To understand the importance of content marketing, think back to the old fable, The Tortoise and The Hare. In this race, the hare starts with a sprint, gets so far ahead that he takes a nap before he finishes. The tortoise keeps going while the hare sleeps.
The tortoise wins simply because he persevered.
The saying 'slow and steady wins the race' comes from this fable. It's the perfect way to describe content marketing. Act like the tortoise, consistently add relevant, useful content to your website, and the reward is higher search rankings and more website visitors. If your content speaks to those in all steps of the buyer's journey, those visitors will turn into customers
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Your content marketing will not catapult you to the top of search rankings overnight. However, it will encourage visitors to stay on your website longer. It can increase your brand awareness if your blog posts are shared on social media. It can also increase your leads when a visitor sign-up for your premium offers and eventually lead to more conversions.
Now is the best time to add content marketing to your existing marketing plan. In this article, we'll answer common content marketing questions. Our goal is to motivate you to get started with this powerful form of marketing.
Which digital marketing technique is more important, SEO or content marketing?
Instead of thinking of "either/or" when it comes to search engine optimization (SEO) and content marketing, use the word "and". They are most effective when they join forces. There are many elements of SEO that are too technical to dive into in this article. But think of the connection between SEO and content marketing this way.
SEO's goal is to increase the visibility of your web pages to those who use a search engine looking for information. So, SEO uses the content on your website to help connect a search query to your website. Let's say you sell bananas and other fruits to farmers. Your website has information about the best climate to grow bananas and what type of soil they need, etc. If a person types 'banana smoothie recipes' into a search engine, they probably will not land on your website, and they shouldn't! Your content should be helpful and relevant to your readers.
Search Engine Journal has a great explanation of the role content plays in SEO. You can check it out here.
Does content marketing use keywords, like SEO?
Yes, keywords matter. But, the quality of the content matters more. As Google explains, they look for content that demonstrates expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness on a topic (this is sometimes called the Google E-A-T concept). By all means, add keywords where they logically fit. Your goal is to always write for a human, not the search bot.
Where do I get content ideas?
That's the easy part. Talk to customer service, find out what questions they hear frequently. Then, add an FAQ page to your website or write a blog post addressing each question. Talk to your sales team, discover what they hear regarding your competitors. Visit your competitors' websites. Look for ways your product or services are superior, add a comparison chart to your website. Interview happy clients, write a case study about their experience with you.
Also, don't think your content is only the written word. A video testimonial from a customer will capture the person's enthusiasm for you. How-to videos can help demonstrate ways to use your product. Some companies use infographics to explain concepts that are hard to understand.
The goal is to include a variety of content that will help your current or potential customers.
How do I get started with content marketing?
Blogging is an easy way to venture into content marketing. We've created this 8-Step Plan for Content Marketing that has links to tools to find keywords and ways you can use Google to discover questions people are currently asking about your product or service. This ebook also includes ways you can recycle existing content. Just scroll to the bottom of this page to download this free guide.
Or if you'd rather have a one-on-one discussion, contact us. We'd love to help.