Why content marketing works – and how to get it right
Content marketing is one of those digital media buzzwords that many use but few understand. We could go into great detail about algorithms, Google search rankings and unique content markers – but the real value of content marketing is far easier to grasp.
Boiled down to its essence, content marketing means creating regular, high-quality content for your audience and giving it away for free. This could be a weekly blog on your website, videos showing consumers how to use or troubleshoot your product or e-books and articles that share your industry knowledge. It’s not a strategy that produces instant results but in the long run, content marketing can be valuable for your business and your brand.
Here’s how:
1: Rise through the search ranks
Google’s search algorithm is partly responsible for the rise in content marketing. A few years ago, the algorithm shifted away from simple keyword-based rankings to a model that prioritises frequent updates and original content. In response, businesses began to focus on quality blogs and relevant articles, where keywords can be used naturally rather than shoehorned in.
Content also helps boost your ranking simply by bringing more people to your site, keeping them there and giving them something to share. When it comes to Google, the more people are linking back to your content, the better.
2: Bring in new business
Unlike traditional advertising or direct marketing, which often rely on shallow hooks to draw in consumers, content marketing can attract audiences on a deeper level. Rather than clicking through to your site and leaving almost immediately, they stay around for longer to look at interesting, relevant content.
The longer you can keep people on your site, the better – it gives you more chances to engage them, more touchpoints to make a sale or get their details and more opportunities for them to see and remember your brand.
3: Bolster your brand
If you can establish yourself as an authority in your sector without trying to sell anything, then customers are more likely to trust you when they are looking to buy. It makes sense: if customers have read and used your internet security tips, for example, they will see you as an expert when they’re looking for security software.
On a basic level, it’s also about familiarity – if a potential buyer has come across your brand and spent time on your site, you become a known quantity rather than a random choice.
4: Build stronger client relationships
Existing clients shouldn’t be taken for granted. Content marketing can be a way to keep in touch when you’re not directly working with a client, putting your brand top-of-mind and solidifying your expertise.
Share articles with your database, send links to new e-books or guides as you write them or use videos on social media to connect with your audience. Then, when a client is ready to rebook or rebuy, you’re still in mind as a viable option – and you’ve built a strong bond by sharing your expertise.
What is BOMA?
BOMA is the digital marketing tool and content library for Accountants and Bookkeepers. Communicate with clients and prospects with ease from one platform. BOMA gives you hundreds of expertly written advisory articles which you can customise and share via email, your social media channels and your website blog in minutes.
Nothing comes close to BOMA in for supporting clients and building relationships with prospects.
Find out how BOMA can help with your digital marketing.