Content Marketing

Content Marketing Is Key to Successful Online Presence

What is Content Marketing?

Content marketing is the process of managing your online digital presence by carefully selecting web copy, pictures, videos, profiles, and all visible or audible posts that we collectively call content. Crafting your message to appeal, serve and educate your target audience is the secret to converting website visitors to customers.

Proper messaging is the core of your online strategy.  Content marketing is how your prospects, customers and searchers become informed about your brand.  Provide answers to your target audience’s questions. Your goal is toeducate, inform and entertain.  Build trust, let your audience get to know and like you.

When people search on topics of interest to them, they have questions that need to be answered.  Content marketing is not a sales pitch.  It is an effective means of informing and educating customers about your products and services.

85% of Consumers Use Search Engines for Purchase Decisions

Most of us have heard the phrase, Content is King.  With the vast majority of Americans using the internet to research products and services, content marketing is truly the key to reaching your target audience.  It is a cost efficient and effective strategy for attracting, and retaining customers for any business. A laser focus on content marketing is key to winning business.

Elements of Effective Content Marketing

Valuable Content

It is way too easy to be overwhelmed by content marketing.  All one needs to do is search a simple term or phrase in Google.  Most often you will see results in the millions!  A recent search for SEO in Maryland turned up almost three million results!

The best content marketing captures your target audience by giving them value.  If your prospective clients are searching about website design or SEO, then your content should include valuable information on those topics.  For example:  What are the top ten must-haves for a website?  Answer that question and chances are you will capture anyone interested in web design.  Give them a sales pitch and you will be just another wave, surfed on the ocean that is the Internet.

Speak to your Ideal Customer

One of the real secrets to effective content marketing is to clearly define your ideal customer.  Crafting a detailed buyer persona will help you to speak directly to your target audience. A great example works for chiropractors. When developing a buyer persona or ideal customer profile, Dr. A determines that many of her patients are attracted to chiropractors because they prefer a natural or holistic approach to healing and wellness.  Crafting your content to speak to people that don’t like taking prescription medications or having only symptoms treated is a sure way to attract customers that will appreciate chiropractic.

Fresh Content

It is not enough to have relevant content geared toward your prospective customers. You want your content marketing to be fresh, current, and valuable.   If someone visits your website, you will need to give them a reason to return.  A blog is a great way to produce what we call “evergreen” content.  Blogs attract search engines as well as people.  Tell your audience about the latest trends in your industry. Blogging valuable content on a consistent basis can build you a library of informative, educational and entertaining content that can even become the basis for an eBook.  It can also be repurposed for other content marketing like social media, articles, white papers and more.

More than Website Content Marketing

While the web is the hub of your content marketing strategy, it is by no means the only channel.  Social Media is crucial to referrals, reviews and sharing valuable information. Google has clearly indicated the value of shared content.  Social Media is the new word-of-mouth advertising.  The secret is valuable content. If your content is truly valuable, it gets shared. Shared content will drive more traffic to your website, where you can convert your visitors to customers and loyal brand ambassadors.

Baltimore SEO for Growth is your Outsourced Content Marketer

For most businesses, time is one commodity that is almost always in short supply.  So how do you maintain a steady flow of fresh content across a variety of channels?

At BS4G we know the secrets of efficient content marketing.  We start by preparing a strategic calendar so that we know well in advance the topics we will cover.  We then repurpose that content for use on other channels.  Inviting guest bloggers and curating content from other sources are great ways to ease the load and get fresh perspective.  Video and impactful calls to action on your website attracts and converts visitors.

There are some great content tools that allow you to have it all in one place.  We show you how to maximize your time and utilize a variety of delivery vehicles. These include white papers, blogs, newsletters, eBooks, and much more.

We can’t wait to share our enthusiasm for your business.  That’s our passion, helping small business grow and we are very good at it!

Contact us. Join our email list and we’ll send you a free copy of the book “SEO for Growth”. This book will give you actionable insights to best Website and SEO practices.  Michael Port, NY Times Best Selling Author of Book Yourself Stupid, says this about this publication: “Business owners really need to read SEO for Growth. This book will take the mystery out of SEO and Google rankings in one weekend.”