Why content marketing matters in 2021
Content marketing should not be missed in your strategy. Want to know why, what the advantages and disadvantages are and how you can use it? Read on!
Do you want to attract or retain customers to your organization? Then content marketing might be the right method for you! In this blog we will tell you what content marketing is, why you should use it, what the pros and cons are and we will give you some examples so you can use it in your marketing strategy!
What is content marketing?
Content marketing is a broad strategy that aims to create valuable content (any kind of content or information) that is distributed in a consistent way. You put your own content in a relevant and attractive way to help your audience with a certain goal. You can think of different goals such as providing information, creating a preference or helping to make a choice (sales). It is an important strategy that cannot be missed because you can steer your target group in the right direction.
To get started with content marketing, you need to have a clear plan in mind. This usually consists of the following six steps:
Researching the interests and needs of your target audience, defining topics, themes and house styles that you use in your content, creating the content, deploying the content on the appropriate channels, analyzing and interpreting the results and finally continuously improving/developing your content.
The video below is the perfect guide if you are still a beginner and want to know more about content marketing!
Fun fact! Did you know that content is not always created by content marketers?
Small businesses assign the task of creating content to people who work in different functions. Often the reason is because they have the belief that anyone can create content.
Why content marketing?
Why would you want to integrate content marketing into your organization? To grow your business of course! You can go in different directions with this strategy: from acquiring customers to improving your returns.
Using your content can also give you a certain degree of authority which makes it easier to gain the trust of the customer. In addition, you work on a certain image and reputation: by using good content, the consumer will actually find you a good company. Finally, content marketing helps with customer loyalty. Because you consistently publish your content and you approach your customers in a more personal way, customers are more likely to commit to you.
Other points are that you inform the customer better, you may reach new audiences and your marketing channels will grow.
Pros and cons of content marketing
Pros
- Generate trust and leads
As you showcase your expertise in your field through relevant content, you gain the target audience’s trust. You gain more authority which also allows you to generate more leads. And if you generate more leads, you will be seen as an authoritative organization more quickly. - Content marketing is formless
Content marketing comes in different ways and forms through different channels. You are free in your strategy and there is no right or wrong with creating your content because you can be as creative as possible in your content! You choose the form to get your message across. At the end of the blog I will tell you more about the different ways and channels. - SEO: Search Engine Optimization
Google is in love with content! By consistently creating and publishing content you can increase your Google ranking in the search engine! This is not to be missed, because people often start at Google when they are looking for something. Improve your conversion rate or brand awareness through content! Want to know more about how to best use your SEO? Check out our blog!
Cons
- Underestimating content marketing
Content marketing is not as easy as it seems. In fact, it takes a lot of effort to get the consumer’s attention and hold it. It takes time and energy to find the right content and resources for your target audience. It can also cost quite a bit of your budget. - Once content marketing, always means content marketing
Remember, you have to have a certain level of dedication to content marketing because once you start, you can’t stop. As soon as you stop investing time and attention, you also lose all the attention of the target audience and you may start all over again in no time. - Competition
There is already a huge amount of companies and organizations currently doing content marketing. The trick is to know what the consumer wants, what they miss and to respond by distinguishing yourself from your competition. While this is easy to say, it’s even harder to do. The competition is cutthroat, so your strategy needs to be as specific, clear and effective as possible.
Ways and examples content marketing
You can use content in different ways through different channels. Channels you might think of are:
- social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, LinkedIn)
- Your own website
- E-mail (newsletters, advertisements, etc)
- Direct marketing
But what are ways to effectively use your content on those channels
- magazines/books
- blogs or SEO texts
- infographics
- polls
- newsletters
- interviews
- case studies
- presentations
- social media posts
- images
- videos/vlogs
- audio/podcasts
Want to know more about content creation? Check out our earlier blog on content business.
