Copywriting.
It’s a big buzzword in the marketing community that’s become a hot topic of conversation for businesses of all sizes, niches, and industries.
Copywriting is part of content marketing–and content marketing is one of those things that your brand should be familiar with.
Why?
Because understanding it and applying it can make an enormous difference in your business.
To put it simply, content marketing is a more bang-for-your-buck kind of marketing strategy that’s affordable, relatively easy to break into, and offers you a hefty return on investment (ROI).
In other words, it’s a must for marketing strategies.
If content marketing just seems like an overwhelming term that you don’t quite know how to approach, don’t sweat it.
This blog will dive into some basics to help you better understand content marketing as a practical strategy for your brand.
If you’ve spent any time at all around a copywriter or marketing pro, you’ve probably heard this sentiment before.
Content is king.
Is it cliché? Sure. Is it obnoxious to hear over and over again? You better believe it.
But–importantly– is it correct? Absolutely.
Obviously, this is a repetitive buzzword in the marketing world for a reason. So, what does it mean, exactly?
Whether you love the idea of this type of digital strategy or not, content marketing continues to be the overwhelmingly dominating method for productive, impactful marketing.
The word content can be a little all-encompassing.
Content is part of every aspect of your marketing already–from social media and PPC to SEO and inbound marketing strategy.
So, if content is already a part of all those factors, then what does it mean to designate content marketing as its own thing?
Think about content marketing as a strategic approach that’s entirely focused on creating and distributing valuable, consistent, and impactful content with the goal of acquiring and maintaining a defined audience to generate leads, communicate with an audience, and drive customer action.
When it’s done right, content marketing takes the form of something like a blog, where it delivers high-quality content that’s created and shared consistently.
In the same way, content marketing should be used to complement your other forms of marketing. This strategy should work in tandem with your social media marketing, SEO strategy, and other forms of digital marketing.
It’s one thing to say something is high-quality. It’s another entirely to know what “high-quality” means in the first place.
So, what does creating high-quality content look like?
Every piece of content will be unique and valuable, and we’re certainly never going to suggest that you abide by the same rules for everything you write (that’s counterproductive, which we’ll get to eventually).
But before you launch any piece of content into the world, you’re going to want to make sure it checks certain high-quality content boxes to ensure it’s going to do its job to the best of its ability.
By now, you’re probably like, “Great, I’ve got a good grasp on how to write quality content. But why does this matter to my marketing strategy, anyway?”
We’re happy to answer that.
Basically, content marketing is one of the methods that provides this all-inclusive way to improve a ton of your brand’s sticking points.
There’s really no avoiding this reality–Google controls a lot of what people see on the Internet.
As a general rule, Google will put the best, most relevant information in front of Internet users, and ultimately, that search result will depend on what people type into the search bar and the type of content out there on the web.
And here’s the thing about caring about what Google cares about: there’s no real shortcut.
Strategies like keyword stuffing, overloading backlinks, and drawing out length without adding volume won’t do you any favors–Google is looking for value, educational content, and content that actually provides answers that users are looking for.
How can you crack this Google code? It’s paradoxical, but if you write with your audience in mind–not your keywords or the SEO algorithms– you’re setting yourself up for success.
Ultimately, Google cares about providing users with valuable, informative, helpful, and quality content–you can only accomplish this by actually providing these elements in your content.
Google cares about that, and if you want your content (and your products or services) to pop up on more computer screens, you’ve got to care, too.
Your content is more than just a marketing ploy–it’s how you communicate and connect with your audience.
Think about it this way; content is sort of like a connective tissue that links everything together and allows you to understand your customers better.
Through trial and error, you’ll see what works, what doesn’t, and what your audience is looking for/ attracted to. Then, you can learn how to communicate directly with them, providing them with the information they’re actually looking for.
The more quality, informative, and valuable content you can provide readers, the easier it is to become an authority in your industry.
As a result of this, your customers are far more willing to trust your brand. If a customer views you as an industry expert, they’re far more likely to look to you for answers, products, and services, all the while recognizing that you’re the go-to resource for whatever they might need about a specific topic or industry.
Sure, this is something you can (and should) establish in other areas of your website (testimonials, your own industry experience, etc.), but content marketing is where you can share experiences, opinions, and expertise in approachable, interesting ways.
Social proof is an enormous part of doing business–that’s why reviews are so critical and such a crucial part of a customer’s journey. With content marketing, you can chip away, over time, at establishing that necessary social proof potential buyers need to make their first purchase.
Studies show that anywhere between 70-90% of clicks in search engines on Google are on a result on the first page–that means ranking on that first page is super important to get that desired traffic.
How do you accomplish this? Optimize your blogs and landing pages, use SEO best practices, and write audience-first content that’s informative, valuable, and optimized.
The more web traffic you can drive to your website, the more eyes you’ll get on your website–and that means the more potential conversions you’re setting yourself up for.
Let’s put this simply: Content marketing can be a pretty cheap marketing strategy, but it pays off big time.
Of course, you don’t have to just take our word for it.
The Content Marketing Institute (CMI) says that small businesses that invest in consistent, high-quality content on their blogs will get about 126% more lead growth than the small businesses that don’t have blogs.
Tack that on to the fact that about 77% of internet users actually read blogs, and you’ve got quite the case for content marketing ROI.
We don’t mean to keep throwing numbers at you, but they don’t lie.
Blogging (and content marketing in general) pulls in more visitors, generates more leads, increases traffic, and converts those high-quality leads to customers.
The fact of the matter is that investing in high-quality content on your brand’s blog will bring in leads, generate revenue, and pay off in the short and long term. And the actual cost of content marketing can be as cheap as you want it to be.
Whether you buckle down and do the content work yourself or outsource to a reliable team to get the job done, the investment will be minimal compared to the fact-of-the-matter return on that investment you’ll see.
Content marketing isn’t always linear, but if you’re pushing out good, high-quality content that gives readers the information they need, they’re more likely to purchase or trust you in the future.
Exceptionally well-done content marketing will include clear calls to action (CTAs) that direct potential (and current) customers in ways that can generate new, high-quality leads for your sales team.
While there are numbers to back this up, we’re just going to say this from anecdotal experience–the happier someone is with your content, the more likely they are to click your CTAs and buy from you.
Spoiler alert: there are more benefits than the ones we are listing here, but we think these seven are super notable.
If you’re not loving the idea of putting together an entire content marketing strategy, pushing out blog content, or figuring out the ins and outs of SEO, don’t fret–you can still reap the benefits of a stellar content marketing strategy.
How? With our help.
We’re proud to be content marketing pros over here, and we’re even prouder when we get the chance to share that knowledge with brands like yours.
Whether you’re ready to kickstart your content marketing strategy from scratch, revamp your current content, or just chat about what you could be doing differently (or better!), our team is here to help.
BOUNDLESS COPY SHOP
Killer copy on your to-do list? We’re down for the get-down. We love a DIY kinda brand who’s game to bring major magic to their words.
This shop is filled with done-for-you & done-with-you resources, templates, & education to spice up your copy, talk directly to your people, & bring your brand voice to life.
BOUNDLESS COPY SHOP
Killer copy on your to-do list? We’re down for the get-down. We love a DIY kinda brand who’s game to bring major magic to their words.
This shop is filled with done-for-you & done-with-you resources, templates, & education to spice up your copy, talk directly to your people, & bring your brand voice to life.