Nearly every business knows they need to do some form of marketing if they want growth. I’ve always said that word-of-mouth is the best form of marketing. Of course, then when someone hears about your business, to check it out further they’re gonna Google you.
- Do your product or service well so people hear about you.
- Make sure your online presence matches what they’ve heard when they Google you.
You may also have some social media going, perhaps a printed brochure or business card, but then what? There seems to be a conundrum of which is better; SEO stuff to get your website to rank higher in search results, social media stuff to get your audience spreading you around, and then there’s content marketing.
You already know that this is what I do, so the assumption would be that of course I would say content marketing is the best. The thing is, that I hold value in all of them and there is a right time or cause for each one. But content marketing is a source for both SEO and social media.
Content marketing is the new brochure – a tactic.
Content marketing is a device companies use to educate, inform, or entertain customers or prospects by creating attention or causing behaviour that results in leads, sales, or advocacy.
Goals of content marketing: consumption then behaviour. Trust through knowledge.
Social media is the new telephone – a channel.
Customers and prospects use social media to communicate among themselves and occasionally with companies. This communication can result in leads, sales, or advocacy but is often less structured and conversational. It can be reactive too, as social media is increasingly used as a customer support channel.
Goals of social media marketing: participation then behaviour. Trust through interaction.
The ultimate goal.
So, either way, you’re trying to get your audience to behave in a certain way; phone you, email you, sign up or make a purchase. That’s the ultimate goal.
The reason why I so firmly believe that content marketing is the answer is because social media needs content – so without creating content, where are you going to get it from? Another nice side effect is that by using keywords in the content being created, you’re also ticking the SEO side of things (helping, not completely sorting it).
Content marketing is a long game for it to start taking effect. But I must say, we and our clients enjoy the immediate effects of content marketing. When we interview to get the good stuff out of our clients, it reinspires them in their business. When we interview their team or clients, it’s feedback that they’re doing well. Interviewing brings the good feels.
Then, when the content is published (usually in a newsletter), the business will receive compliments and feedback. It encourages more interaction with their clients. It’s also fun to see which article had the most clicks – discovering what their audience is interested in.
It goes on from there – higher website traffic, content to post on your socials (which also drives website traffic), moving your way up Google’s search results, adding strength to your brand and your business as the right choice for your customers.
For me, it’s an easy decision. If you want to talk about how content marketing can be done for your product or service, give me a call or an email and let’s talk it through.