Your business needs stellar content to succeed.
You may pride yourself on great prices, quality customer service, amazing employees, and a commitment to excellence, but you must ask yourself — how will people know about all of these wonderful things your brand stands for?
Word-of-mouth conversations can help, but these conversations can only do so much. The content your company develops will allow your brand to be on people’s minds at every part of the day and on many different platforms. Content is the modern business solution that your modern business needs to continue to be successful.
Let’s explore some of your potential business needs and identify how quality content can help you fulfill those needs:
Content helps you build trust
Nobody knows your products and services as well as you do. Likewise, nobody has as much of a vested interest in your company’s success as you do. But just because you are an expert on your products and services, don’t expect consumers will automatically trust what you have to say.
About one in three consumers trust the brands they buy from, so your products and services can help in some ways to build trust. However, perhaps the most effective way to use content to build trust happens when brands allow others to develop content for them—including consumers, influencers, and micro-influencers.
28 percent of consumers say they learn about brands through influencers. Gen Z consumers are the most likely group to learn about brands and products through influencers. On the other hand, baby boomers are less likely to learn about your brand through influencer content. Consider your target audience before you develop an influencer content strategy.
Content builds brand recognition
Content raises the profile of your brand. A more recognizable brand can increase the likelihood a consumer will think about you when making a purchasing decision.
In many instances, it is unlikely that an individual will search for your brand — but if you push content through targeted ads, search results, and other personalized efforts, consumers will start to associate your brand with the items and services they are thinking about and searching for.
If you develop content — including content for personal branding — that amuses, inspires, or intrigues the audience you are trying to reach. They are more likely to engage with it. This can lead to direct or residual brand recognition.
Content makes your brand stand out
More than two-thirds of all web experiences begin with a search engine. So make sure your content is search engine friendly. For example, if you are a B2B marketer and are developing SMB content, keep in mind that searchable and findable content is likely going to yield more attention than anything else you can do.
In fact, three out of five B2B marketers say their organic and SEO marketing efforts generate more web traffic than any other marketing activity. Another benefit is that good SEO doesn’t require any ad spend so it can be more cost-effective.
Content invigorates your customers
When the Boston Red Soz hired CTP Boston to promote an upcoming season, the agency knew its main task was to reignite the fans’ passion for the team. The agency knew that using content marketing for brand awareness could inspire fans in ways that even a new superstar might not.
The company created the “More” campaign with the purpose of developing content to help the team’s existing fans connect with the idea that in Boston, baseball is “more” than just a game.
The agency created content that gave fans a more intimate look at the players to try and build a connection to the team and the organization as a whole. Within the first two weeks of the “Opening Day” spot airing, the video was viewed more than one million times.
Content educates your customers
Even if you have a great product or service, you still need to educate your customers about its benefits. It can be as simple as a blog — but it also can come in the form of a tutorial video.
For example, here’s a video from Ikea that walks the customer step-by-step on how to assemble a bed frame. The purpose of educating your customers isn’t really to get them to buy something right now.
You’ve probably already bought the product if you are looking up how to assemble this specific bed frame. But this level of customer care can help improve retention and repeat purchases.
Content establishes you as an authority on a topic
High-quality content helps establish your business as an authority on a specific subject or in a particular niche. But your content needs to be really good. You also must develop the content in a clear and understandable way.
For example, if you are creating content for a clothing brand, the content should show that your brand understands fashion, retail sales, how to care for the clothing, and best practices for producing stylish clothing. When you develop content, it is OK if you don’t know everything. You can link and refer to other sources that support your claims.
Content helps you generate leads
If you are involved in SMB content marketing you already know how quality content can directly lead to more leads and more sales for your business. Content promotion and distribution are really important here.
Share your content across social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Google, and YouTube. Consider publishing content in different formats – both video and audio.
With most of these platforms, you can include calls to action. In some instances, the calls to action are built-in parts of an ad unit. In a very real way, these pieces of content can directly lead to new opportunities for your brand to better connect you to existing and potential customers.
Takeaways
Content not only helps you promote your brand — it actually helps you build your brand. If you are seeking opportunities to generate leads, build brand recognition, educate consumers, build trust, and invigorate consumers, content can help you do all of these things and more. If you need help developing the content you’ve always dreamed of, let us help.
