According to the numbers from multiple surveys, content marketing does make sense.
A few years ago, I read a book called Content Inc. by Joe Pulizzi. This book opened my eyes to the power of content. Create what your customers want, and they will reward your business.
I highly recommend this book [Content Inc. by Joe Pulizzi] for anyone who wants to learn content marketing basics. –Wendy Danko
Below are a few figures that the book, Content Inc., points out.
On page 15, under “Content acceptance,” these figures are stated:
61% of customers feel better about a company that provides custom content and would likely buy from that company.
50% of customers spent time on lone looking for content.
70% of customers like to read about a company online before making a purchase.
90% of customers like and value custom content.
78% of customers believe companies that provide custom content want to build relationships.
The copyright for Content Inc. by Joe Pulizzi is 2015. Meaning the figures stated above are considered outdated. You get the picture; content marketing is working and will continue to work now and into the future.
Authenticity Counts
Another article, in Social Media Today, mentioned authenticity and how you can not fake trustworthiness. In content marketing, through the information you provide, you need to be authentic to build integrity.
The survey in the article from Social Media Today said:
86% of people want authenticity from the brands they support with their purchases.
57% of people who took this survey believed less than half of the content created today is authentic.
20% of people did unfollow a brand for displaying inauthentic content.
60% of people like user-generated content in social media and see it as being more authentic.
60% said user content from friends and family influenced their buying decision
As you can see from two different surveys, the numbers for good, honest, and authentic content are excellent. Make sure your content is good, reliable, and genuine.
Pop Quiz Answers with Explanation.
What is content marketing?
If you answered “All of the above” to question number one, you are correct.
Content marketing can build all three, brand, audience, and business. When people arrive at your website, finding what they are looking for, they will consider your company a leader in the industry, and that will also build trust from the consumer.
The simple act of providing accurate and in-depth content will build your brand, audience, and business. When you are providing content that is high-quality, superior to your competitors, you win.
Although I said simple, there is nothing simple about researching material for your content. It is time-consuming, and you might need to pay a content writer to give it that oomph the article may need to stay interesting.
What percent of consumers like custom content?
If you answered 90%, you have the correct answer. 90% of your customers like and read custom content. That is a large percentage of people. This meaning you must satisfy your customers by providing the high-quality content they want to read. When you provide that content, you will also be building your brand, audience, and business.
Content marketing costs less than traditional marketing?
Since you will be investing your resources, time, and money, your cost will be upfront initially. After that content has been online on your website, it will continue to work for your bottom line. Unlike running an ad, on or offline, where you pay to run the ad, then it stops, and you pay again to rerun it. Online content stays on your website and keeps working for you all the time.
If you find your content is not working for you, then you update it and keep trying. Every time you make a significant update to your articles, search engines look at it as new content giving you more credibility in search engines.
When you combine content marketing with traditional marketing, you create a balance that will bring in the leads you need to grow your business.
The research is starting to show most businesses are creating a higher budget for content marketing. According to DemandMetric, “78% of CMOs believe content is the future of marketing.”
Can you reuse content?
If you answered yes to this question, you are right—repurposing content with different media will help you create something new. For example, write that research paper then convert it to a slide presentation or quiz, like at the top of this article. Reuse the information you found in different formats depending on when you will be posting it. Article, blog, slide show, quiz, among other options, people are interested in all content forms. People take in information on all different levels. What works for one person may not be right for the next person. So, explore your options and get creative reusing your content.
or
Fill out the form in the exit pop-up.
About the Author
Wendy Danko is an SEO Consultant and Web Designer at WenKo LLC. A design background has its perks, especially regarding SEO and website design. Wendy is determined to help all her clients understand and improve their SEO and website design. As a result, her clients have uncovered new leads to grow their client base with website improvements.