No content? No sales: Revenue growth requires marketing, full stop
In a digital world, content marketing ROI matters more than ever. Without good content, a business can't drive sales. Here are some tips for creating content that sells.
Unless you work directly in search engine marketing or optimization (SEM/SEO) or are an astute web browser, you may have missed Google’s recent change to the search results page. Yet, the change has both immediate and long-term implications for brand marketers across industries.
Specifically, the change relates to how text ads (paid listings via AdWords) are displayed on search result pages. Text ads, which used to appear on the right-hand frame of the browser on desktop searches, are gone. In their place, Google increased the number of ads appearing at the top of search results pages, from three to four. (This is in addition to any Google Shopping ads which may appear.)
The immediate effects of this are two-fold: competition and pay-per-click (PPC) costs will increase and organic search results will be pushed further down the page, creating more pressure on brands that rely on organic and paid search for discovery.
The impacts here are certainly tangible, but this also acts as a powerful reminder about the need for every brand to be proactive and take control of their content and storytelling efforts. Here’s why.
Content strategy: Agility is the name of the game
Change is constant, and retailers and merchants have no control over much of it. Google may have given their largest advertisers a heads up, but for the vast majority of AdWords customers, the change came without warning.
The lesson here is that the rules of engagement can change overnight. Companies must create comprehensive content strategies that look beyond third-party platforms as a means for brand discovery and customer acquisition.
On a related note: You may have heard of the Amazon Echo. The product’s long-term goals are to power the residential Internet of Things (IoT) and, more importantly to marketers, front-run the internet, so customers never even interact with a search page. This could potentially have massive implications for SEO and PPC strategies.
Every brand must own their story
Difficult-to-get earned media aside, no one will tell your story for you. No one can tell it better than you. Price and even service aren’t enough to create differentiation, or even effectively compete in the marketplace.
Content and experience are what differentiate brands from their competitors. Brands must embrace content creation in all its forms to engage their audiences at every step of their journeys.
Kick ROI, loyalty, and engagement into hyperdrive via great content
From e-books to blog posts, videos to GIFs to podcasts, great content marketing wins audiences - even if they reside in galaxies far, far away.
Think and act like a publisher
An easy-to-use shopping funnel isn’t enough. Content must complement commerce. Ideally, the two are integrated to avoid internal channel conflict.
This starts by going beyond the paradigm of the blog, and adopting practices from the publishing world. Create an editorial calendar. Implement cross-channel brand and editorial standards. Develop social and content distribution strategies, which complement SEO and SEM efforts, to amplify your message.
Align everything with your audiences’ goals and interests, and you’ll be in position to benefit in areas ranging from brand discovery and differentiation to loyalty and conversions.
Brands must become destinations
The prevalence of ad fraud schemes and the mainstream rollout of ad blocking technology makes this even more of a need. Find ways to be memorable. If possible, strive to be an indispensable source of information. Educate, entertain, or inspire…then sell.
The goal isn’t just to attract people to your site. It’s to bring them back repeatedly and encourage them to purchase and spread the word.
Each visit holds the potential to end in a transaction, so it’s in everyone brand’s best interest to become a magnet that attracts audiences across channels.
Customer-first content
Take what you know about your customer’s needs and goals to drive your content strategy. Use analytics and primary/secondary research to fill in the gaps. Test and refine what you deliver, and keep evolving to adapt to shifts in behavior.
With this type of focus, you’ll be in the best position to future-proof your content from the inevitable changes that are just around the corner.