is a phrase that fairly affirms the relevance of
content marketing in today’s convoluted digital marketing landscape.
When it comes to generating leads, content marketing might not be the first strategy that comes to the mind of the average marketer. However, the effectiveness of content marketing has left no room for doubt, that it does indeed form the crux of marketing. Be it SEO or social media, email or landing pages, no digital marketing channel for lead generation is complete without content. Hence, the significance of content marketing.
Unfortunately, many marketers find it difficult to distinguish between content that doesn’t work and content that creates the right impact when it comes to generating leads. If you are a content marketing novice looking to generate more leads or an expert looking to brush up his/her skills with the most up-to-date information, you are in the right place. We have compiled an ultimate guide to educate you on how to use content marketing for lead generation purposes.
Free Template: Content Editorial Calendar 2019 ( Download now )
Content marketing has been around far longer than the internet itself. Content marketing is all about telling stories, something we humans have been doing since time immemorial.
Content Marketing Institute defines content marketing as:
“The strategic marketing approach of creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and acquire a clearly defined audience – with the objective of driving profitable customer actions.”
When it comes to digital marketing, regardless of the channel, content forms its core.
Just think about it, without content, SEO has nothing to optimize for the search engines. Without content, you cannot promote anything on social media.
Every link mentioned by a marketer points out to a piece of content. Every email, every landing page, every description, and every tweet – these are all examples of content.
As Ian Lurie of Portent, Inc states, ”Content is anything that communicates a message to the audience. Anything.”
Content is at the heart of everything a marketer does. And content marketing is the use of digital content to reach the goals of an organization.
So, be it acquiring new customers or generating quality leads, content marketing is at the nucleus of it all.
Most businesses hesitate to allocate resources to content marketing. Not because they are reluctant to do so, but because they do not entirely understand or realize the benefits of content marketing.
When you create content, you give your audience something to discuss or debate. And, when they talk about you, they’re indirectly informing everyone around them about your existence.
Receiving recommendations about the quality of your content (and your business) to create brand awareness is the golden egg of marketing.
When you create content, you bridge the gap between potential customers and your brand. The closer you get to them, the better your chances are of making a sale. This is accurate even if your content doesn’t mention your products/services.
Content marketing is the foundation upon which an entire marketing campaign rests. When creating content, you need to coordinate with each team to understand and represent their perspectives better.
You can work with the design team to develop artistically mind-blowing illustrations. You can coordinate with the social media marketing team to understand the latest trends. For content marketing to succeed, everyone needs to work together!
Traffic is the most apparent benefit of content marketing. When you create great content, you get more people to visit your site. As you generate more traffic, people become aware of your company and its product/service.
Great content adds editorial links, which you can use to inform the search engines of your importance. Once the search engine analyzes your authority, it helps you crawl your content, further improving your rank. And with it, visibility of your brand to your target audience!
Personalized product descriptions that focus on convincing people about the uniqueness of your product/service works well, especially when you are looking to generate more leads. When convinced, they usually do become paying customers.
The model of the traditional marketing funnel revolves around the idea that your pool of potential customers grow smaller as they move towards their first transaction with your business.
There are a great many people at the top of the funnel who are aware of your business. They are willing to buy your product/service. As they move further along the funnel, the number of people willing to pay for the product/service decreases. The bottom of the funnel is smaller because only a few folks end up buying what you have to offer.
The mission of every marketer is to make sure their funnel is robust enough to ensure a higher number of conversions.
Now, here is the cool thing about content marketing. Despite a common myth that content marketing is a top-of-the-funnel strategy, you can use content to reach out to more people at any stage of the funnel.
According to marketing gurus, content increases interaction and widens the neck of the funnel. This ensures that more people move towards conversion. Since content marketing is all about effective communication, you can tailor the message your company delivers according to your audience.
Content marketers use different forms of content for the various stages in a marketing funnel.
Blog posts, webinars, long-form articles, comprehensive guides, videos, and email newsletters
Case studies, how-to articles, demos, and product descriptions
Testimonials, reviews, and a streamlined sales process
Email outreach, documentation, and special offers streamlined sales
process
Each stage requires a unique approach to the content you share. Using the right form of content marketing at the right stage will make the task of prospecting a smoother, more effective process.
However, look at some of the most exceptional content that was generated in 2018. They were all super promotional.
So, where does that put you as a content marketer in 2019?
Well, here are some content marketing strategies that you need to keep in mind for 2019.
Content is (and will be) the most effective channel of brand promotion. However, in 2019, the material that is to be produced should be more than just a mere promotional tool. It should reflect your brand’s voice. It should clearly state your company’s mission and how much you value your audience.
94% of consumers stay loyal to a brand that values their preferences and maintains transparency.
Align the message of your content with the mission of the company by using your content marketing initiatives. Design your content to help your target audience achieve their goals. Provide unique solutions to their problems using different pieces of content.
In short, create transparent and valuable content to gain popularity in 2019 and beyond.
According to Jeff Bullas, content personalization enables brands to stand out from their competitors and boosts engagement levels. 2019 is all about differentiating your brand from your competitors, and content is the best way to do so.
When stating examples in your articles, draw references from your own experiences. Address your audience directly. This will help your content stay relevant to everyone.
Articles that are over 1,000 words appeal to brand loyalists. It is a straightforward equation – the more interested your audiences are in your product, the more they would want to learn about it. Also, search engines tend to identify long-form content as more valuable.
However, instead of writing long-form content aimlessly, opt for topic clusters. Pick one topic and craft several long pieces around it. Content clusters not only appeal to the need for search engines but also ensure that your customers get everything they are looking for, all in one place.
Videos are the new “it” in content marketing.
Video is highly engaging and is preferred by all, regardless of the industry. With the inclusion of more videos in your content will increase its relevance. This ubiquitous trend is a must to make your content stand out in 2019.
If you like sticking to good old “how-to” lists, it is time you reconsider your tactics. These work well; however, if you want to connect with your audience, you need to tell them a story. It can be your story, drawn directly from your experiences, or it can be a motivational quip borrowed from someone else.
The idea is to humanize your brand, making it easier for your audience to connect with you. You can also include the testimonials of your customers when sharing product descriptions. These simple yet effective strategies allow your potential customers to relate better to your brand.
Content marketing aligns with your company’s goals and targets. It lays the groundwork for digital marketing.
To learn how to generate leads by leveraging content marketing through various channels, keep reading…
These are just WordPress users. If you count all the blog posts, well, those numbers will undoubtedly be higher. With fierce competition such as this, you might face a hard time getting noticed and generating leads.
However, there is always a work-around.
To rank on the first page of Google’s search results, you need to invest in SEO. And, SEO is nothing without content.
