Content Marketing is everywhere. Do a Google search for content marketing and you will be presented with over 65 million results in 1.7 seconds, that is a lot of reading! We have blogged about the importance of content marketing for SEO before, it’s a subject which crops up all the time and this is the testament to its importance. Content is still king.
So, the need for content is established, but, is all content, content marketing?
They are two sides of the same coin but there is a difference between creating content for your website and content marketing. Website content can be product or service information, company information, FAQ’s, event information, company news – anything which you need to write can be considered ‘content’. This is all important in terms of SEO and should not be overlooked. This kind of content can answer your customer’s questions, provide information about your company ethos, showcase your products, show your customers who they are dealing with and shape their expectations. This kind of information on your website helps to build site authority and, hopefully, assist you in converting your site visitors into customers.
So, how does content marketing differ from the kind of content described above?
Increasingly, larger companies are creating hubs for their content marketing and these hubs are destinations in themselves. Red Bull have a website called RedBulletin which is branded but is entirely given over to interesting, entertaining and informative editorial. Celebrity interviews, sports, festivals, music, all topics generated around youth culture generally. Of course Red Bull is mentioned and the brand is reflected in the content which is primarily there to entertain but will also provide RedBull with new subscribers, social media visits, video views etc.
A similar example of this kind of publishing hub would be AirBnB’s City Guides, information regarding specific neighbourhoods of major tourist cities, food, nightlife, culture, sightseeing, all with a slant towards the more independent traveller who wants to see the ‘real’ city. Again, this site is a destination in itself and provides a lot of entertaining and informative content.
These sites are both examples of large repositories of great content marketing which is doing its job. If you are thinking about going to Barcelona for example, before booking your flights or accommodation you may first do some internet research about the city, what is there to do, what is the nightlife like, what should I visit, what are the must-see sights. AirBnB’s City Guides will likely answer these questions for you, leading you towards looking at their accommodation listings, the ultimate aim.
I know what you are thinking…
So how does this translate to smaller companies without the marketing budget to create a separate publishing site purely to attract visitors, and, let’s be honest, some of our businesses can be a bit boring!
There are lots of examples of how it is possible for smaller companies to win with content marketing. Think about publishing content which has a connection to your product or service which will answer people’s questions. Insider information, industry related news, topical pieces which are relevant to your business, examples of this kind of content marketing would be an accountancy firm talking about the latest budget or an estate agent writing about changes to stamp duty thresholds. Increasingly, with the rise of voice search (think Siri and Cortana and gadgets like Amazon’s Echo) Google search is trying to find results which answer more ‘natural language’ searches like ‘how will the latest tax changes affect me’ or ‘what are the new stamp duty rates’. Keep this in mind when thinking about subjects to write about.
If you need some more help or advice about how best to incorporate this kind of material into your website and your overall digital marketing strategy, have a look at our digital marketing pages or get in touch with us.