For the past decade, the digital revolution has been changing the landscape of marketing. With more adverts and messages thrown at them than ever before, the impact of more traditional channels of marketing has become less effective on today’s consumers. Now, more and more brands are recognizing the importance of an effective digital marketing strategy and those who choose to ignore it will increasingly fall behind.
Many businesses are grappling with communication strategies to convert prospects and leads into (paying) customers.. Though many have heard about “content marketing,” few have yet to develop effective content strategies.
In the digital world, content marketing has become paramount. Methods that communicate - without blatantly promoting - your brand identity and offering will build the most trust amongst the targeted audience.
Developing an effective content marketing strategy will help draw traffic to your website and social media accounts, boost your performance on search results pages, and give audiences the opportunity to share your content with their friends. And on top of all that, since consumers trust their friends and connections, your branded content that gets shared takes on added credibility.
These days people skip TV commercials, usually look past billboards and ignore buttons and banners online. Consumers are getting better at ignoring the messages they don’t want to hear and researching what they do want to learn, often turning to search engines to find solutions to their needs.
This means that instead of finding customers mainly with mass advertising, marketers must now focus on their findability and learn to build continuous relationships with consumers by creating effective content.
How can you create effective content?
The key to creating effective content is to make it engaging, valuable and relevant for your audience.
Instead of pitching your products or services, you must provide truly relevant content to your prospects and customers to help them solve their problems. People want useful content that helps them make informed decisions, but they don’t like being sold.
Great content showcases your expertise. There are different ways to do this, but some very important methods include understanding your customers' needs and interests, and providing answers that affect their lives.
This means that businesses must produce content that addresses consumers’ wants, needs, and interests. Be a trusted expert that customers and prospects can turn to for answers. Make your audience feel you get them and that you recognize what’s interesting, funny or important to them. They should come away feeling like they’ve learned something, or they’ve been entertained in a way that resonates with their lives and values.
Consumers want to do business with organizations that understand them. If you can showcase your expertise, provide a solution to a need, and connect with the consumer on an emotional level, you will leave a lasting impression that gives you a leg up on the competition when it comes to the consumer's purchasing decision.
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