Consumers are tired. They are tired of seeing ads everywhere and at all times.
Did you know that an average person sees over 5000 ads Every. Single. Day?
No wonder they have stopped paying attention. They are completely ad-overwhelmed!
Think of the company-consumer relationship as just a simple conversation. What are companies saying?
“Hey, YOU! Buy this! Now, buy that! Buy this other thing -hurry! How come you didn’t buy?! BUY it, BUY it, BUY it!”
You wouldn’t hang out with someone like that, right? This salesy, pushy approach gets annoying really quick.
Now, what should the companies do instead? They should focus on building a relationship with their consumers before they go in for the sell. Like entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk says: Jab, Jab, Jab, and then Hook.
How? By investing in content marketing. Here are our 5 reasons to focus on content marketing.
It’s more cost-efficient.
Content marketing has very low up-front costs and barely no barriers to entry. Businesses of all sizes can easily create content that will positively promote their brand to potential consumers. It does take time and effort, but the economic investment is very low.
The best part?
It is also more effective than paid search. In this recent study, Kapost compared the ROI of content marketing versus paid search for a period of 2 years. Their content marketing strategy was a combination of blog posts, podcasts, videos, interviews, and articles.
The results: content marketing produced 3 times more leads per dollar spent than paid search.
It has higher conversion rates.
Content marketing is a paradigm shift. Traditional marketing is outbound, as in that you go after clients. You try to convince them and “sell” to them. Obviously, that not only costs more, but it also has lower conversion rates.
Content marketing is about being helpful, not promotional. About adding value, not selling at first sight. It’s a key difference.
Numbers don’t lie: it costs 62% less than outbound marketing and generates 3x as many leads.
It builds SEO.
SEO is basically how high you rank on the Internet’s search engines – aka Google. The higher you rank, the more people will find you and come to hear what you have to say. If they like you, they’ll probably buy.
But how can you rank higher? One of the main ways is to create relevant content. Websites with blog content have 434% more search engine-indexed pages that those that do not publish. More indexed pages mean more chances for someone to find your company.
In short, content marketing creates a trail of valuable information on the Internet that brings traffic to your site, which in turn generates leads and conversions.
It’s organic.
Content marketing differs from paid ads in the sense that it facilitates user experience. Ads (think FB or Instagram ads) are intrusive and interrupt the online flow.
Indeed, after years of being bombarded with constant ads, consumers have actually adapted – and the market has responded. Google Chrome, for example, is now offering extensions like AdBlock that block ads on Youtube, Facebook, and everywhere else on the web.
This trend is on the rise. According to Statista, 20% of Internet users aged between 16 and 34 used as blockers in 2016 – and it keeps going up.
It creates trust and develops relationships.
Effective content marketing will create strong relationships between the brand and the audience. By adding constant value, you become the go-to company in your field and the leader in your industry.
This brand awareness will develop into your audience becoming fans of your company – reading your stuff, sharing it with their friends, recommending you and, most importantly, buying from you.
Content marketing is a long-term play. One blog post or a video will not change anything. But taking time to constantly create content that your audience wants to hear is a sustainable marketing strategy that will empower your brand and produce great ROI.
Marti writes about digital marketing and entrepreneurship. Find him with coffee and a laptop while traveling back and forth between Barcelona and Charlotte. Connect with him on LinkedIn.
