Did you know that over 70% of CMOs think this strategy is the future of marketing?
I’m sure you know already what it is.
It’s content marketing.
If your business is not providing good content that educates, informs, or entertains then you risk being left behind.
A lot of people forget the second word in that term. Simply, providing content is not enough. You have to promote it effectively as well.
Is Content still king?
Yes. However, it’s getting harder and harder to stand out.
Why?
Competition has risen and our attention spans have decreased. Microsoft conducted a study and found that the attention span of humans has dropped from 12 seconds to 8 seconds. Humans now have shorter attention spans than a goldfish.
Not only have our attention spans decreased there is now more information than ever. A sea of information. The internet has changed everything. People now have 18 frames of reference before they make a purchase decision.
This makes it more challenging than ever to stand out.
Even with endless distractions, it might surprise you that content marketing is working better than ever. However, your content must stand out and this means detailed and evergreen content.
Serp IQ found that longer posts are ranked higher in the search engines.
What is Content Marketing?
According to the content marketing institute content marketing is defined as:
“Content marketing is the marketing and business process for creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire, and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience – with the objective of driving profitable customer action.”
Some call content marketing the new SEO. Content marketing is a rapidly growing marketing practice. Here are some stats courtesy of The Inbound Marketing Economy that show the tremendous growth in this field:
- The Number Of Content Marketing Job Listings Has Grown Nearly 350% Since 2011
- 26% Of Marketing Executives Expect To Hire Content Marketing Roles This Year
- Content Marketing Roles Have An Average Salary Range Between $60,000 And $74,000
You can see that a lot of marketing managers are using content marketing in their business. Even with the added emphasis on content, most businesses don’t have a content marketing plan.
Why Your Marketing Should Give First Sell Later
“Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook.”- Gary Vaynerchuk
Marketing has changed. People are very weary of fake promises and have been turned off by sleazy marketing for years. Gary Vaynerchuck asks businesses to give first, give second, and then ask for a sale.
Good content marketing does exactly that.
In this post, I’ll go over 10 Reasons Why Content Marketing Will Explode Your Business in 2016.
#1 Businesses that do content marketing generate 67% more leads per month than those that do not
Content marketing can be used as a lead generation machine for your business. According to Hubspot, businesses that do content marketing generate 67% more leads per month than those that do not.
You can dominate your niche for years by producing great evergreen content. Most businesses need to educate their clients/customers. By providing useful and helpful content your business will stand out in a sea of mediocrity.
Even though there is now more content than ever most businesses do a terrible job of producing content that is engaging and educational.
Stand out by providing content that helps people, solve problems, and educates them.
#2 Inbound marketing delivers 54% more leads into the marketing funnel than traditional outbound marketing
According to the state of inbound marketing report adopting an inbound or content driven marketing strategy results in 54% more leads than traditional outbound marketing.
The behavior of consumers and businesses have changed. Buyers now have more information than ever before. By adopting an inbound marketing strategy you create a funnel of leads that will lead to more sales.
Adopting a content driven strategy will help no matter what channel you use. Facebook has changed dramatically the last couple of years. Facebook Advertisers are finding that Facebook prefers a content driven model that first introduces who you are and how you can help people.
# 3 70% of people would rather learn about a company through articles rather an advert
Why not give people what they want?
People are bombarded with ads on a daily basis. Cutting through the noise with an ad is harder than ever before. This is why people would rather get to know you first before they actually buy from you.
The buying mindset of “know, like, and trust” is more relevant than ever.
Give them the reason to get to know you first by helping them. Find the biggest problems your target audience has and develop content based on those problems.
For example, if you are a SAAS company selling a fitness app and your target audience is personal trainers, why not build a content marketing plan based on the biggest professional challenges personal trainers face?
#4 78 % of CMOs think Content Marketing is the future of marketing
Most CMOs are content marketing converts. They believe in the power of content marketing and how it can impact their businesses.
This doesn’t mean that paid traffic will be going anywhere. A good marketing plan combines both synergistically. But, if most of your peers think that content marketing is the future, why hasn’t your company adopted a plan?
#5 Buyers go through about 57% of the purchasing process before ever talking to sales.
Most buyers already have a solid understanding of what they want before they make a purchase decision. Buyers are now more educated than ever before.
Your content marketing plan should serve as a foundation of this education.
Don’t let your competitors educate your prospects.
Buyers are more likely to buy from people they trust. People will trust businesses they learn from.
A lot of sales are due to timing. Someone might read your content but not need what you are selling now. However, when the time comes and their needs change they will call you/
It also helps to be top of mind by constantly providing useful content.
#6 Brands that create 15 blog posts per month average 1,200 new leads per month
Blogging is one of the most effective ways to generate leads for your business. If you blog every other day you will generate a ton of traffic in a few months.
Businesses that are this prolific usually have a team of writers producing lots of content.
This prolific amount of content might not be the best approach to take. A lot depends on the market you are in and the type of business.
Consistency is by far the most important thing in content marketing. Blogging consistently is not easy. I still struggle with this myself.
Blogging consistently will:
- Generate leads for your business
- Generate traffic to your site
- Build authority
#7 70% of content marketers are creating more content than they did a year ago
People are always demanding content. Producing lots of content is not easy. It’s one of the things most content marketers struggle with on a daily basis.
But, even with this struggle, most, content marketers are committed to producing more content. They know the importance of consistent and relevant content.
If your competition knows the importance of creating content why aren’t you committing?
Here are some posts that will help you with the dreaded writer’s block:
- How To Blog Consistently Without Burning Out
- How To Create A Daily Blogging Habit To Produce Great Content Consistently
- How I Write 8 Blog Posts a Week While Running 2 Companies
#8 Marketers who have prioritized blogging are 13x more likely to enjoy positive ROI
Blogging will help your business generate more leads and sales. By prioritizing a blogging model, you commit your business to producing content that drives traffic.
However, not all content will make an impact. Your business should have specific content that drives relevant traffic to your blog.
Some examples of the types of content include:
- Infographics
- Guides
- Book Reviews
- How To
- Lists
- Link Pages
- Opinions
- Case Study
- Interviews
- Research and Original Data
- Videos
These are some of the proven types of content that drive relevant content to your blog/site. It’s also very important to have an editorial calendar.
An editorial calendar can help you produce consistent and relevant content. If you want to learn more on what it takes to create an editorial calendar for your blog then check out the following posts:
- How To Boost Success With A Content Marketing Editorial Calendar
- How to Create an Editorial Calendar for Your Blog
- How to create a blog editorial calendar
#9 The average cost per marketing-generated lead is $93 for companies using video compared with $115 for those who aren’t.
Video is fast becoming the preferred way people consume content online. Gary Vaynerchuk says that Facebook Video will soon be TV’s main competitor.
If you can reach thousands of people for pennies with a great video wouldn’t that be useful to your business?
With a great video, you can tell your company’s story in 3 minutes or less and make an impact. With the technology available today, a good looking video can be made much cheaper than ever before.
#10 Per Dollar Spent, Content Marketing generates approximately 3 times as many leads as traditional advertising
Another reason to invest in content marketing. For companies that in growth mode, content marketing offers a way to reach millions of people less expensively than traditional advertising.
If you want to learn more about creating video content for your business check out the two posts below:
- Online video: 10 tips to creating effective business video
- 5 Reasons Businesses Should Focus on Creating Video Content
Conclusion
Content will always be king. If your business is not investing in content marketing then you risk losing a ton of opportunity.
Challenge yourself and make a commitment to produce content that educates and inspires people to do business with you.