Content marketing can bring many benefits. 82% of companies employ some content marketing strategy. It is essential for search engine optimization (SEO), lead generation, social media engagement, and email marketing. These companies produce and distribute high-quality content on their channels, including:
- Videos
- Blog Posts
- Articles
- Social Media Posts
- Infographics
Marketers can reap the benefits of this vast field with a wide range of returns. These benefits can also be combined to make it more difficult to create an itemized list.
It doesn’t have to be so complicated. These are the seven main areas where content marketing can benefit your brand and an advanced level of an SEO agency leverages it regularly.
This article will discuss both the advantages and disadvantages of content marketing. Although it isn’t the answer to all problems, it can solve many.
Top 7 Content Marketing Benefits
1. Brand Awareness
People don’t know anything about your products or services, so you can’t market them. A solid content strategy will increase brand awareness and spread the word about your business to potential customers.
Visibility In Serps
It is impossible to talk about content marketing without mentioning SEO. One of the most important reasons content marketing is valuable is because it offers SEO benefits. They are often confused because they are so closely linked. Although they are two different types of marketing, they work well when combined.
What Is Seo? How Does It Work?
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the science of appealing to Google’s or another engine’s search algorithm to rank higher in search engine result pages (SERPs). SEO involves many technical details about your website’s architecture and strategies to optimize your content.
Keywords are terms and phrases that people search for. You want to be found in the results for keywords relevant to your business.
You can include more keywords on your website by creating valuable content. Blogs, interviews, and case studies are great ways to incorporate your keywords into the site.
Google also rewards rich and sophisticated content, such as videos. This type of content can incorporate keywords into metadata and descriptions.
Increased Internet Presence
The internet is more than search results and Google. Brand awareness can also be enhanced by off-page content.
These are ways to increase your digital footprint and give people more chances to meet your business.
- Posts on social media
- Guest blogs
- Articles and posts on LinkedIn
- Podcasts
- YouTube videos
You may also find other relevant content on a third-party website.
This material will help you get your name out there. People will be more inclined to research your products if they are familiar with your brand.
SEO also benefits from this off-page content. Google considers backlinks. Backlinks give interested people the chance to visit your website. Even if they don’t, it will still benefit you.
2. Web Traffic
Content is designed to naturally attract your target audience and convert them into paying customers. People should engage with your brand.
Organic Traffic
Smart content is more than just relevant to the searcher’s questions and interests. It addresses their needs. The best marketers ensure that content is created with at least one goal to maximize the marketing value.
- Entertain
- Educate
- Persuade
- Convert
Make sure you are careful with your content. While content directly related to your business is fine, a blog or company website can be a great place for educational content about your industry.
You can attract people to your website by explaining complex concepts, sharing industry news and tips, and breaking down difficult concepts. Popular topics include product roundups and how-to guides. Unlike paid ads, these publications will work for you long after they are published.
Lower Bounce Rate
A solid content library will also benefit you in keeping people on your website. You’ll be more likely to keep them returning to your site to read, listen, or watch the original piece that drew you in. Internal links can direct people around your site, increasing their connection with your brand.
Longer visits can have secondary effects, just like many other marketing benefits. Your bounce rate is the percentage of visitors who leave after viewing one page. Google considers bounce rates an indicator of content quality.
3. Enhanced Reputation
Content marketing has many benefits. They can help you build your brand and increase your presence. By displaying your expertise, you establish yourself as an expert in your field and a resource for visitors.
Greater Credibility
SEO is easier when you have a rich content library that contains high-quality material. Google will eventually recognize you as an authority for your chosen keywords.
You leave your visitors with a positive impression of your company. They will be influenced by the depth and breadth of your knowledge on their chosen topic, no matter how many pages they view.
4. More Backlinks
Google considers backlinks to be one of its top ranking factors. They are considered endorsements of content quality by the search engine. The sites linking to you will also refer to traffic.
Link-building can be difficult, especially for younger sites.
Consider it this way: Serving as an expert to the experts is the best way to get backlinks. This will allow you to be cited by other writers as an authority.
You can make it easier by creating the following content types (all are great backlink bait).
Expert roundups. It would be best to look for experts with pages that compile their appearances and people who list and link to articles they have contributed.
Interviews with experts. Talk to an expert who is likely to link back to your blog. You can still be a resource to other writers even if they don’t link you. Ask them high-value, new questions and post them on your site.
Long-form guides. Google and other writers appreciate long-form content. You can give a comprehensive overview and include points that others overlook.
High-quality infographics. Make them easily shareable and reusable. This is a high bar, so don’t waste your time on lists and other low-hanging fruits.
Whitepapers and original research. Add new data and research into the vast internet library. Secondary sources will rush to cite your contributions.
Backlinks result from building a strong reputation among people and search engines.
5. Brand Community
A brand community is better than awareness. It’s the group that surrounds your brand when you attract followers, fans, and loyal customers.
Customer Relationships
You can build customer relationships by creating content that makes you a trusted resource. People who have helped others before are more likely to listen.
You can also create fully public content, but it will require consumers to provide information. This could be their email address, their participation in an event, or a survey.
You can use an email newsletter to foster the idea that there is an inner circle. Content marketing has many benefits for an audience truly interested in what you have. These people are more likely to become or be top customers.
Social Engagement
Image of various types of social media engagement
People expect social media to be a place where they can connect with brands that inspire them. People expect companies to respond to their comments, questions, or complaints via social media.
There are many brand interactions that social media engagement can include:
- Likes
- Favorites and Follows
- Comment and reply
- Direct messages
- Retweets and shares
- Clicks
- Savings
- Mentions
These numbers indicate how many people have moved from being passive viewers to becoming engaged audiences.
Invite people to comment on your posts to reap the benefits of content strategy. Mention people, engage in meaningful conversations, and keep your posts accurate and relevant. Referrals and social shares can amplify SEO.
6. Increased Sales
Content marketing, unless your career is content creation, is primarily about generating and converting leads. People should do more than visit your website or follow you on Instagram. You want them to become customers.
Complete Customer Journeys
You can use content to help customers navigate the sales funnel.
Awareness. Be visible to your target clients. As you incorporate your keywords, SEO should prioritize increasing your online presence.
Consideration. To increase your chances of people visiting your site and identifying you as the solution, create high-quality, problem-solving material.
Intention. Next, move on to service- or product-focused content that will make them want to buy. Customers’ testimonials and video demos can encourage fence-sitters to buy.
Conversion. Do not create new content. Move the customer as smoothly and quickly as possible from intent to purchase.
Consider which stages of the journey customers will be taking to reach which channels, and then create content accordingly.
7. Increased Customer Retention
Five times the cost of acquiring a client than keeping one. How can you reap the benefits of content marketing to customer retention? Ponder also on all of your digital marketing strategies used by your digital marketing expert.
Publishing Consistently
After making the sale, stay in customers’ lives to be a resource. Consumers will return if you keep publishing new content. Sticking to one or two channels rather than spreading yourself too thin is better.
It’s easy to get on board. Emails with helpful tips and welcome emails to new customers are a great way to help them make the most of their purchases.
Create Exclusive Content Libraries
Offer a free ebook with every purchase or a newsletter for subscribers only. This strategy can be extended to include tutorials that customers can access whenever they sign up for a product or subscribe to a service.
Personalize and Engage
A.I. Personalize emails with customer names to stay connected and responsive across all platforms.
