Your customers are spending more time online, consuming content they’re interested in. What has your business done to be part of that content? Nothing? Then it’s high time to create a content marketing strategy!
People who have been connected to social networks for a long time not only enjoy consuming content they like but also use these channels to find, evaluate and buy products. Research indicates that around 74% of consumers are using social media to make their purchases.
Users are using social media to research more about:
- Information regarding prices (67%);
- Comments about the shopping experience of other consumers (66%);
- Details about products such as colors, materials and sizes (64%);
- Images and photos that illustrate the product (59%);
- Shipping information (49%);
- Company data, such as website or physical store address (47%);
- Service and contact channels (26%).
For this reason, content marketing has become one of the main successful approaches for companies that want to be remembered by their customers and gain more and more space on the internet.
Content marketing: what is it?
Content marketing is a marketing strategy focused on creating and sharing high-quality content across various communication channels to attract potential customers (and retain those who already consume), engage with the target audience, solve problems, entertain, and strengthen the brand’s authority.
Companies often use content marketing as their main ally to become a reference on the internet and build a good relationship with customers in a natural and spontaneous way.
See why content marketing is important:
10 reasons for your business to have a content marketing strategy
Creating valuable content for your customers is an excellent strategy for:
- Increase your brand’s online visibility;
- Attract more customers;
- Provide outstanding user experiences;
- Generate more sales;
- Increase customer interaction with your business;
- Earn public trust;
- Provide clear guidance and information about products or services;
- Address customer inquiries without the need to speak to a representative;
- Boost the number of pages indexed on Google;
- Awaken your audience’s interest in what your business has to offer.
What makes up content marketing?
In content marketing, you have numerous possibilities to cater to your audience’s desires. For instance, your company can work with the following materials:
Blog articles
Many people like and prefer to read articles on the internet rather than following other types of materials. Fortunately, companies can use these blog posts as a strategy to boost their business, answer questions, and attract potential customers.
Articles with tips, instructions, recommendations, and suggestions on how to use a certain product, among other topics, can captivate the audience you want to reach.
Blog posts are also great for brands aiming to achieve prominent positions in major search engines, such as Google, for example, using SEO (Search Engine Optimization) strategies.
E-books
E-books can also be part of your content marketing strategy. They are more extensive and complete materials to address specific topics, aiming to answer all questions without users having to search other platforms for more information.
In this content format, your brand can talk in more detail about its items, scenarios, tips, product manufacturing, and any other relevant information. With a customizable layout that can be accompanied by images, graphic elements and links to facilitate user understanding.
Social media posts
Social networks have assumed an important role in users’ lives. Many people spend hours browsing their favorite networks looking for quality content to follow.
The good news is that, through content marketing, your brand can become one of the favorite profiles for both current product consumers and potential customers.
Social networks such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn can contain different types of posts with shorter content than that provided in a blog post or e-book.
In these posts, it is possible to show a little behind the scenes of the company (showing everything from the production of a product to the delivery process), about the brand’s universe (bringing news and changes), post institutional content to narrate your company’s history, cases of success with customer reviews, and posts to educate consumers on how to use your products, for example.
Posts can come in the form of an image, carousel (with multiple videos or images), video, or stories (when the person can view the content for only 24 hours).
The advantage of social networks is that, in addition to consuming the content made available by your business, people can also interact with your brand, establishing a good relationship.
Have you grasped the importance of content marketing? Creating an effective strategy can be the key to boosting your brand, attracting more customers, and gaining the trust of those interested in your business.
However, to kick off a strategy like this, you need to go through several steps, such as creating a persona (personification of the ideal customer) to determine which themes to explore and on which channels, planning, measuring results to understand what resonates with your audience, and various other considerations.