help, not sell. Some people are ready to hear a sales pitch. Everyone is willing to absorb truly helpful content. If you're consistently helpful, you'll build trust with your audience. When they're ready to buy, you'll be at the top of their minds.
Once you're in the right (helpful) mindset, you're ready to start planning out content. There are a few ways to start:
- Talk to your clients. Learn their pain points and how they consume content in general.
- Talk to your sales team. Learn what the most commonly asked questions are.
- Use search engine optimization tools to find out what terms your audience uses when conducting a search.
Use Every Part of the Buffalo
Don't let anything go to waste when planning. A blog post can be repurposed into a checklist offer. Multiple blog posts can turn into an informative eBook. A video script can be used to write a new blog post or be a launchpad for a podcast episode.
If you plan ahead, you can get multiple pieces of content from one idea. Sounds pretty good, right? Planning ahead and not winging it will result in more effective and comprehensive content marketing.
How to Use Content to Reach Your Audience
HubSpot uses the term buyer's journey to describe how people research and shop online.
Source: HubSpot
Be mindful. Someone in the awareness stage of the buyer's journey doesn't want to hear or read about pricing. He or she is still researching their problem. They don't want to hear about a solution when they don't know their problem.
Use the buyer's journey to structure your content to resonate with your audience. The wrong messaging at the wrong time can turn a hot lead into cold.
Your Work is Never Done
There's no finish line when it comes to content creation. Old blogs can be reworked to incorporate new trends or different keywords. Existing content can be repackaged for new social ad campaigns.
We would suggest performing an audit on your content after each quarter. You'll see what is and isn't working - marketing automation tools are great for this. You can then build or change directions for your content strategy. Creating consistent content is a good first step, but creating high-quality content with a strategy in mind is even better. We know that starting and maintaining this process is no small feat. The team at LAIRE knows how to uplevel your business with a content marketing strategy that will help you stand out in a crowded digital landscape and can guide you every step of the way. Let’s do this!
