What is content marketing?
Content marketing, in English, content marketing, consists of creating and disseminating valuable content to a specific audience with a specific objective.
It is not writing for writing’s sake. Or post for posting. It is about developing thoughtful content that provides value and helps us achieve one or more purposes. To make content that not only helps us to position our brand, but is also the epicenter of all our marketing actions. All of them, in turn, influenced by inbound marketing.
Benefits of content marketing
The main benefits of content marketing are 3: to bring our buyer person, capture their attention and convert them into customers, build loyalty if they already are. In short, content marketing is basically attracting customers.
However, there are many benefits that an effective content plan offers:
- Increase the traffic of your website, sales page or social networks.
- Capturing leads (coupons). One thing leads to another, and of course, good content will make the chances that your buyer person wants to know more about you and fill out the contact form grow like foam.
- More engagement. Good content will encourage your customers or potential customers to comment, like or even share your content.
- Build trust. A brand that generates and shares content causes greater trust since it humanizes it.
- And as a consequence of all the above, a considerable increase in sales. Not only for attracting new customers, but also for the loyalty of old ones. Did you know that it is more profitable to keep a customer than to win a new one? Content marketing is the key to it.
What is the goal of content marketing?
Content marketing is a key piece to be able to carry out an effective digital marketing plan. Since to achieve certain objectives it is vital to offer valuable content to our potential customers. But what kind of goals am I referring to?
In general terms, in content marketing we distinguish four main objectives. These are:
- What better way to provide valuable content than informing our potential client of the issues that most interest them. In the case of a digital marketing agency, for example, we must report on new tools, developments in the sector, etc.
- Let’s not forget that most of the time we invest in RRSS we look for content that allows us to disconnect, have fun and be entertained. And notice, there is no better way to influence consumer purchasing decisions than having a conversation with them in their moment of relaxation and disconnection.
- Generate emotions. As in copywriting, appealing to sensations and emotions is much more effective. In this way, it will be easier for us to empathize with our customers, put ourselves in their shoes, get to know them and better meet their needs. At this point it is very important to work the pain points.
- It is one of the most powerful content in my opinion. And it is so. We all turn to the Internet, YouTube or Social Networks in general when we don’t know how to do something. Video tutorials not only have space on YouTube, they are successful on any platform and generate a lot of traffic.
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How to do content marketing to grow your business
Step 1. Analysis of the situation and market research
First of all, it is very important that you reflect on the current state of your company. And ask yourself a series of questions.
- What marketing actions are you carrying out?
- What results are you getting?
- How is the SEO positioning of your brand in Google?
- What keywords are your customers finding you for?
- What type of content has had a good result?
- What is the bounce rate and dwell time of your sales page?
At this point it is also essential that you observe what your competition is doing. It is not about copying, simply detecting what works for your competitors and based on that you can start generating differentiated content that captures the attention of your niche.
Step 2. Elaboration of the strategy
Now, set yourself some goals and develop the strategy. What do you want to achieve with content marketing? Set short, medium and long term goals. What marketing actions are you going to carry out to achieve them?
At this point, remember everything you can achieve with valuable content, and that we have previously discussed.
Do you want to attract your potential customers to your website and social networks? Offer content that interests your audience with informative posts, tutorials, guides, etc. Do you want to retain your buyer persona? Build loyalty by providing valuable content such as downloadable resources, an e-book, etc. Do you need to retain your customers? Create newsletters, raffles, offers, collaborations… Do you want to convince that you are the best option in that product or service they are looking for? Make known the testimonials and prescribers of your brand, today it is essential to increase the possibility of purchase.
Step 3. Creation of the buyer person
A huge mistake that many companies make is to start generating content without rhyme or reason and spread it on all kinds of channels without knowing who they are targeting. Or failing that, falling into the error of wanting to address everyone. In this way, it is really difficult to obtain good results. Each person has different needs, different concerns and specific pain points. Detect those of your potential client by creating a buyer person.
Step 4. Interests of your audience
We have already discussed it a little above in the previous points, but in this step we are going to place special emphasis on this issue. It is basically essential to offer content according to the needs, interests, concerns, etc. of our buyer person. Well, it’s the best way to get his attention and provoke something in him. That they join your community, that they are interested in your products or services, that they share your content or even that they become a prescriber of your brand.
There are many tools that can make this task easier for us. We recommend Answer the Public or Also Asked. Although you can also get it through KW research (keyword search), in Google Analytics, Google Trends or simply by keeping up to date with the latest news, novelties or curiosities related to your sector.
Another way to do it, and possibly the most valuable, is by asking your audience directly, listening to them and interacting with them. For this, Social Networks are a great ally.
Step 5. Define the language, tone and style
Another big mistake that some brands have is the lack of personality. It is very important that there is coherence in the message, and the essential thing for this is to establish a certain language, tone and style that identifies your brand and the values that revolve around it.
In this way, whoever is the member of your team that carries out the content production, it will always seem that the same person is going to speak, and you will be able to identify yourself quickly.
Step 6. The most important, planning
It is not because in GraciAds we are crazy about the organization. Planning is the basis for carrying out an effective content marketing strategy.
At this point, with all of the above worked, you are going to schedule all the content that you are going to generate and disseminate on the different channels in an editorial calendar, whether on the blog, social networks, email marketing, etc.
It is also very important that you determine where each content is going to be disseminated and why, who is going to be in charge of producing it, which parts of the team are involved in the design, writing, audiovisual production, dissemination in RRSS… It is a great job the one that comes ahead and you have to have everything organized to be able to obtain excellent results.
At this point, I recommend that you establish different categories so that the content you offer is varied and appeals to different actions. Deeper content that appeals to emotions, educational content or tutorials, curiosities, etc.