Don’t Underestimate the Value of Content in Your Marketing Campaigns
Wondering if content is as important now as it was prior to COVID-19? Marketing may be changing as a result of the pandemic, but content is certainly not going anywhere. Let’s look at the value of content and some tips for producing content your audience actually wants.
Before the pandemic, content was the best way to build a real relationship with your audience. But now we’re in a “new normal,” so has that changed?
In short, no. Brands need to find ways to connect with their audience and customers now more than ever. That’s where the value of content comes in.
An article by Campaign US explains that brand equity is lost when companies aren’t keeping in touch with their audience.
In fact, a study on the impact of COVID-19 on consumer behaviors revealed that 76% of people have developed new habits in light of the pandemic. Furthermore, 89% of them plan to keep those habits post-pandemic and 36% will stick with the brands they tried since the pandemic.
More and more people are remaining at home for most of the day. And Stanford research confirms that twice as many employees are now working from home than at the office.
With less people out and about, there has been a shift in the way we do marketing, with most people finding brands via the internet.
Is that good or bad? It’s actually a little of both…
- The Good – If you have a strong SEO standing, you’re golden.
- The Bad – Search and display advertising is getting a little crowded.
So, first things first… You need to have content. And it needs to be readily found online.
The value of content comes from being able to solve a main problem your audience has. That’s how you’ll be remembered, and it’s why your content will be welcomed.
And that leads to loyal subscribers, brand ambassadors, and raving fans.
What Is the Value of Content These Days?
Content is king for a reason. Well, for many reasons actually. Here are three of the most important ones…
1) It Increases Your Traffic
When you create high-quality, well-optimized content, Google and the other search engines will reward you for it by ranking your content higher in the search results. And that means more eyeballs will see it, read it, and interact with it.
The more content you produce, the more opportunities you have for increasing your traffic, since you can optimize for multiple long-tail keywords. It’s like having highly sought-after real estate all over the internet.
Plus, if you’re able to create content that goes viral, you’ll greatly increase your reach, and you can enjoy the extra free boost in traffic that provides.
2) It Frames You as an Expert
By producing educational content, you’ll demonstrate your authority and expertise, making you an expert in your field.
Just think of how you perceive a company that has a well-crafted blog as opposed to one that does not. These days, expert status depends on content.
3) It Shows Your Audience You Understand Them
When you develop problem-focused content, you can prove you understand your audience’s pain points. When they realize you “get them” and can help them solve their issues, they’ll trust you and want to do business with you.
The importance of building and reinforcing a relationship with your audience cannot be understated. And that can only start with ensuring they know you understand their trials and tribulations.
Now that you see the value of content in today’s business landscape, you’re probably looking for some tips to help you create the best content, so let’s dive into that…
How to Produce Content Your Audience Wants
Make no mistake—if you’re pumping out low-value content, you’re wasting your time and the money it’s costing you to create the content.
You might be able to get Google to rank you (and that’s a small might), but you certainly won’t gain the interest of your audience.
So, follow these guidelines when you’re creating your content to ensure it’s worth putting out there…
Focus on Providing Valuable Educational Content
Here’s something to keep in mind: The value of content won’t exist for you if you aren’t trying to provide value for your audience with your content.
Just as more and more people are discovering brands via web searches, they will also make judgments about your company that determine whether you’re worth their time or not.
If you provide content that answers their search query and goes above and beyond in delivering value, you’ll not only make an incredible first impression but also gain a level of trust and notoriety that will make them want to tune in to what you have to say again.
Quality content that focuses on education builds a level of credibility that simply can’t be gained any other way.
So, whether your visitors land on your blog posts, product pages, home page, or your About page, focus on educating them.
On a product page, for example, think of what you can add that would help them make the best purchase decision, such as comparison tables, reviews, infographics, or tutorials.
Your primary goal should be to make sure they don’t have to visit any other websites to make their decision or to answer their question. When you accomplish that, you’ll truly reap the value of content.
Make It Share-Worthy
When your content is so good that other people want to share it on social media, you can increase your reach tenfold.
The more you get people to engage with your content on social media, the more it will spread and the more involved your audience will be. When people feel like they’re a part of something, they want to get behind it, which is how you create brand ambassadors.
Plus, you’ll get detailed analytics and insights from your social media accounts that can help you improve your conversions and your future marketing.
And here’s the real kicker…
Share-worthy content also results in backlinks, which further boosts your SEO ranking.
Here are some ways to ensure your content is worthy of being shared:
- Offer a unique perspective on an issue or trend.
- Include videos, infographics, and content that is easy to share.
- Provide comprehensive content that goes above and beyond what others are putting out on the topic.
Optimize Your Content
We have to get one thing straight… You can’t just create content willy-nilly and expect to get much out of it.
Be strategic about it.
Do keyword research and plan out your content accordingly. By optimizing your content in this way, you increase your chances of it getting ranked on the first page of Google so that more people will see it.
Too many companies spend their valuable time creating content without doing any research beforehand. That’s just a waste of time…
Instead, plan out a content marketing strategy that ensures you’re pouring your time into content that people want to and are looking to read. That’s when the value of content stares you right in the face.
We’ve put together a few articles to help you:
The Takeaway
As you can see, the value of content is HUGE, especially in a post-pandemic world. There has never been a better time to ramp up your content output (while keeping it high quality, of course) or get on the content marketing bandwagon if you haven’t already.
By focusing on content moving forward, you can strengthen the connections you have with both current and prospective customers.
At Viral Solutions we are committed to seeing YOU succeed. It is our goal to grow your business with proven digital marketing strategies that will help your business for the long haul.
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