Unless you’re new to the online realm, the phrase ‘content is king’ should be one that you’re familiar with. What was initially a means of making yourself unique from your competitors, these days it’s become a necessity for your brand. In fact, the online success of any brand can be linked back to valuable and relevant content.
Zeemo is a digital agency that offers effective content strategies as a part of their web design and online marketing strategies. In this blog, we take a closer look at how great content is essential for website conversions:
Improve brand reputation by building trust
Some of the greatest benefits of content marketing are its quality and capacity for reputation building, as building trust with customers and potential leads is vital for the success of any business. Valuable content automatically makes it easier to build trust with your target audience. Plus, when customers have a sense of consistency in how your content is published across various platforms, they will begin to see you as a leader in your industry. An excellent way to achieve this trust is through publishing and sharing your content via third-party publications and with online influencers.
Influence conversions
Take a look at some conversion statistics and it will become clear why content marketing is so critical. Whilst other digital methods can offer conversion rates, content marketing actually offers 6 times higher conversions. Hubspot, for example, has reported that inbound marketing conversion rates have actually doubled (from 6 to 12%) thanks to various content marketing strategies.
Quality content provides your leads and customers with connection and education, which helps you to improve on conversion rates. You’re not only working hard to build their trust, you’re encouraging them with the education they need to make a purchase. Calls-to-action (CTAs) are a must – but they have to be clear enough. A CTA is essentially a guide that tells the reader the next steps they should take.
Optimised content is helpful for SEO
When you consider the role that content plays in building and even improving your website’s search engine optimisation (SEO), it’s relevance and importance becomes clearer. Often viewed as the most effective SEO technique, the more content your site offers, the more search engines will show it to users. The amount of information and frequency with which you post improves customer retention. They will spend more time on your website, which boosts your optimisation (as search engines time how long visitors spend on your site).
A cost effective way of bringing in new leads
Lead generation is crucial for any business, but did you know that content can help you bring more leads in? When compared to traditional marketing methods, content marketing actually costs more than 50% less on average – plus it generates about 3 times more leads. Small business owners who are looking to maximise their budget whilst gaining optimum value, which puts them at greater advantage.
This isn’t to say that you should create content just for the sake of it – in order to truly enjoy the benefits of conversions and optimisation, your content should be considered and based on strategic topics. The whole point is to share interesting and knowledgeable content that will help to position your business as an authority in your niche – tell your customers why they should buy from you.
Build relationships with your customers
What happens after your customers have purchased and gone? Return customers are one of the easiest ways to continue growing your business. In fact, if repeated sales form a significant portion of your revenue, all you really have to work towards is strengthening your customer relationships. Content marketing is the ideal way to achieve this – but what sort of content will target previous customers? ‘How to’ pieces are especially successful (particularly in video form), as are life hacks. The more value your customers feel they get, the more likely they are to return.
Stand out from your competitors
It’s unlikely that your niche is completely untapped – you’re sure to have competitors. As such, you need to set yourself apart from them. Content marketing actually gives businesses of all shapes and sizes the opportunity to stand out in their industry, as well as to showcase a level of uniqueness and specialty. There can be a thin line when it comes to choosing your product over another; content can be the clincher.
If a customer is looking for a product to solve a particular problem, for example, it’s likely that they’ll do some research into overcoming it – the business that provides the most (and the most valuable) information is likely to be favoured over the others. Your brand identity can also play a role, and content can help you to convey it. A consistent voice and personality can help you to connect with your customers.
Important at each step of the marketing funnel
There are three major marketing funnels to consider in a marketing campaign. Top-of-funnel (or TOFU) is when leads are starting to think about their challenge and what sorts of solutions are available to them. Use content to educate them and clarify the information needed to proceed. Middle-of-funnel (or MOFU) is when leads have found some options they like. Use content to educate them further on their options and what value they will receive. Bottom-of-funnel (or BOFU) is when leads are ready to convert. Use content to encourage them to take that final step.
What do each of the above points about content have in common? They’re all invaluable in helping you to convert visitors to your website and other digital avenues, turning them into customers and leaving you with a decent profit.
And it all comes down to great content. In the end, content marketing can help improve the visibility of any business, as well as help you to build strong and lasting relationships with your customers (both potential and existing). Zeemo can help you to establish a strategy that really works – just check out what we did for the team at Yarrabee & Castlemaine!
