Customer is the king.
Now we’ve all heard that one! It is pretty self-explanatory too when it comes to retail.
But when we start talking about marketing, there is another adage that we often come across, that says “Content is king”.
Though what does it really mean?
Let us try to explain this through some examples and statistics.
Boden, an apparel brand, was seen posting a picture of Kate Middleton through their official Twitter handle. This instance occurred when the latter was witnessed wearing a top from their line on International Women’s Day. And although this may have seemed like bragging, it was well-earned and simultaneously well-spent on their subsequent promotional activities.
Similarly, Third Love, a lingerie store, opens up its platform to customer’s questions and issues while providing a resolution for them all. This has helped them gain a significant following and an increased sales rate, alongside enhancing their SEO efforts by a great margin.
Statistically as well, it has been noticed that 77% of marketers use email marketing as a leading weapon in their arsenal and have been able to convert about 55% of their leads into loyal customers.
Staggering, right?
Well, then — let’s once and for all answer the question as to what all encompasses content marketing.
Content Marketing is an approach that aims to create and distribute valuable and relevant content in various forms — from written articles to images and videos — with a motive to attract and retain customers.
How Does Content Marketing Make A Difference?
There are numerous reasons that enable a piece of content to be used successfully and optimally. Some of these include the following:
Defines your Brand
A company, although a legal entity, is viewed by its customers as much more than that. For them, it is often an organization that not just provides quality products and services, but also one that shares the same morals, principles, and ideals as them. Frequently, this also comes to define the entire personality of your brand.
In step with this, you need to ensure that the content you’re putting out is in accordance with said ideas as they can be a big factor in making or breaking you. For instance, if a notebook manufacturer says that they support the motion for a greener planet, their image in the eyes of their consumers as well as the potential market changes drastically and can lead to higher sales.
Supports SEO
Search engine optimization or SEO is one of the most important sets of techniques that can help your e-store rank high on the various search engines. And for this very reason, enterprises around the world have been seen upending their wallets and budgets in an attempt to get the best visibility.
However, SEO isn’t as tough as it sounds and there is a guide available online for each CMS platform to help you through it, step-by-step.
Distinguishes you from Competitors
Every industry has a saturation point and with the number of budding businesses coming up every day, it is not long that several of those peaks are hit. In such a case, you would need something to help you stand apart from the competition. But why not start striving for it right now?
By sharing relevant content that is actually helpful to the consumers, both existing and potential, you make a place for yourselves in the psyche of said audiences. Oftentimes, they even begin to relate you with the topic entirely. Moz, for example, is a software and a famous SEO-based blog all rolled into one. And now, every time one hears SEO, Moz is automatically a name that pops up in their heads.
Enhances Engagement Opportunities
The more creative and focused messages you share, the more they create opportunities for your customers to interact with you. It opens up a stage not just for discussion, but also appreciation and feedback which is necessary for any brand’s marketing activities.
It allows you to not just receive a report on how successful your efforts were, but also helps you ascertain what works with the clientele and what doesn’t. That can assist you in narrowing down your ideas accordingly.
Inexpensive
Although no revenue-earning activity can be absolutely free of cost, content marketing does come quite close with its negligible cost as compared to the highly expensive traditional marketing methods. Be it print media or advertisements designed specifically for televisions, they can all cost a bomb, while putting out your specially curated content through your social media channels — well, let’s just say you can do a lot more in a lot less.
This is also one of the top reasons why it is highly preferred by startups today against a slew of conventional marketing approaches.
6 Ways To Empower Your Creative Content Marketing
If content is good, creative content is better. And that’s not just our belief but a widely observed phenomenon. After all, if you’ve got something to say, wouldn’t it be better to express it in a way that grabs you the most attention?
Creativity does that for you.
Be it a quirky headline to an interactive blog, a fun twist to your logo, or a short video clip with a celebrity — these are sure to get you more views than a simple write-up or a boring speech.
#1. Using the Latest Social Trends
Social media is one of the largest platforms for the masses to come together and connect on the various subjects of their likes and dislikes. And there is always something that ends up becoming the hot topic of the day. Now this something could be both a message or a form of sharing it, like memes.
To ensure that your content is being viewed, shared, and engaged with by as many people as possible, you can always use these trends. For instance, creating a funny meme that pushes your brand ahead can be a brilliant way of using social media for your benefit.
#2. Making Way for User-generated Content
User-generated content or UGC can include a slew of options from video clips to reviews to testimonials and about 85% of consumers have reported said material to be more effective than the content shared by the company. This is because oftentimes it is easier for a new customer to trust a brand if they see their fellows having faith in it as well.
Since every enterprise is going to make a claim towards best quality and practices, it is these reviews that can help potential markets in establishing a trustworthy relationship with the organization.
#3. Creating Videos
Video marketing is more a new concept but one that is still trending and giving off-the-chart results with every successful attempt. By making videos that are informational or educational, you don’t just let your audiences know about your product. You also make yourself a household name by sharing information that is both relevant and useful for the customer.
How-to videos are a good example of the same. Simultaneously, funny videos with subtle product placements are also gaining traction with each passing day.
They are easy to share and get your point across quite simply which is a major reason for their popularity.
#4. Ensuring Well-placed Exit Intent Pop-ups
Exit pop-ups, in simple terms, can be referred to as the ever-present option to quit a certain action. Be it your email list or an abandoned shopping cart, an appropriate placement of these buttons can go a long way in helping you hang onto the clientele.
By placing it with your marketing emails, you provide your readers with an easy escape from receiving those messages regularly. On the other hand, however, by putting one up on your shopping cart page, you can ensure an extra push towards a sales conversion, thus reducing the risk of an abandoned cart.
#5. Collaborating with Influencers
Ever since the advent of COVID-19, an exponential rise has been noticed in the number of influencers online. These are not limited to just one industry either but spread over various sectors, from data analysis and psychology to dance and life hacks, and many more.
But choosing the right person to advocate for your product, service, or store is quintessential to the success of a celebrity collaboration. While making a decision in regards to the same, there are multiple things that should be considered, including the demographics, popularity of the influencer with the target audience, similarity in the niche, etc.
#6. Hosting Challenges and Giveaways
Both challenges and giveaways are a great way to get a buzz going around your enterprise, especially among online communities. It does not just bring your name to the forefront of the industry, it can even help you gain higher web traffic generated through the intrigue surrounding your company.
The ice bucket challenge was a hot trend going about a few years back and giveaways by famous e-stores like Amazon are now an everyday occurrence.
Key Examples From The Real World
Admittedly, there are a number of examples that we can share with you when it comes to using the above techniques in the real world. Some famous examples include the following.
REI
An outdoor gear company REI created a YouTube channel that answers over 500 questions in their customer-focused instructional videos. With more than a million subscribers on there, their short films reach millions as well, inspiring people and encouraging them towards an outdoor lifestyle.
Warby Parker
Warby Parker, a store dedicated to spectacles, runs a Warby Parker blog that links specs and the need to wear them with intelligence while also solving a number of unvoiced questions that their users face. This makes them one-of-a-kind in their domain and increases the traffic as well as visibility of their site simultaneously.
Glossier
There are a number of collaborations on YouTube wherein an influencer does their makeup all the while using, reviewing, and promoting a certain brand’s cosmetic products. But Glossier decided to make itself unique by collaborating with common people and consumers instead. This got them popular a lot faster than they had anticipated.
Wrapping Up
In the end, what really matters is to get your content out there and make sure it earns for you. Which strategy or approach will suit you best is for you to decide. But one thing’s for sure — content marketing is here to stay for a long time and we do not foresee it wrapping up any time soon.
About the Author!
Hazel Raoult is a freelance marketing writer and works with PRmention. She has 6+ years of experience in writing about business, entrepreneurship, marketing and all things SaaS. Hazel loves to split her time between writing, editing, and hanging out with her family.
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