What is content marketing and why is it important?
Content marketing is a marketing strategy based on consistently publishing information that your target market considers relevant and valuable.
This content could be in the form of:
- Blogs
- Social media posts
- Media releases
- Ebooks
- White papers
- Newsletters
- Infographics
- Webinars
The idea is to build credibility with your target market so you can, eventually, generate sales.
Why is content marketing important?
Content marketing could increase your search engine ranking. Instead of paying for advertising, you deliver the information, and the search engine organically sends traffic your way.
But for this system to work, you must provide the right content. So here are four features of effective content marketing:
1. It’s educational
People search for information. If your website or social media pages provide that information, the search engines will direct them there. Once they’re reading your content, you have the opportunity to market your service to them.
For example, let’s say you’re a real estate agent and write weekly blogs. You might write a blog about whether it’s a good time to sell your house in Hobart. When someone asks a search engine whether it’s a good time to sell their house in Hobart, there’s a chance your blog will pop-up in their search results. If they click through and land on your website, you could answer their question – and then promote your services to them by inserting a call-to-action in your blog, having a chat button on your website or placing banner ads around your blog.
But it does take time before your content starts generating traffic – you’re competing against thousands of websites that started before you.
2. It builds trust
If a consumer visits the websites of, say, three mortgage brokers, they have no way of knowing which, if any, of the brokers are trusted experts and which aren’t. Content marketing could give credibility to your website.
When people see pages of well-written and informative blogs, they begin to think of you as an industry authority and may start to trust you.
If you don’t have time to research and write regular blogs, Hunter & Scribe can help. We’ll research the property market, the latest tax changes or how to improve your credit score – whatever’s relevant to your profession and audience. Then we’ll write concise blogs in plain English and make every word count.
