In marketing, content is everything and content marketing is an important marketing tool that when employed effectively, beats almost any other form of advertising. Any marketing strategy you cook up is only as good as the content you provide. Just having a good looking website is not enough. And neither is spending hours on social media. The only thing that will attract prospects is your content and you want to make it compelling and informative.
There are a number of different ways through which you can share content with your customers, prospects, and website visitors. I’m going to focus on the 2 most popular ones, but there are many others.
Blogging – Content marketing that relies on written information
Hosting a blog is a great way to share content and most businesses host a blog of their own websites. It is one of the most important content marketing tactic you can employ. Some have blogs to give information about their products or explain how their product works, others provide informative content related to their product and or service. However, the most important reason to have a blog is that it provides fresh content on your site and if your content is informative, then it will attract the people you want to sell to.
Blogging is a marketing maximizer.
A blog provides you with an indirect way to advertise your product and service. For example, let’s say you manufacture solar panels. Now, if you just keep repeating, “Buy solar panels, buy solar panels,” obviously people will not buy them. Instead, you can post a blog explaining how electricity bills are emptying their pockets, or you could elaborate further on the benefits of solar energy, etc.
Create content that connects with those you want to sell to.
By creating content that piques your prospect’s interest, it allows you to prime them for your offer and additionally this will get them thinking about how your product or service solves a need. And then when you advertise your solar panels it increases the likelihood of a transaction taking place. It’s a smarter way connecting with prospects and informing them about products and services.
Also, hosting a blog is pretty easy. Platforms like Blogger, WordPress, Joomla, and Squarespace make it easy and some of them are free.
And if you’re looking for more exposure, you can even try your hand at guest blogging. Guest blogging is when you write content that is published on another blog. If readers like your content, they’ll always come looking for you. It is a way to connect with a group of prospects who may not immediately know about your services and it guarantees free traffic to your website.
Now let us talk about “Vlogging”
Vlogging – Content marketing that relies on video
Word sell, but videos sell faster. A vlog is a content in the form of video and another form of content marketing. But just making a video about anything won’t do. Just like in blogging, you need to define a purpose for it and ensure it is informative for viewers.
No one wants to watch a video of you constantly advertising your product. Again the goal here is to offer valuable information that can help your viewers make a decision on a challenge they’re having, where your product is a solution. Always remember to give value first, define who you want to target and create content that informs them.
Whenever you create a vlog, make it as informative as possible. Don’t just stick to what your product is. Instead, tell people how it works, explain things. Encourage viewers to share the problems they face with your product or even competitors products. Then, make a video showing how to solve those problems. Show something about how you make your products. If you take some special precaution to ensure the quality, highlight it. The more information you put into it, the better it will be and the farther it will go in helping you to build a relationship with viewers
Share your content on social networks
Apart from posting this videos on your website, share it on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms. The more they get shared, the more people will know about your brand. Both, hosting a blog or creating a video can be done free of cost. The only thing required is some of your time. Because creating content is quick and easy. But creating good informative content is a work involves effort, knowledge and an objective that helps you achieve a goal.
However, it’s perfectly alright if you don’t know how to create neat content. Your talent is doing business, and you’re good at it. So you can always assign the task of creating content to others. If you seek the help of professionals, you may have to make that investment that ensures a successful result.
