Building Trust, Credibility, and a Customer Base Through Helpful Content
Gone are the days when a home page and some contact info were all you needed for your company’s online presence. Today’s customers are conducting sophisticated searches for the information they want, making it more critical than ever to stand out from your competitors with valuable and engaging content on your website.
This is where an effective content marketing strategy is a must. To
grow your business, you need to begin by attracting more traffic to your site. The more traffic, the more opportunities to convert visitors to customers. But the content you share is the key to those conversions.
You need to understand your audiences to be as helpful to them as possible, and make it as easy (frictionless) to get the information they need quickly and efficiently. This requires knowing:
- What they want
- How they want to receive it
- How to keep them engaged
And for content targeting current and future customers, you need a plan to:
- Create it
- Maintain it
- Promote it
Let’s examine the specific benefits of a content marketing strategy and how it can contribute to your business success.
Educate Your Audiences
Your audiences are seeking information, so give them what they want. A strong content marketing strategy will help you educate prospective customers about your products and services using a variety of content formats. Your goal is to be considered an expert in your field, so establish your areas of expertise by posting blogs, demo videos, e-books, and white papers. When you consistently provide valuable, useful content, including press releases, infographics, FAQs, and best practices, your customers and prospects will seek you out when they are making a buying decision.
Build Credibility and Trust
Providing factual, pertinent information establishes your company’s credibility and builds trust with your target audiences. For example, case studies and customer success stories are examples of content that demonstrate how your products or services have helped other customers, and can therefore be relied on. Another way to build credibility is to publish content on important, relevant industry topics to promote your company as a thought leader. Keep an eye out for timely industry issues or challenges, and address them through content you post. And if your company is experiencing the same challenges, talk about it—the good, bad, and ugly. People will appreciate and trust your transparency. When you are seen as a source of reliable, valid, and trustworthy content, your company’s reputation grows. Reliability, credibility, relevance—all qualities you want your current and prospective customers to associate with your brand.
Increase Visibility
Prospective customers are looking for you—help them find you with a content marketing strategy that includes search engine optimization (SEO). Help them self-identify as a good fit for your business or services. Reveal to them that you are the solution they never knew they needed. Of course, optimizing your content helps search engines, like Google, find you easily. Search engines are also looking for sites with regularly published new content, which demonstrates that a website has a good activity level. This contributes to your search engine results page (SERP) ranking. Content that provides thorough, in-depth information, with naturally placed keywords in the text, as well as internal links to other relevant sources, also improves your site’s rank. The quality of the content you post also significantly impacts SEO, which can both improve your website’s SERP ranking and raise your online visibility. Higher visibility leads to increased lead generation, and the potential for business growth.
Return on Investment
According to 1827Marketing, content marketing costs 62% less than traditional marketing and generates five times as many sales leads. That means the investment you make in creating high-quality, engaging content in a variety of formats will pay off because it will attract visitors to your site again and again over time. In marketing, this is called “evergreen” content. After the initial work is done to prepare it, it continues to do its job—even after you’ve gone home for the day … day after day, and on and on. It also allows website visitors to find the helpful information they need at their convenience. This is a big win for you both.
The latest news updates will attract visitors who are interested in the latest technology and trends, long-form pieces will interest potential customers who want in-depth information, and best practices and success stories will engage prospects who are looking for a company with credibility. Think about it. Low costs, high return on investment. Another way a content marketing strategy can expand your business.
Get the Word Out
A robust content marketing strategy should also incorporate tactics to promote the excellent content that can be found on your website. Social media is the key to encouraging conversations about your products and services. Posting your latest news item or blog on one or more social media channels such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc., encourages engagement with current and future customers, publicizes your brand, and drives more visitors to your site.
Converting Visitors to Customers
The content you provide to the consumers who visit your website or view your social media helps them make a purchasing decision. This is confirmed by research done by the Content Marketing Institute, which states nine out of 10 buyers say content effects purchasing decisions, and that 80% of decision makers prefer getting information from articles versus advertisements. Further, according to Aberdeen, companies that put their primary focus on content marketing had five times higher website conversion rates. A well thought out content marketing strategy will help to lead visitors along the steps of the journey that convert them from browsers to buyers.
A Content Marketing Strategy Impacts the Bottom Line
The point of a content marketing strategy is to attract high-quality leads that result in more sales and increased revenue. And that means sharing content that will:
- Capture the attention of your key audiences
- Demonstrate why your company is unique
- Impress them with your expertise
- Convert their interest into sales
That’s how a content marketing strategy can expand your business.
Grant Marketing offers a workshop to help you create a content marketing strategy for your company. We can help you develop a content library to attract more visitors to your site and generate more qualified leads. Grant Marketing can also help you distribute and promote your content on a variety of social media channels. Let us show you how a well-designed content marketing strategy can help you grow your business. Click here to get started!
