An introduction to content marketing

Content Marketing

Often, defining the terms we use must be where we begin. This is particularly true in today’s rapidly evolving digital world. So we have very little preamble here. Instead, we must all think like lawyers to start with. 

What is content marketing? For that matter…what is content? 

Content is one of those generic words we use in the marketing community, and yet hardly ever define it. We just assume everybody knows what it means. 

But do they? 

Content (specifically digital content for the purpose of this article), is any information, communicated in any form, across any digital channel. This could be things like: 

According to the Content Marketing Institute, the definition of content marketing is: 

“ a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.”

There are a few key elements to pick out from this definition.

• Valuable
• Relevant
• Consistent

Also, do you keep all the flyers for local roofing companies and double glazing that come through your door? I thought not. So when – at some point years later – there is a terrible storm that blows half your roof tiles off….where is that roofing company’s number when you need it? That flyer is long gone in the recycling bin. 

This is why content marketing is important

Content marketing allows you to create content that is relevant, valuable and consistently available. It is not dependent on any paid advertising and will be there, whenever a consumer decides to look for it or is presented to them in a relevant space. 

This means that it can keep bringing in leads… forever!

That’s why we love it.

We see it as so instrumental to business growth that we have built it into our KnowShowGrow framework.

To see real long-term growth you must…

1. Know who you are, what you’re selling, and who you’re selling to. 
2. Show the benefits you bring, answer objections, eliminate risk and convert visitors. 

and then…

1. To grow, you must reach those searching for your service, build trust, and become an authority.

Optimised content is how you reach those searching for your service. It’s how you build trust with your client, and how you demonstrate that you are an authority in your space.

Learn more about our KnowShowGrow framework.

Let’s see this work out in a real-life example.

Let’s say you need to replace your conservatory roof.

Now, this is a very specific want. You know you need a new conservatory roof because your current one is leaking. But you don’t know the first thing about conservatories. What the varying types are or how much they might cost and you need to find a solution. 

You read a few blogs, and you realise that you have much more choices than you were aware of. You can have all different manners of materials for your new roof. You can even turn your conservatory into a garden room by putting on a properly insulated, tiled roof with skylights…who knew? 

Through all of these various searches, one company keeps coming up with content that is relevant. 

They rank highly on the first page of a Google search no matter what you search for in relation to conservatories, so you click through to their site.

Their website is impressive with lots of up-to-date information on all the latest “conservatory tech”, and lots of helpful info about what they can do for you, how they do it and how you can get in touch for a speedy and accurate assessment or quote. This company Knows who they are, and Shows their competence on their website.  

This company also appears in reviews and they are very positive. Thanks to these positive reviews and helpful blog posts, this is the company you call first to come and give you a quote for a new roof.  

They come and quote you for a new insulated tiled roof (which you hadn’t even known was a possibility) and a month later, you couldn’t be happier!

So how did that conservatory company Grow their online presence enough to reach you when you needed it?

Simple, they created relevant content and made sure it was easy to find on search. Then, when you landed on their site, it demonstrated their competence enough that you trusted them.

How do you find ideas for content?

So how do you go about creating content that is relative and valuable and therefore of a high enough quality that people are going to want to consume it, share it, link to it etc? 

2. Look at what’s trending

Find out what kind of information is trending in your particular industry. What are people talking about and sharing, what do they want to know? Can you create content in line with those trending topics? Maybe put a fresh spin on it or provide a new perspective that no one else is talking about? 

Google Trends is a great tool to help you do this. 

3. Thought Leadership

Thought Leadership refers to any content that provides a unique point of view on a controversial or nuanced topic. Are there any hard topics in your industry that nobody is talking about but where you have some expertise? Write about those, and share your unique knowledge or viewpoint. 

4. Address pain points

Finally, talk to your existing client base. What were some of the things that put them off using the services that you provide? Can you write content that addresses those concerns? We call concerns “pain points” in the world of marketing. 

From great content…to content marketing

So we know we need great content, but unfortunately, there’s a bit more to content marketing than just great content and a great product. You have to get that great content about your great product…to the right people! 

There are a number of different channels you might use to do this. 

1. Organic search

Make sure that any content you create is optimised for search. This will allow users who are looking for your content to find you (just like our hypothetical search for conservatory roofs). Do this by conducting keyword research for the terms that users are looking for.

Want to learn how to do keyword research? Learn more.

2. PPC

Promoting some key pieces of content with paid advertising is a great way of getting users into your sales funnel. This could be on search engines, or on social media platforms.

3. Social media channels

Promoting your content on your social media channels not only encourages traffic through to your site (a valuable signal to search engines that you should be ranked high on search), but allows potential leads to find you.

This works best when it’s combined with attempts to grow your social media audience organically yourself. Look for users who might be in your target audience and request to connect. This is easier on some platforms than others.

4. Email drip campaigns

Building up an email list that you can regularly send content to is a great way of encouraging traffic to your site, but it also allows you to use your content to warm up leads and turn them into clients.

Capturing email addresses in the first place is a huge topic and too large to cover here. A simple starting point is having your sales team compile a list of leads that they’re speaking to.

5. Forums and communities

Joining online forums or communities that might contain members of your target audience will help you to share relevant content. Don’t treat these communities selfishly though – actively engage with them and provide helpful insights.

If you can’t do all of these things, then we recommend focusing on the first. You are getting in front of users who are interested in your service because they have searched for something that relates to it. It’s also long-lasting and once the work is done, the fruits of that labour remain free for as long as that content is available on the internet…no subscription fee is required! 

How does content marketing help your search rankings? 

There is another benefit to content marketing…

The higher you rank, the greater the chance that clients will see your website and will click through to discover your services. 

So, done as part of an SEO campaign, content marketing can also improve your rankings, meaning your website gets more visibility online for commercial search terms.

Content marketing: making websites effective. 

Content marketing has many functions. Ultimately, it is the fuel that makes your website generate leads. Not only will your website rank higher when you create great content and therefore get a good click-through from search results pages. But, content marketing warms up leads. They may not start off as leads when they find some of your content online, but slowly over time, when they are ready to buy, they will remember you and may make an enquiry. The best content marketing strategies look to embrace all of the functions of great content. Through this, your website can become a lean-mean lead-generating machine.