7 unsuspected advantages of Content Marketing

In how much Webmarketing consultant and Communication consultant The Content marketing has become a more significant part of my job, which I enjoy. Creating the content plan, determining the topics, the media platforms, the types of media, all of this fascinates me a lot. There is this (often unrecognized or underrated) potential in Content marketing that makes it always thrilling to start such a journey.

We have discussed Content Marketing many times in Squid impact articles and you likely know the key benefits.

Content Marketing brings traffic:

This is one aspect of the SEO efforts for your website. In simple terms, the more content you add to your site, the easier it is for Google to grasp your focus and rank you reliably in the search results. Additionally, every new article serves as a fresh entrance to your site. It is also shareable on social media, offering another chance for visits.

Content Marketing boosts brand recognition

Since content creates traffic, it enhances your visibility and, as a result, your brand recognition. In the articles you author, in the videos you create, and in all your materials, you express your essence, the identity of your business, what you love, your approach to work,… In summary, a complete and consistent message.

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Content marketing creates natural links and interaction

This content, provided it is of good quality, will generate social media interaction. Shares, likes, retweets, all these actions are very motivating for content creators. Ultimately, other sites may mention you as a source or reference, resulting in organic links to your site. If Pagerank is not given the same importance as it once was due to Google’s habits over the years, links remain crucial. They are a source of traffic and continue to aid your SEO by enhancing your site’s reputation if the links are valuable.

Content Marketing establishes you as an expert

Be what is expected of a professional! Share your knowledge, your skills, and you will be viewed as one.

Now that the basics have been explained, I would like to share some of the advantages of Content Marketing that we might not be fully aware of.

Content Marketing is less expensive than traditional communication

Some forms of communication are not accessible to all companies due to their costs. However, despite what one might think at first glance, Content Marketing turns out to be less expensive than most forms of communication. Inbound marketing costs only half the budget that companies typically spend on traditional marketing for the same amount of leads.

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Even better! It is possible to produce content internally by your team members and thus reduce the costs of your digital communication. If it encourages you, I would add this social networks and blogs represent 23% of the time spent online according to the Content Marketing Institute. Offer your current and potential customers content that they can find on the channels they use most. Make their life easier!

Content marketing creates valuable connections with your audience

A large number of marketers have a distorted idea of ​​the brand/customer relationship. The relationship that unites a consumer with a brand is not just the attachment to a logo. If this is the case, it will not last, because fashions and trends change. A relationship is strongest between two people when your customer is not truly attached to your brand but to the person behind the logo.

This is also the role that a company’s mascots or stars take on: the clown of McDonald’s restaurants, the fruits of the Oasis brand or George Clooney for Nespresso. Some charismatic leaders can play this role, like Steve Jobs, once Apple’s true guru. But even more than these artefacts of corporate identity, it is all your communication, the action of your after-sales service, the reception of your point of sale and the extremely important role of Community manager which will allow you to best personify the Brand/Consumer relationship.

When you or your collaborators write with one voice, you give your readers a very personal experience. We will find, through the tone you use, through the experience you share, a certain personality to which we can become attached. This helps create a connection and strengthen the personal relationship needed to increase the brand-consumer dynamic.

To do this, you will need to build content that focuses on your customers’ needs, which will convey values ​​that your customers can identify with. 68% of consumers appreciate brand content because it fits their interests (source).

Content Marketing increases your sales!

The more your target consumers understand and appreciate the benefits your products or services can offer them, the more likely they are to become your customers. 55% of consumers say they would be more likely to purchase another product from a company that produces content for its customers (source).

Last spring I wanted to garden for the first time in my life. Completely new to this, I went to garden stores to pick up the first tools I would need. I discovered that there were all kinds of tools that I didn’t know, some with strange shapes and that I didn’t even imagine what could be done with.

A brand caught my attention. On the product label there was a flashcode that pointed directly to a video explaining the benefits of this tool and how to use it. Subsequently I discovered many tips on how to plant this or that vegetable, how to prepare the soil, etc. I might as well tell you that that day I didn’t go looking for another brand, I had everything a beginner like me could hope for at my fingertips!

Content Marketing improves your image

Once again, content marketing is not an independent appendage of your communication. It must be an element of a whole, this being the whole of your marketing strategy. Imbued with the company culture, its identity, its values, built with transparency, content marketing improves your image and also helps improve a damaged image.

Advertising remains advertising. It reaches as many people as possible, has a huge visibility rate but its message is short and no longer enjoys the favor of consumers who, for the most part, no longer believe its message. Your message can be more understandable and more complete when it is broadcast on your media. Content Marketing ensures a better understanding of your company’s message.

Content Marketing reveals your human side

Just seeing this title must have sent a little shiver down some people’s spines. This is sometimes scary and slows down some business leaders. Appear human? With advantages and above all… defects! However, consumers will prefer to follow an authentic brand rather than one that tries to hide its weaknesses. Consumers ask for heart.

Simply telling consumers “You are our center of attention” isn’t enough to humanize your brand. Opening three social media pages doesn’t make your brand accessible. Too many brands settle for old commercial or marketing messages in the background… In “Social Media”, there is “Social”!

Let’s be clear, your consumers, your customers, know what you do. Do they know who you are? To develop this aspect of your brand, here are some keys:

• The storytell your story, your successes, your failures, …
• Stay humble. Don’t sell products that are better than the competition’s. Sell ​​information, training and inspiration. Don’t sell me a camera. Teach me how to create beautiful Christmas movies. Don’t sell me a camera. Teach me to take good photos. If you just say your brand is great, no one will listen to you, it makes no sense. People who continually overestimate themselves rarely have real friends.
• Be relevant. Mass marketing was the last century. Satisfy the needs of your target.

Content Marketing produces profit internally

I have already talked about it several times on these pages, too often companies neglect the benefits of internal communication. We spend time, energy and money conquering new markets or reaching new customers, but we don’t really get excited about what happens within our walls.

Yet, like it or not, your employees, even the ones you love and fear losing, are always examining their situation compared to what they think it might be like at the store across the street. Content marketing draws attention to the company, increases its stature, boosts employee morale and keeps them motivated.

We think more about the external benefits of Content Marketing and forget all the good it does internally. Don’t hesitate to tell stories about the company’s successes. Finally, a blog and video can make future recruits want to work with you!

First, you establish yourself as a thought leader in the industry. The most ambitious candidates look for companies with the best reputations, and by using content effectively, you can position yourself at the top of the list. Likewise, content will increase your search engine rankings by making your company appear among the very first results of a candidate’s query.

Content Marketing is recyclable

Organize your content strategy intelligently, plan your work correctly and it will cost you less effort. One of the main advantages of Content Marketing is that its benefits don’t stop suddenly.. When it comes to advertising, when you stop the campaign, its benefits also quickly vanish.

The articles and videos you have published continue to be useful and read. Even if they are a little dated, if their content has not become obsolete, search engine queries will continue to bring it back to the forefront and give you visibility.

Finally, if you organize a seminar, a conference, a webinar, collect this content and share it in other forms. A lecture could be filmed and find a second life on your YouTube channel. You could also divide this content into multiple articles and thus feed your blog. The content of this article comes from a webinar!

It would be a shame if the efforts put into delivering an oral presentation were lost once the event was over. Share it with your readers and recycle your content!