Content is Still King

Long before the advent of the internet and the niche digital marketing that followed, content ruled from on top the mountain. A well-placed turn of phrase or the right kind of narrative that sparked a story in a consumer’s mind dominated the advertorial world. As the world advanced, so too did the marketing industry, along with a variety of new and varied marketing techniques.

Yet, content as a priority continued on––sometimes in darkness and sometimes front and center.

Brands face new challenges as we prepare to enter the third decade of the 21^st century. Consumers spend the majority of their time online, and brands have to learn to keep their attention by any means necessary. Blog posts, guest posts, whitepapers, webinars, infographics, social messaging, and email marketing still all require a central component: content.

Content still connects the product to its consumer.

But how?

Answering Questions

Depending on your product or service, customers have a question they need answered, even if they aren’t aware of what that question might be. Perhaps they need to purchase a new car or determine which dentist is best for their family. Within these soft ideas is a hard question unspoken: How do I get this thing I need, but perhaps don’t know how to articulate?

The content that draws them to your funnel of choice should answer these covert and overt questions with simple, easy-to-digest answers. Doing so means that your content sits atop search results, which creates more traffic and customer leads.

Expertise

Thought leaders love to use new and varied terms to describe a much simpler concept: establishing expertise. Customers want to know that the product or service they select is trustworthy and the best possible option. Using content to establish expertise (or thought leadership, if you prefer) allows your brand to stand out amongst your competitors. Content broaches the divide between the known and unknown in terms of trust assessment on the part of customers.

Consumer Loyalty

If answering questions through quality content brings in leads, and expertise provides a base of trust, then continued content ensures consumer loyalty. The regularity of content that speaks to customers engenders the kind of trust necessary to have customers return to purchase more––or provide the vaunted referral that expands your customer base. That personal connection is established through content, by way of involvement and communication.

Accessibility through Conversations

Content is an opportunity to have a conversation with your customers. Whether they are sharing the content or commenting on it, the accessibility of the information they need, and the subsequent conversation that addresses that need through content, is integral to more sales (which, after all, is the bottom line).

If you treat content as a way to drive engagement, in lieu of re-targeting ads or other ad-driven marketing behavior, then you increase overall consumer engagement. Customers want to be heard, but, more importantly, they want to hear from you, the product or service they are considering. A dynamic content marketing strategy not only sells what needs to be sold, but also creates a narrative and community of which prospective customers want to be a part.

When handled properly, your content gives you the opportunity to start a conversation with your customers. They may comment on your blog posts or share your social media posts. In addition to letting you answer customer complaints or questions, you can also gain valuable insights from these comments. When customers begin to see that you take their feedback seriously, they’ll be more likely to continue to buy from you.

So, if content is king, how do you use it to reach the most customers?

• Choose writers carefully. The voice of your content matters. Goodness of fit is more than just understanding the topic; it also means understanding the voice of the brand. Since the goal is more customers, make sure that prospective writers grasp what you are trying to do: generate more leads. A grasp of language is important as well, but equally as important is a writer who understands their own voice; otherwise, you end up with a discordant narrative or copy that requires more editing than is cost effective.  
• Have a content plan. More often than not, businesses don’t have a content plan. If you outsource writing, then those writers could be from disparate time zones. Having a plan in place that does not require synchronicity of writers being in the same time zone, but rather a calendar of when content posts and in what orders serves the most important person: the customer. They see a smooth narrative, regardless of your writing staff.
• Consistency is the name of the game. Perhaps nothing is more important than consistency. If you’re fortunate, you have a dedicated team of writers upon whom you can depend. Even if that is not the case, consistency of voice, format, and posting is important from the customer’s perspective. They want to see the finalized product, not the uneven machinations that creates it. Maintain the relationship with your readers by establishing a consistent narrative and content schedule.
• Evaluate: rinse, wash, and repeat. One of the many ways that a content strategy becomes stale is by resting on what you have already done. Evaluating the social metrics of your content allows you to adjust, and adjust you should if you wish to keep readers coming back for more. If something doesn’t pique the interest of readers, then all the content in the world is meaningless. For content to be king, the contents needs to resonate with readers. Become an advocate of evaluation and setting new content goals, even if that means adjusting your plan and stable of writers.