Content Marketing Is Still a Thing - and Worth Your Efforts

Here's why:

Nobody wants to be pitched to, sold to, or advertised at. We know what we want and we will go find it for it ourselves, thank you very much. Enter: Content Marketing.

Although advertisers have been making it more difficult, who doesn’t try to fast forward through commercials and skip computer ads? We won’t answer telemarketers and we carry physical ads from the mailbox to the recycling bin. We don’t have time for marketing. 

So what is content marketing and why is it different, you ask? Don’t overthink it. This is content marketing,  this article you are reading right now. I have created original content on a subject relevant to this brand and relevant to what my customer base (that would be you!) is looking for. 

Boom. 

I’m not asking you to buy something. I’m educating you on a subject that you should know about for your own company or brand. I will also promote this particular article on all my social media outlets and link right back here to our website rather than sending you to a similar article on someone else’s site. I’m hoping that while you’re here, you’ll poke around and decide that you will use our services. For instance, content marketing is a service we offer. You learn something new and I get to tell you about a Sprocket service and that’s a benefit for both of us!

You can do this with any subject. What is your business? What do your customers want to learn from you? What questions do they have you can answer? These are potential doors to open for creating original content beneficial to your own customers.

For example, a tire company blogs about the signs that tell you when it’s time for new tires. One day, you are sitting at home, wondering if your tires need to be changed, so you do a quick online search and find this article. When you go to the site to read the worn tires blog, you also see their sale ads, testimonials, and a map of their shop nearest to you. Statistically, you are now more likely to buy new tires.

So let’s recap:

• The purpose of content marketing is to attract and retain customers by consistently creating relevant and valuable content that inspires consumers.

• Content marketing helps customers and clients feel closer to the sponsoring company by being part of the conversation rather than an ad target.

• Instead of selling to your customers, you are providing information to them that is specific to their needs.

• Keyword-rich content drives inbound traffic and leads through SEO and social media accounts.

• Marketing is easier when backed by great content.

• Fresh content adds positive value to your website and online presence when continually updated.

Content marketing isn’t in your face. Consumers aren’t muting the TV or furiously clicking “skip advertisement.” In fact, they are actually going out to look for this information. Your company’s task is to create and post content that answers the questions your customer is already asking. The Sprocket Websites team can help with your content creation, marketing, and analytics, so give us a call to talk it over!

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels

This article is an update to “Why Content Marketing is so Hot Right Now” dated 3/26/2014. 

Breanne BannonBreanne Bannon

Breanne is a Content Writer, Social Media Marketeer, and Sales Associate for Sprocket Websites.

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