Content marketing is a term that you’ve probably heard before. Over the past year and a half or so it has become something of a buzzword among the digital marketing community. And for good reason.
Content marketing is exactly what it sounds like – giving customers content that they want to consume. It comes in many forms, but at its core, it’s all about giving. It’s about providing valuable information to your current and future prospects entirely for free. Why would you do such a thing? We’ll get to that in a moment.
First, here are some examples of content marketing:
- Blogging
- Social networking
- Email marketing
- White papers
- Free guides or e-books
When you get down to it, content marketing is really just another form of inbound marketing. Instead of forcing your way into your customers’ attention spans, you’re giving them an incentive to find their way into yours. Does that make sense? If it doesn’t, don’t worry. It can be a tricky concept to grasp. Just keep reading below for some examples of what content marketing in Omaha SEO can do for your business.
Content Marketing Positions You as an Authority
Let’s say that Sally just moved to Omaha and is looking for a new dentist. She does a quick Google search for dentistry practices in her area. Unsurprisingly, there are several to choose from. But, one dentist has set up a blog. The tone of their blog is friendly and informative. Their blog posts provide valuable oral hygiene advice and shed light on some of the most common oral hygiene-related problems. They might even give away a free guide with a daily oral hygiene checklist to maintain healthy teeth, or something like that. Now, which dentist do you think Sally is going to contact first? Obviously, the one providing free quality content. Without ever having so much as spoken to a receptionist, she already trusts this dentist more than any of the others in her area. That’s content marketing at work.
Content Marketing Lodges You in the Customer’s Mind
To continue our previous example, let’s say that Sally is a procrastinator. Even after picking out a dentist, she won’t call to set up an appointment for at least a month. Maybe three months. Maybe even six. Over this time, She DOES remember the daily checklist from that free guide. In fact, she uses it every day. And because she remembers the content of that free guide, she also remembers the content provider, aka. the content marketing dentist. In other words, even after six months of procrastination, Sally still remembers the generous dentist that gave her all those helpful tips. Consequently, that dentist will be getting her business.
Content Marketing Keeps You in Touch with Customers
Continuing our same example, let’s say that Sally was thankful enough to “Like” the content marketing dentist’s Facebook page. Now, every time the dentist posts an update it will show up on Sally’s Facebook feed. What does this do? Well, Sally probably won’t respond to every single update, but an occasional blog post or funny comment will catch her attention. And catching any of her attention at all is a lot more than any dentist could hope for from an ad in the YellowPages, local newspaper, or even TV.
Content Marketing Establishes a Mutually Beneficial Relationship
This is really what content marketing is all about. It allows you to build a mutually beneficial relationship without ever doing business, knowing that the relationship will allow for business further down the road. Call it information marketing, free marketing, permission marketing… Whatever! The end result is the same. You give the customer something valuable for free, and in turn, they give you respect and, eventually, their business.
The example outlined in this particular blog post may not be perfect, but hopefully, it allowed you to see what a well-run content marketing campaign can do for your business. Unfortunately, most business owners don’t have time to learn the ins and outs of effective content marketing. Fortunately, when you hire a practiced Omaha SEO team like the efficient one we have here at Big Red SEO, you don’t have to.
Need quality content marketing? Contact Big Red SEO today. We’ll be happy to discuss your needs, develop or enhance your website and help launch a quality marketing content campaign!