By Karen Evans
Content marketing isn’t about your brand or your product. It is there to build trust and connection with your customers. It is there to show them that you care about their interests and create loyalty. Publishing high-quality content will do wonders for your business, and you should give it a try. Here is why.
Trust and Loyalty
Trust and loyalty go hand in hand. You can’t expect a customer to remain loyal to your brand if they don’t trust it. If you are giving information regarding topics of interest to your customers, you will build a better connection with them than a business that doesn’t.
For example, let’s say that you specialize in high-quality meat. First, ask yourself what information your customers would want to know. What are they likely to search on Google, and what answers can you provide them with? You could write recipes for steaks, methods to make meat more tender, or how to prepare different cuts of veal.
When you write about such topics, you will show your customers that you care about their interests and your line of business. Once a customer comes to the site / store, that connection will then turn into revenue. If they have an option to buy a similar product, they will be more likely to buy yours over the products from other brands with which they have never interacted.
Credibility and Authority
Another thing that will bring you new customers is to show that you are a more credible option than your competitors. If you publish content that teaches others the tricks and secrets of the trade, you will prove that you are the authority on that market.
If you teach both your customers and newcomers to the industry how you do your job, you will display two things: you know what you are doing and you are good enough at your job not to be afraid of more competitors. New competitors will come to the market anyway, and they will also learn how to run their business; but if you teach them the ropes, your customers will view you as the undisputed leader of the market.
SEO and Social Media
Content marketing is an important tool in boosting your SEO and social media presence. Increasing your business’ social media presence and search engine rank will drive more potential customers to your website and keep you in contact with your existing customers.
When you first start publishing content, it will be connected to your business. Now your website will mention some keywords more often, which makes it easier for search engines to recognize your content. In turn, it will rank your website higher in searches when people search it for those keywords.
When it comes to social media presence, one of the most important factors is shareability of your content. If you are only relying on traditional marketing, your content won’t be as shareable. Just think about what you would share on your personal profile.
Let’s imagine that you are a gamer and most of your friends are gamers as well. You are browsing, and you find an advertisement for gaming pro keyboards at a 30% discount. If you already have a keyboard, it is unlikely you will click the link. However, if you run into an article about how to recognize a good gaming keyboard, you may be interested, or feel compelled to share the link with your friends. This way, the website that published the article will retain you and get a few more people to check out what they have to offer.
Final Thoughts
Don’t underestimate your customers and try to buy or keep them with cheap tricks. They will notice if your content is shabby. Remember: content marketing is about building trust and relationship with your customers.
Content marketing will require patience and real effort, but it will pay off in the end. Always strive for high quality content. Although some say that bad publicity is still publicity, low-quality content does not follow the same principle and will drive your customers away.
