Why is Content Marketing Important?

If you’ve heard of content marketing, it’s quite possible that it was in the context of “things you should be doing but aren’t yet.” That’s true — you should be doing content marketing, but that can sound really confusing if you aren’t completely sold on the why and what the heck is that? part of that statement. So let’s dive into what content marketing is and why it’s important, shall we?

Content marketing is the “content” part of an inbound marketing strategy. With content marketing, you put your time and effort into creating content that adds value to your audience, therefore helping build a relationship between your brand and your target audience.

It’s an incredibly effective way to bring in leads and make sales, but it’s also a method that takes time and serious effort to nurture and grow. So before I lose you to that sidenote, let’s talk about why you should focus on content marketing.

1. It builds trust between your brand and your audience.
2. Through quality content, you build and keep attention.
3. You’re given the opportunity to begin a genuine conversation with your audience.
4. Adding value and building a relationship with your customers is easier.
5. Users have a reason to come back and spend time with your site.
6. Your audience/customers become advocates for your brand.
7. Conversions (or new leads) are more valuable.
8. Enjoying happier, intentional customers.
9. It encourages more relaxed customers who are more likely to convert.

These may all sound similar, and that’s because they are. The truth is that your content marketing efforts will result in loyal, engaged users or clients, but because that’s always easier said than done, let’s dive into the details of those nine reasons why content marketing is important.

1. It builds trust between your brand and your audience.

Here’s a question — if you become friends with two new people (let’s call them Taylor and Robin), who would you trust more:

Taylor, right? (No offense to all the Robins out there.)

See, the thing is that the internet is essentially like the world’s digital living room. When you show up, you need to be yourself, be open, and add value, otherwise, you’ll quickly be dismissed as irrelevant or shady.

2. Through quality content, you build and keep attention.

Remember the last time you were in a living room with a bunch of people? Say one person would have spoken just one sentence the entire evening. Wes Anderson film characters aside, that person would probably have quickly faded into the background.

You must share and share often in order to even be noticed online. Content marketing is all about engaging multiple channels so that your audience actually remembers you positively. Don’t just speak one sentence! Start a conversation! (Which leads us to the third benefit…)

3. You’re given the opportunity to begin a genuine conversation with your audience.

Let’s keep rolling with this whole “internet as a living room” analogy. Say that same person who just spoke one sentence the entire night also avoids eye contact, seems very unhappy to be there, and refuses to talk to anyone else.

If you just met that person, would you be compelled to talk with them and learn more about them? Only if you’re a teenage girl in an ‘80s movie who goes after the dark, brooding type, right?

Don’t be a dark, brooding type online. There’s something to be said for piquing curiosity, but you can’t do that if you never open your proverbial mouth online. When you use content marketing, you open the door for a conversation with your audience, and that creates a pretty loyal following.

4. Adding value and building a relationship with your customers is easier.

Picture one of those kiosk workers who stand by their carts, holding a hair straightener or a bottle of lotion, saying something about giving you a sample or service. You know that type. It just feels so scammy because you know they’re going to sucker you into spending money you don’t want to spend on something you need to be convinced that you need.

You can do better than that when you create content.

Shift your perspective from “selling” to “adding value” by using a good content marketing strategy, and your audience will love you even more. Our white paper deep dives into why this is important and how you can do it.

What do I mean by “adding value”? Share tips, tricks, and other stuff that makes sense for your brand and your website will start feeling like a place that your customers look forward to visiting!

5. Users have a reason to come back and spend time with your site.

There’s nothing more frustrating than bingeing an entire season of a show on Netflix, only to discover that’s literally the only season of the show in existence. It’s hard to stay committed to a show if there’s no clear indication of when you can expect to see it pop up on your feed again, right?

The same thing goes for your site. If you have compelling, frequent content, your audience will more likely return to your site more often. If you don’t, then you’ll slip into the “one season” category and your audience may forget about you.

6. Your audience/customers become advocates for your brand.

A crazy high number of users online say that they’re more likely to try a brand, product, or service if it has high ratings and great reviews. So getting those ratings and reviews is something you should attract, but how exactly do you do that?

By being awesome and giving more than you take, of course.

Again, the more you add value to your audience’s lives, the more you create great experiences for them and provide products or services that they’re happy with, the more they’re going to return to your site to visit. If you become one of their favorite places to visit online, it’s pretty likely that they’re going to share you with their friends and family.

7. Conversions (or new leads) are more valuable.

The biggest benefit of using content marketing is enjoying more qualified leads coming in. These leads have already spent time with your brand, have decided that you’re trustworthy, and are usually ready to take the leap by the time they share their information with you.

And even if they’re not, part of the benefit of content marketing is that that approach encourages you to follow up with people after they’ve shared their information with you, so you can keep the conversation going!

8. Enjoying happier, intentional customers.

If your leads are more valuable, that most likely means that they’re going to be happier when they do convert, because they’ve actually spent the time and energy and investigated whether or not they really wanted your product or service before they commit. A more intentional customer or client is a more satisfied customer or client.

9. It creates more relaxed customers, who are more likely to convert.

Every single piece of the content marketing puzzle is designed to build trust. If your audience trusts you, they’re more likely to have less stress around converting, and that lower stress will translate to more satisfaction and more forgiveness if something does go awry.

Think about it this way: if a close friend or family member does something you’re not the biggest fan of, you’ve built up a base level of commitment that makes it safe and worthwhile to express your frustration. But if someone you don’t really know all that well or trust very much does something that rubs you the wrong way, it’s much easier to be like, “ok, bye!”.

If you’ve built up enough value with your audience, they’re more likely to communicate with you when frustrated, instead of just walking away.

The Bottom Line

The truth is, creating a loyal audience is more cost-effective in the long run than constantly re-creating one. Invest your time and money wisely by engaging in a content marketing plan. Need tips on how to get started, or have an interest in us creating one for you? Cool! Drop us a line.