Learn how content marketing affects long-term results. Many marketing strategies have historically been based on short-term results. For example, a flyer mailed out to homes in the local area will likely earn a few sales. However, this will soon be thrown away and forgotten. Then your business will need to mail out a new batch to earn any further benefits. Most other forms of marketing have suffered from similar issues, including radio, television, and even social media marketing.
In contrast, content marketing is all about slow and steady growth. Every page you add to your website is more content that will be indexed by search engines to create exponential returns. These are not the only long-term benefits that content marketing can add, so let’s take a look at some more.
Improved SEO Rankings
Content marketing is all about providing quality content that answers a user’s queries. The better a page does this, generally, the higher the search engines will rank that content. If you have quality content that answers a user’s questions, your rankings soar as others link to your pages. The trick is to add value for your audience, and nothing can do this as well as content marketing.
Boosted Traffic with Content Marketing
With boosted rankings come greater traffic. Search engines like Google and Bing will have another piece to index and add to users’ search results. As your online visibility grows and grows, your traffic will gradually increase. With skilled content marketing that makes use of guest posts and the backlinks they bring, your website’s traffic will soar.
Reduced Marketing Costs
Content marketing can have an upfront cost for creating valuable content, but when you compare it to other advertising methods, the expense is far lower. With regular advertising, the majority of advertisements are wasted and often never even viewed by the consumer. Also, with ad-blockers installed on more and more devices, you often end up paying for nothing.
Another consideration with content marketing, potential customers can be brought to your brand when they are ready to make a purchase. By providing relevant, engaging content, your brand can create a sense of loyalty that keeps customers returning for years to come. It takes time and work to create a steady source of revenue for less than half the cost of traditional marketing methods on average.
Brand Authority
By educating consumers and providing them with informative content, you have the chance to influence how visitors see your brand. Quality content that doesn’t seem sales-focused but instead provides honest, informative articles will convince visitors that your brand is an authoritative resource.
Given that more than 90 percent of buyers will research potential purchases before actually buying, this guidance can place your brand in a strong position to be their go-to resource when it comes time to spend their money. Providing guest posts for other authoritative sources, you become a “thought leader” and further boost your brand’s credibility for consumers.
Greater Brand Awareness
With strong content, you can show consumers what your brand stands for. As your quality content attracts a larger audience, your brand’s material will often be linked to by sources. Consumers are more likely to think of your brand when they start down the path to purchasing a related product or service. This can build leads for years to come, even well after an article is published.
More Qualified Leads
One of the largest concerns for marketers today is generating leads. Studies have shown that brands that regularly blog generate over 60 percent more leads than their non-blogging competitors. This is by providing some gated content or adding additional downloadable content such as checklists or infographics that require users to fill out a form you can use to build your mailing list and provide users with more relevant content, coupons, and special offers.
One of the best parts of content marketing is that after an article is published, it keeps providing returns. No matter how old an article is, it will still appear on search results and can still generate leads. By updating it every once in a while, so it stays fresh as changes occur, you can keep content “evergreen” so that it will always be an asset for your business.
Long-Term Strategy Brings Results
For long-term marketing, a well-thought-out content marketing strategy is hard to beat. By providing consumers with valuable and informative content, your business can boost its visibility while simultaneously improving its authority with potential customers. This strategy can build leads for years to come with far fewer costs than other advertising methods. Though other strategies may offer more short-term benefits, content marketing is difficult to compete with for long-term results.
Need some help? Contact MJI Marketing today to get started.
