Content is King

When it comes to marketing, chances are there is an endless list of ideas - creativity constantly sparking and plenty of avenues to explore. This is wonderful, except we all know time can be the enemy, and budgets are not endless... However, there is one element that is sure to deliver and is a crucial component for any online strategy, content marketing.

Content marketing performs in so many areas; website traffic, social media engagement/community engagement, brand loyalty, sales leads and conversion, awareness... I could go on, but you get the picture, I'm a fan and it works.

By developing strong blog content hosted on your website, you will naturally enhance your SEO (so long as it is well-crafted), bringing more visitors organically to your website, provide content to feed to social channels allowing for a consistent presentation and again, enhanced SEO, plus provide collateral should you wish to introduce the likes of an e-newsletter.

However, whilst it is tempting to produce content for the sake of it, quality content will be what delivers results.

Your content needs to answer a need, otherwise, it will not be bringing any real benefit. Ensure your messaging is educational, thought-provoking, inspiring, or informative. Good content will only add to your credibility - vital when it comes to any purchasing decision.

Your content becomes your voice, so it is imperative to match your company's tone and be delivered in a format that enhances the brand, rather than taking away from it.

If you have a news section on your website that has been left idle for months, this is not only a missed opportunity but potentially damaging, as a prospect may be deterred as it could be seen that you have taken your foot 'off the pedal' and don't take the time to engage with your customer base.

By maintaining communication with clients, you're building that relationship, even if it's pre-purchase, this will help establish trust and build awareness, but more importantly loyalty and reputation. According to Forrester, consistent customer experience helps to build a trusted brand.

Introducing content marketing into your strategy, or improving on what's already there, will no doubt reap rewards, but to establish that consistency you need to determine if you have the resource - if not, explore the options available, to continually be able to deliver.

Ultimately, if you're not talking to your customers, you can guarantee your competitors will try to, so take some time to see if you can improve or introduce content into your marketing mix.