Before we think about whether your business needs content marketing, consider the last time you made a big purchase.

What factors influenced your decision?

Most people will turn to multiple sources, including friends, family, customer reviews, Google, and social media results. On average, most customers will travel a long journey across the web that will involve dozens of touch points.

Since the dawn of social media, brands lost the control they had over what customers published about products and services. However, brands can publish a steady stream of useful content that helps new customers find them through search engines and social media.

What is content marketing?

Content marketing isn’t just randomly publishing blogs, eBooks, videos, memes, GIFs and other pieces of content in the hope of getting noticed. Content is the foundation of digital marketing. Just look at Buffer, the social media SaaS company; a great example of a startup that has used content to drive growth from day one.

Joel Gascoigne, Co-founder & CEO of Buffer said in the Foreword to a book about startups: “Blogging proved hugely important [in the early] stage. Over the course of six months using content marketing – during which Leo tirelessly wrote over 150 guest blogs – we generated enough revenue for us both to work full-time on Buffer.”  

Content is still essential for Buffer, even now, when they’re generating $9 million annually. Publishing content ensures your brand starts to stand out. The aim behind content should be about educating and informing new and existing customers about your product/service.

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Get found on search engines

Without content, a website is like a brochure that sits in a box at the printers. Brochures were only useful when customers got hold of them. Content is your 24/7 knowledge and brand delivery system. Google prefers a website that demonstrates a consistently steady output of new information: that’s the heart of a smart SEO strategy.

Modern SEO is more about publishing new, informative articles than stuffing a web page with keywords and hoping for an influx of traffic. Search engines are smarter these days. You need a strategy that’s just as smart.

Establish a voice on social media

The same is true of social media. You could publish and share the same articles, GIFs and infographics as everyone else. Or, you could put in a bit more effort, knowing that you will generate long-term results. As any social expert will tell you, a mix of curated, promotional and unique content is required to build an audience.

Without content, leads coming in from the top of the marketing funnel will be few and far between. Every piece of content you publish is a chance to convert a customer. KISSmetrics, founded by Neil Patel, is another SaaS startup that generates revenue almost exclusively from content. One sales lead that reads three articles is 46% more likely to convert into a paying customer.

In an article, reviewing revenue figures, Neil said: “From a financial perspective, when I look back at our 2014 numbers, leads from the blog easily generate 6 figures in new income for us each month.”

Content marketing does take time. Never assume you will see results quickly. Your brand will become known for educating and delighting an audience with content, which in turn will increase the number of leads you generate from the web, email, and social campaigns.

Benefits of content marketing:

• Increase web traffic: More inbound queries and conversions.
• Content for all Channels: Social, sales, email, search.
• Save time, make Money: Avoid the writing time sponge, generate revenue instead.
• Strengthen Customer Relations: Increase customer touch points and establish a consistent inbound marketing channel.  

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