Content is one of the best ways to acquire inbound leads. The more content you have, the more exposure you get in search engines and the more people you can reach. In fact, blogging helps to increase traffic to your website by 55%. This could make a huge difference to how many prospects are in your pipeline.
When looking at statistics like that, the value of content to inbound marketing can’t be overstated. Let’s look at the key ways it could help your inbound marketing strategy.
It Establishes You As An Authority
The more information you share about the inner workings of your industry, the more you show to your customers, prospects, and competition that you’re the go-to person on your topic.
This can lead to not just more customers, but also guest post opportunities, book deals, and even speaking invitations.
For instance, Hubspot is seen as one of the go-to sites for marketing advice because they regularly publish in-depth studies on various aspects of inbound and content marketing.
It Builds Search Rankings
Many of us, when we have a problem, visit our favourite search engine for the answer. Your customers are no different. If you have high-quality content that answers their question, you’ll show up in search results. They may then visit your site and, if they like your answer, stick around.
Time on site is one of Google’s many ranking factors, which means the longer they spend on your site, the higher you’ll rank and the more people who will find you. This further builds your authority within your industry.
Search engine optimisation (SEO) helps you to reach a cold audience that may not have otherwise discovered you. The helpful information that you share then turns cold prospects into warm leads. It could even turn cold prospects into customers in days, possibly even hours.
Prospects that don’t convert, meanwhile, may still sign up to your mailing list, follow you on social media, or re-visit your blog when you publish a new post. This creates a sense of loyalty and rapport; a relationship you can build. These prospects may not be ready to buy from you now, but that doesn’t mean they can’t still learn from you. Then, one day, when they’re ready, they know who they’re going to buy from.
It Shows You Understand Their Pain Points
Every customer has their pain points. Part of great marketing is knowing what your customers’ pain points are before you sell to them. Content marketing taps into your customers’ and prospects’ pain points better and faster than any other type of marketing.
When you write about their pain points – and share how to fix them – it builds a sense of trust and empathy. It shows that you understand what they’re going through and have come out the other side. You’re therefore the best person to help them through their struggles now. The stronger this sense of empathy, the sooner they’re likely to convert.
The more you can help your audience achieve their goals with your free content, the more likely they’ll be to want to buy from you to achieve their goals better and faster.
Content Is King
Content is a long-term game compared to other marketing tactics. It’s also difficult to measure. However, a good indicator is if someone says to you they found you via your content but don’t remember which piece – it’s a sign you’ve done your job right: they found you so helpful they keep coming back.
Becoming someone’s go-to source for the latest information on a topic is a great way to build the know, like, and trust factor that leads to conversions.
Whatever industry you’re in, content is the best way to build your inbound marketing strategy. It turns you into an authority on your chosen topic(s), demonstrates that you have empathy for your readers’ pain points, brings in leads from search engines, and most importantly, it helps your customers to achieve their goals.