Consumers are no longer satisfied with simple advertising tactics; they now crave engaging, “out-of-the-box” online content.
To keep up with this, brands across various industries are turning to content marketing to beef up their digital presence. But what exactly is content marketing, and does your brand really need it?
In this blog post, we’ll explore everything about content marketing and help you understand why your business needs a content strategy.
What is content marketing?
Content marketing involves creating and sharing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract potential customers and keep existing ones engaged.
This includes everything from blogs, articles, and ebooks to videos, podcasts, and social media updates.
However, you must know that content marketing isn’t just about creating content for content’s sake. Everything you put out must serve a purpose.
If you want to increase your brand awareness, focus on what highlights your brand story and values.
If you want to boost sales, create detailed product guides or case studies that highlight your product’s benefits and real-world applications.
When content marketing is done right, it resonates with your audience, positions your business as an authority in your niche, and drives profitable customer action.
Signs your business needs content marketing
If you’re not sure whether your business content marketing, let these five signs guide you:
#1: Lack of exposure
If your business is struggling to gain visibility, then you need content marketing.
Publishing content that is specific to your audience can dramatically increase your online presence.
By online presence, I mean being in the right places where the right people will see and interact with your business.
#2: Poor SEO rankings
There’s nothing search engines love more than original, relevant content that caters to the queries of searchers.
If your website isn’t ranking well on search engine result pages (SERPs), it might be due to a lack of quality content or other technical SEO issues.
Regularly publishing well-researched and keyword-optimized content can improve your SEO rankings and drive organic traffic to your site.
See also: AI content and SEO
#3: Low conversions
Yes, you have a great product and even offer great services. No, it doesn’t guarantee exposure and sales.
If your business struggles to convert visitors into loyal, paying customers, then you need a fresh content marketing strategy.
Producing content that empathizes, educates, informs, and guides potential customers will significantly improve your conversion rates.
#4: New to the market
Establishing yourself in a specific niche where several other businesses are leading the market can be challenging for a new business.
However, with content marketing, you can create awareness and build your business credibility from the ground up.
Consistently deliver valuable content, and you’ll quickly carve out a niche and organically grow your audience.
#5: New product release
If you’re launching a new product, content marketing can generate the buzz and anticipation you need to make a good sale.
Through blog posts, social media teasers, and behind-the-scenes videos, you can create a narrative around your product that captivates your audience and drives interest.
Business content marketing examples
In my years of experience in digital marketing, I’ve encountered numerous examples of businesses that have mastered the art of content marketing. Let me share some of my favorite standout cases.
Coca-Cola’s “Share a Coke” campaign
In marketing history, only a few campaigns have ever stirred the same level of interest, controversy, and excitement as Coca-Cola’s “Share a Coke” campaign.
In 2011, one of Coke’s goals was to connect with young adults and make its brand more relatable.
So, they came up with a strategy: replace the brand name with the names of users and market it.
But they didn’t stop there.
They went on to encourage customers to share photos of their personalized Coke bottles on social media using a branded hashtag (#ShareACoke). I remember my friends and I excitedly posting our personalized bottles.
Of course, the campaign was a huge success. They were able to boost sales and re-establish the Coca-Cola brand as the best in class.
Through this campaign, Coca-Cola showed the potency of seeing the world from the customer’s perspective, proving that marketing is not just about selling products but about connecting stories.
Spotify’s Wrapped Playlists
Spotify Wrapped is one of Spotify’s most successful content marketing campaigns. In fact, it has grown from a marketing campaign to a yearly tradition.
Every year, Spotify wraps up your top five most played artists, songs, and genres in a fun, colorful package. It then creates a playlist of your “100 most streamed songs” of the year that you can share with your friends on social media.
This strategy serves two important purposes. First, it promotes Spotify organically through user-generated content. Second, it encourages massive user interaction and engagement.
So, by creating visually appealing and personalized content that users are excited to share, Spotify turns its users into brand ambassadors.
Amazon Prime’s The Anime Club
Amazon Prime’s The Anime Club is an intelligent campaign targeted at anime fans, offering content that truly resonates with their passions.
They partnered with an actress and content creator, Cheyenne The Geek, to create a fun web series called The Anime Club.
The club recommends anime based on different genres and explores different topics referenced in anime, encouraging members to turn to the streaming service.
By chatting about popular anime series and themes, Amazon Prime connects with an enthusiastic community, making its subscription even more attractive.
Canva Design School
The Canva Design School is a perfect illustration of how you can use educational content as a marketing tool.
By providing free, top-notch tutorials on graphic design, Canva not only draws in potential users but also equips them with the skills they need to master the platform.
This strategy positions Canva as a certified and user-approved player in the design industry, nudging users toward upgrading to advanced features or premium versions.
Benefits of content marketing for your brand
No matter what industry your brand is in, content marketing is an effective way to strengthen your marketing efforts. Let me share some key benefits I’ve witnessed in my journey:
Increased brand awareness
A well-placed article or compelling video can push your brand to a broader audience and increase its awareness.
When I consistently put out valuable content, I noticed more people engaging with my content.
Over time, my brand became synonymous with the value I was providing, making it top-of-mind for potential customers.
Enhanced customer trust and loyalty
Clarence Francis once said, “You cannot buy loyalty; you cannot buy the devotion of hearts, minds, and souls. You have to earn these things.” And I agree.
Through content marketing, I’ve been able to earn and build the trust of my audience by providing them with useful and honest information.
By providing valuable information and insights, your audience identifies you as the purveyor of valuable information. This trust often translates into loyalty, as they’ll keep coming back for more.
Higher conversion rates
One of the biggest challenges in business is converting leads into customers.
However, creating educational content that addresses potential customers’ questions and concerns increases their likelihood of converting.
Cost-effective marketing strategy
For many companies, especially small businesses, marketing budgets can be tight.
However, unlike traditional advertising, which drains resources, content marketing offers a better ROI.
Once you’ve created meaningful content, it continues to attract traffic and generate leads long after it is published. This makes content creation a sustainable and affordable marketing approach.
Better SEO performance
Search engines like Google favor websites that regularly update their content with high-quality, relevant information with high rankings on SERPs.
Focusing on SEO-optimized content will improve your site’s performance and significantly increase organic traffic.
This means more people will organically find your business through search result pages, leading to more potential customers.
How to get started with content marketing
Here are 8 steps you can take to get started with content marketing:
- Know your audience: Before you begin your content marketing journey, understand your ideal customer or audience. Conduct market research to learn about their needs, preferences, and pain points. This information will guide you in creating content that resonates with them.
- Define your goals: Determine what you want to achieve with your content marketing efforts. Whether it’s brand awareness, lead generation, or customer retention, having clear goals will guide your strategy.
- Choose a content type: You can create different content formats, including blog posts, videos, infographics, and physical magazines. Do your research and choose what best fits your content needs and audience.
- Research relevant topics: Conduct competitor research to see what interests your target audience. Use keyword research to narrow down your ideas to relevant user concerns and search queries. This can help establish your brand as a thought leader in your industry and build trust with your audience.
- Create a content plan: Develop a content calendar outlining what type of content to create, when to publish it, and on which platforms.
- Focus on quality over quantity: It’s better to publish fewer pieces of high-quality content than to churn out mediocre posts. Ensure your content is well-researched, engaging, and provides real value.
- Promote your content: Content marketing doesn’t end with publishing. Use social media, email newsletters, and other channels to promote your content and reach a wider audience aggressively.
- Measure and adjust: Use analytics tools to track the performance of your content. Understand what works and what doesn’t, and adjust your strategy accordingly.
How RoninPoint helps businesses with content marketing
At RoninPoint, we handle everything from content creation to SEO optimization. Our team of writers, editors, and content strategies will work closely with you to:
- Edit and refine your old content to spark a resurgence on search engines.
- Develop the best strategy that aligns with your business goals and ensures your content resonates with your audience.
- Produce compelling blog posts, articles, and social media content that attract visitors and keep them coming back for more.
- More importantly, tell your story in a voice that is uniquely YOU.
If your business needs help with content marketing, send us a quick email to get started right away.
Who wrote this?
Joanna is a versatile content writer with a knack for creating helpful content that resonates with others. When she’s not typing away, she finds solace in quiet moments, music, and cinematography videos. She believes she has an untapped well of creativity inside her and she’s willing to dig deep to fetch it out.
