What Is Content Marketing and Why It’s Vital To Your Digital Marketing Strategy

Without content, how does your potential customer know who you are? Consider the buying cycle: awareness, research, consideration, and finally, the decision to buy.

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What Is Content Marketing and Why It’s Vital To Your Digital Marketing Strategy

WRITTEN BY Activator Studios WHILE LISTENING TO
Wait So Long - Trampled by Turtles
AT SOME POINT ON December 13th, 2017

Without content, how does your potential customer know who you are?

Consider the buying cycle:

  • Awareness – Your potential customer has a need. They are unaware of the best solution. However, they are seeking one.
  • Research – They know there are solutions and research to find the right solution for their needs.
  • Consideration – Customers compare offered solutions to find the solution with the highest degree of value. Efficiency, ease-of-use, included features, support, and pricing create value.
  • Buy – The customer selects a product or solution and purchases.

Does your content support a typical buying cycle?

Below are three benefits realized from a robust content marketing strategy.

Increase Brand Awareness

The value of SERP impressions

As users research their solution, you need to be present as often and as comprehensively as possible. When your brand pops up over and over again in SERPs (search engine results pages), your brand continues to establish with each impression. Of course, you want users to click on your link. However, don’t undervalue being present in a competitive search. Being often seen leads to clicks: your Brand Awareness.

When we began a content marketing strategy for BOLD VAN, we created a list of primary keywords in which we wanted to rank on a Google search. At the time, BOLD VAN was a new start-up, and their digital presence was non-existent.

A partial list of keywords in which BOLD VAN wanted to compete:

  • ✓ EDI VAN provider
  • ✓ EDI Compliant
  • ✓ EDI VAN
  • ✓ EDI Capable
  • ✓ Web-based EDI
  • ✓ Value-added Network

All these keywords are extremely competitive. And, with the likes of IBM, Dell, OpenText and other billion dollar companies. The keywords give BOLD VAN thousands of impressions and clicks, and thus, they fortify BOLD VAN’s branding.

BV Testimonial

All these keywords are on and off of the first page of a Google search for BOLD VAN. We remain diligent. We watch their analytics closely and execute strategies to regain the first page when primary keywords fall to the second page. More to come on these keywords…

Establish Credibility

Developing relevant and consistent content for your company that is valuable to your target audience will present you as an industry-leading subject matter expert, a thought leader.

However, creating content that addresses your users’ needs is crucial when establishing credibility.

As you write content, consider this:

  • If a user clicks on your content and does not find value, how often do you expect this user to return to your site?
  • How does the quality of your content impact the buying cycle?
  • Does the content you’re posting support what you are selling? How?
  • What methods are you utilizing to find relevant topics to your audience?

Value = New Customer

Implementing a structured content creation strategy will give you footing in the most competitive of spaces. Discovering topics your audience needs and aligning topics with your brand and product (or service) will create value.

Creating value through your content creates credibility.

Credibility promotes buyers’ confidence.

Confidence leads to new customers purchasing your offering.

Credibility is vital to the buying cycle.

Your company’s credibility is largely based on your content marketing strategy and content creation methodology. Do both well, and your users will have an easy decision when considering solutions.

Perpetual ROI

Creating and distributing content strategically enhances your SEO (search engine optimization) and drives traffic across many mediums. Organically driving traffic with targeted and meaningful content creates ongoing ROI (return on investment).

Allow me to explain.

If you have an aggressive content marketing strategy, it is likely you have a PPC (price per click) strategy as well. There is an ongoing debate regarding pitting these two strategies. At Activator Studios, we strongly believe they work in concert.

Working together: PPC and content marketing

We implement different strategies dependent on client objectives as well as Adwords (or other PPC platform) budgets. For the BOLD VAN keywords previously discussed, the PPC cost is high compared to other keywords in their PPC strategy.

The previously discussed keywords with their PPC pricing (suggested bids were taken from Google’s Keyword Planner):

  • EDI VAN provider $24.16
  • EDI Compliant $14.05
  • EDI VAN $20.64
  • EDI Capable $16.74
  • Web-based EDI $19.28
  • Value-added Network $9.30

Because we rank on the first page of a search for these keywords, ROI for their content marketing investment occurs in many combinations of two methods.

Method 1

First, we may not use a PPC spend on certain keywords because organically they generate traffic. Moreover, If BOLD VAN, for example, had “EDI VAN provider” as an Adword and then ranked on the first page, we may decide to remove (or pause) that keyword and save the $24 a click creating significant ROI on the content linked to the keyword.

Method 2

Second, Although we organically rank high on a keyword, we may decide it is useful to have multiple placements on the first page of a search and also have the keyword in our PPC strategy.

For example, we may organically rank for “web-based EDI,” and that content is linked to a description of what web-based EDI is. The PPC keyword then links to BOLD VAN’s cloud EDI service. Both the organic and PPC strategies work in concert to provide information as well as BOLD VAN’s service. However, the organic traffic continues to increase the ROI for the content marketing particular to web-based EDI.

Variation: Combining content marketing and PPC with a focus on ROI

Varying these two methods becomes a bit more complex but often makes a lot of sense.

If we organically rank on the first page for a keyword, and the keyword is vital to BOLD VAN, it may make sense to execute a PPC strategy that places the keyword on the second or third page of a search as well.

For example, BOLD VAN is an EDI VAN. Thus, “EDI VAN provider” is a fundamental search term for BOLD VAN. Having a presence on multiple pages of a search relies on both a robust content marketing strategy and a managed PPC strategy.

If we have one or more organic placements for “EDI VAN provider” on the first page of a Google search, we may bid much lower than the suggested $24 because we do not need placement on the first page. This saves BOLD VAN significant PPC cost while increasing their investment in content marketing.

I can continue to discuss varying these strategies: I love analytics and data-driven content marketing decisions. However, I need you people to stay awake. Reach out directly if we can discuss this joy.

So, content marketing then

Every company with a digital presence understands content marketing must be a part of their marketing strategy.

You must differentiate.

In highly competitive landscapes, developing content marketing strategies targeting your objectives will give you a higher ROI and your users a meaningful and accurate perception of who you are, what you offer, your values, and why your solution is the most valuable to them.

Activator Studios gets it. We can help.