Content at this point is undeniably important whether for a small business or a well-established company. It can help your website improve its ranking and grow the business. Another important role of content marketing is how it can provide the best leads. According to one study, content marketing is three times more effective than paid search. And not only that, it costs 62% less than outbound marketing strategies.
Just imagine having the ability to attract the right people for your business using the right content. But just how important is content when it comes to lead generation strategy? Here are ways content marketing is a game-changer in generating leads.
1. Build a solid reputation’
Customers gravitate toward good companies. How do you establish yourself as a good player in your niche? Apart from having good products, you can also rely on good and timely content to attract the right people.
Companies can use content to build a solid reputation in their niche. By providing useful and free information to your readers, it becomes possible to improve the way customers look at your company as a brand.
This is one of the main reasons why top companies invest in long and well-researched content. Imagine being the first one to spearhead new information that will be shared on social media? This could easily turn your company into an industry leader in the eyes of your market. It shows how well you know your niche. With a good reputation comes potential customers and the right audience.
2. Content can attract the right audience
With Google’s ability to match queries to the right website, you can expect to have the right audience go to your content. Writing the right content will get you noticed by people who are looking for additional information regarding a particular topic. Of course it helps to build some quality backlinks like guest posts to your newly published beast of an article to grow the organic traffic.
Let’s take this example. If you are selling running shoes, writing reviews of top running shoes can potentially give you people who are interested in buying running shoes.
Apart from attracting the right audience, you can even know them more. By taking a closer look at your traffic’s data, you will be able to know a lot of information about your readers such as their gender, location, or even their age.
Now that you’ve attracted the right people in your content, it’s up to you on how you can convince them to give their emails or any of their additional information.
3. Data in exchange for useful content
Some websites will only provide useful content to their audience once they get their readers’ emails and other pertinent information. Instead of paying for content, readers will only have to provide their email and name to read the rest of the article. In some scenarios, websites provide a quarter of the content before the readers need to fill out a form.
It can be a win-win situation for both parties. Some instances the reader is more than willing to provide their information since they’ve read well-written content and they can’t afford to not read the rest of it.
If you decide to use this strategy to generate leads, you have to ensure that you capture the attention of your audience right from the very start. It is important to create engaging content from the first sentences of your content and also, be sure to leave the other pertinent details that will only become available if your audience already provided the necessary information that you need.
4. Respond to your call-to-action
From the title down to the actual article, content marketing can be used to trigger your reader’s emotions. Once readers are emotionally engaged, it is possible to easily get them to do what you want.
But what should they do next? It’s your responsibility to tell them what they should be doing next. Should they hit the subscribe button or should they buy your product using the link below? These are some of the most common call-to-action phrases that you’ll notice among top websites today.
However, before you can even motivate your readers by using a call-to-action phrase, it is equally important that you are successful in triggering their emotions. This way, they are primed to follow your advice at the end of your content. Unfortunately, this is easier said than done. You’ll have to know your audience well to be able to trigger the right emotions that can play in your favour.
You’ll need to come up with engaging content and even utilize a voice that they can relate to. For instance, if you have young readers, you’d rather want to put yourself in the shoes of these young readers. Know how they talk to further catch their attention. You also need to catch their attention and using catchy titles or even utilize clickbait tactics. Aside from engaging content, the timing should be correct as well. You can also discuss pressing issues win your community.
5. Get them to speak
Content marketing can be used to facilitate discussions. Another lead generation strategy is to get your audience to engage with your content. Let them like, share, or even comment about your content. You can share your content on Facebook and Facebook allows you to invite users who liked your post.
In addition to this, you can also get to know your audience better. Based on their comments, you’ll be able to know what they think of your content. In addition to this, if they left a comment on your website, you can ask for their email first before they can leave their comment. This is a great way to acquire people’s emails and other pertinent information.
Conclusion
Content marketing and lead generation can work together in your favour. By providing highly informative content regularly to your audience, it becomes easier to build an audience. In addition to this, you can also develop trust between you and your audience and they are more than willing to provide you with their email and other pertinent details.
One common misconception by a lot of businesses is that lead generation costs a lot of money. In reality, you don’t have to always provide freebies and discount codes to get the email and other important details about your market. All it takes is useful content that can trigger emotions or can help get educate them regarding particular topics.
