According to a 2010 study by the Content Marketing Institute, approximately 6 out of 10 marketing professionals surveyed plan to increase their spending on content initiatives. Content marketing spending comprises 33% of the total marketing budget, and 59% of marketers plan to increase content marketing spending this year.
Why is content becoming important to businesses and marketers? The answer: content is key to Internet marketing success. A recent AOL & Nielson study reports that people spend 53% of their time online with content. And to prove that content really has become the fuel that drives eCommerce, the study estimates that of the over 27,000,000 pieces of content that are shared each day, 60% of them include mention of a brand name and/or product.
So, if you’re a business marketing on the Web (and of course, you are), this will tell you that people are using content to not only get information about brands, products, goods and services, but to share that information with others. They are using content to make intelligent purchasing decisions and to help others make them, as well.
Killer content marketing is informative, relevant and useful content that adds value to your brand and your business. It is read, referred to and shared. It drives sales. It is the fuel that powers your success.
Great content draws the line between the site that gets by, and the one that stands out. Here are 5 ways that killer content marketing can help your business grow:
1. It demonstrates your authority.
Your industry is full of competitors— companies just like you who want to grab a larger piece of the sales pie. How do you rise to the top? By using valuable, informational content to demonstrate your authority. The content you create and distribute—whether it’s instructional videos, blogs, articles, ebooks or white papers—identifies your business and/or site as the place to go, the source for what your market needs. You know what you’re talking about and your content proves it.
2. It builds trust with your visitors.
Your customers don’t want to be interrupted with a sales pitch. In fact, today’s Internet-savvy consumer is deeply distrustful of sales language. They want answers and solutions, and they will only trust sites that give them what they need. Killer content marketing is, almost by definition, a non-interruptive, targeted method of reaching those who want to be reached.
Your blog, your articles and your website content all tell visitors that you know what you’re talking about, and you’re sharing your knowledge without obligation and without a push to sell. All studies show that the more people trust you, the higher your conversion rates, i.e. the more they buy from you!
Related: 5 Examples of Killer Content Marketing Copywriting
3. It increases your search engine ranking.
Great content not only increases the value of your site to visitors, it increases your value in the eyes of search engines, as well. According to the 2015 SEOmoz Search Engine Ranking Factors report, link metrics/link authority are the two primary factors for how well a site ranks. What are these factors? They are the measure of the authority your site has with others.
How many people are linking to you? If your content is informative, problem-solving, solution-providing content, more people will link to you. This increases your clout with the search engines and boosts your ranking naturally.
4. It makes your site shareable.
The latest Nielson content sharing study indicates that half of all industry-specific social media messages include content sharing. It crosses all age and gender demographics and occurs on all social media platforms including blogs, email, social networks, message boards and instant messages.
Your content is the voice and, in many cases, the face of your business. It helps to establish your brand and your credibility with consumers. When your content is fresh, optimized and informative, people will pass it around. Remember, perceived credibility is one of the main factors for search engine ranking. This only happens when others are linking and sharing your site with others. And they will only link and share your site when your content makes you worth talking about.
5. It generates more traffic, leads and sales.
Content is an organic way to increase traffic, leads and sales for all of the above reasons. Another sales-boosting benefit? Your content, distributed throughout the Web on social media, your site and others’ sites, allows you to market in real time. It’s the avenue by which you reach your audience as events are happening. This makes you relevant to consumers who need what you have, right now.
Posting fresh, new content regularly keeps customers interested and engaged. Every page of content you publish is another opportunity for people to find you in search engines for different keywords, and then share you with their friends. So, when it comes to increasing leads and sales using content, quality is important but QUANTITY is important, too. Landing pages that include updated content with calls to action, for example, will convert people who start off just searching into leads.
Remember, today’s Internet-savvy consumers are hungry for information that will help them make intelligent buying decisions. Give them that information and they will come back for more. They will buy from you, and they will recommend you to friends, family and colleagues.
This is the power of killer content marketing, and what it can do for you, your business and your brand. To learn more, check out our white paper, "What is Content Marketing? And Why Is It So Important?"
