The popularity and use of content marketing are higher than ever, but so are the doubts and questions about its effectiveness and sustainability.
In this article, we debunk commonly held beliefs about content marketing and set the record straight about how it can help you:
-
Increase your website traffic
-
Grow your customer base
-
Engage your target audience
Myth 1: “I’m already spending money on physical and online ads, so I don’t need content marketing.”
There’s no denying that paid advertising helps increase brand awareness, generate leads, and convert prospects into paying customers.
But not every company has the budget to continue paying for advertisements on social media and search engines, much less expensive outdoor advertising. Furthermore, traditional advertising is a short-term one-off and one-way communication initiative.
Imagine this: You’ve invested money in Facebook and Twitter ads, and banner ads on search engines. It might have converted a few people who clicked on your ad, but once the advertising period is over, the process starts all over again.
The same goes for billboards and floor graphics, except it’ll be difficult to monitor its effectiveness and calculate your customer conversion rates.
You’ll have to come up with a new design to attract and grab maximum eyeballs. Previous designs for your ads will be outdated and eventually ignored if they are used for prolonged periods.
That being said, advertising and content marketing are not mutually exclusive marketing avenues.
However, a more sustainable marketing strategy involves the consistently creating and publishing high-quality content for your target audience.
It may not show immediate results, but you’ll definitely see your website traffic and subscriber list grow gradually (without having to fork out too much money).
Myth 2: “Anyone can write, so I shouldn’t have to pay so much for a content writer.”
When you pay for a content writer’s services, it’s not just the article that you are paying for.
You’re also paying the content writer to:
-
Brainstorm ideas and topics for your article
-
Research popular keywords to get your content noticed
-
Come up with attention-grabbing headlines
-
Find statistics and credible quotes to add value to the content’s coverage
-
Structure and format content so that it flows well
-
Create and edit multiple drafts before publishing
-
Present the content in a way that will engage your target audience
It’s easy to find writers that boast about their ability to churn out multiple articles within an hour or less. Chances are, content writers who do this do not follow a systematic writing process, and the higher the probability of you getting a poorly researched content piece that lacks structure and thought.
Yes, you can choose to write your own content for your business.
But many companies make the mistake of spending so much time and effort on the research and writing and neglect their business operations.
Others give up on frequently producing and publishing engaging content, and end up mulling over the ineffectiveness of their content marketing strategy.
What you can do as a business owner is to leave the content writing and strategy to an in-house content writer, or by partnering up with an agency – the more affordable option.
Myth 3: “All content published should revolve around my products or services.”
In the past, marketing activities were all about telling people why they should part with their money for a product or service.
This method rarely works today.
Unlike traditional marketing and advertising that talks at people, content marketing is a discipline that emphasises on the need to talk with your customers instead.
Just like how you hate seeing promotional messages being shoved in your face, so do your potential customers.
Your blog articles or social media posts should not always revolve around who you are, what your business does, and who your clients are. Rather, your content should be focussed on providing more value to your target audience.
Address their concerns about the industry that you’re in.
Impart knowledge about your industry that may be useful to them.
Share your knowledge with customers and sales prospects and establish yourself as a thought leader so they will think of you when they need your products or services.
Myth 4: “Content marketing is just blog writing and posting.”
You’re limiting what your business can do if you think content marketing is only possible for businesses with blogs.
As the name suggests, content marketing is the discipline that allows organisations to persuade, engage and influence their customers to take an interest in their products or services.
And there are many types of marketing materials that you should produce as part of your marketing and outreach efforts:
-
Case studies
-
Brochures
-
Speeches
-
Fact sheets
-
Presentations
-
Testimonials
-
Blog posts
-
Newsletters
-
Product guides
-
Press releases
-
Product reviews
-
Research reports
-
Corporate profile
-
Social media content
-
Employee biographies
-
In-person event coverage
-
Website or landing page copy
You may find yourself taking days or weeks on end perfecting your content – and that’s understandable. After all, it takes many revision cycles to come up with content that is engaging, relevant and well-written.
Want to read more articles like this? Check out our Quix Studios Blog for insights on business strategy, copywriting and technology.
