Content marketing – definition
Content marketing creates and presents valuable and consistent texts to a selected target group. It aims to create a long-term relationship between the brand and its audience (e.g. showcasing itself as an expert in a specific field).
This strategy involves responding to the needs of people looking for information online. With the right keywords and phrases, they get useful and interesting data. The brand benefits from this by increasing engagement and gaining trust among the audience.
The content presented this way does not always have to focus on selling. Depending on the offer and the target group, educational and even fun content (e.g. in the form of memes) will work equally well.
Unlike copywriting, the goal here is not to trigger immediate action (e.g. purchase, registration, newsletter subscription) but to create brand awareness, which, together with a good product, increases sales in the long run.
Content writing emphasizes not a one-time purchase but a long-term relationship. Its goal is to acquire a returning customer and, in the perfect case scenario, a brand advocate who, on their own initiative, promotes it through word-of-mouth marketing.
Content writing means creating text that is useful for the client.
Both individual and business customers are more willing to buy from companies that successfully promote themselves as experts in their field.
Regular blogging about industry news and writing professional advice can increase the number of leads – potential customers interested in the company offer – by almost 70%.
However, this content must be adjusted to users, informative, factually correct and unique, written based on solid research on the target group and directly responding to their problems, i.e. pain points.
Content marketing sows a seed of brand awareness in the recipients’ minds. It then sprouts when they make a purchase decision, resulting in greater profits. About 80% of consumers look for information online before making a purchase. Valuable, easy-to-find content can give them useful information about the product they seek and influence their purchasing decision.
Content marketing – examples
The article you are reading right now is an example of content marketing. We created it to show that we know our stuff and can write the same content for your brand, directing it to the interested target group selected in the research.
The content marketing strategy assumes using various content and communication channels to reach the target group. Content marketing includes:
- blogs,
- guides,
- expert articles,
- social media profiles,
- infographics,
- case studies,
- podcasts,
- vlogs,
- webinars, etc.
B2C and B2B content writing – differences
The essential difference between creating content for individual and business audiences lies in the message. In B2C, it appeals to emotions because consumers often buy compulsively based on how they perceive a brand or what the current fashion dictates.
In the case of B2B, it is much more complicated; decision-makers rely on cold facts and data rather than on the spur of the moment. If a company can provide reliable data about the product and clearly demonstrate the benefits of the purchase, it has a much greater chance of success.
B2C also focuses more on storytelling and creating an emotional bond between the brand and its audience. B2B content writing, in turn, must focus on showcasing the product as professional and proving that it delivers on its promises, e.g. through case studies.
SEO is not enough
Google is the most popular search engine in the world, chosen daily by over 90% of internet users. It constantly crawls and analyzes websites for how valuable their content is. Keyword stuffing is no longer enough to make the content appear high in search results.
The texts must be helpful, full of reliable information, written correctly in terms of language, and, lastly, unique. Yes, Google robots can check these text features, and poorly written or copied content is “rewarded” by being placed far from the first page of results.
For positioning purposes, blog posts, articles, and similar content should also have support in the form of backlinks with the dofollow tracking attribute, coming from websites with a domain authority higher than that of the website where the texts are posted.
Often, even the best content with well-researched keywords will not rank on the first page of search results, especially when the competition is high. Backlinks from good sites will then be decisive for the effect.
Content marketing does not end when texts are written and published for the target group in the selected communication channel. Texts must be constantly monitored for results and optimized to deliver results.
Reaching for previously published content and rewriting it to adapt it to the ever-changing recipients’ expectations is also a good idea. Reusing previously created content, e.g. blog articles, saves time because all you have to do is update it.
Rules for creating valuable content:
- Write for your potential customers as if you were talking to them. Try to make your text a conversation with the audience, and think of answers to questions they might ask. To know what those questions are, remember to do a thorough research.
- Use plain language. It is a standard of text organization that allows ordinary people to grasp the content quickly. Avoid overcomplicating and drop industry jargon. Abandon linguistic ornaments that are useless from the recipient’s point of view.
All these elements are barriers standing between your message and its recipients.
- Write content in line with the previously established brand guidelines, especially its voice and tone. Communication must be coherent and consistent, and the vocabulary standardized.
- Remember the basics of SEO. Research your keywords and keyphrases, include them in your title, headlines and content, but avoid keyword stuffing. Remember to include keywords in your photos’ alt texts and build internal links between the content on your website.
Summary
Content marketing is more than just persuading the audience to buy your product. It is a strategy intended to provide the audience with valuable content, build the company’s image and create trust. The goal of those activities is a long-term relationship with the target group.
The money you spend on professional content tailored to the audience, selected communication channels and written in line with the brand strategy is an investment that is guaranteed to bring you profits.
