Why Content Marketing Should Be Your Foundation

Everyday I become introduced to more and more new companies that don't seem to have a clear understanding of what it takes to launch a business. I have also been guilty of this in my past, which is why I figured this would be a great topic to cover in today's blog. The short of it, Marketing Takes Time.

If you're able to produce some sort of marketing that doesn't take time, you'll likely see it drop just as fast as it arrived once it's over. But it doesn't have to be over. Instead you should be playing the long game. Those quick shortcuts might look enticing, buying quick likes or follows, but they aren't valuable. It even positions your company incorrectly. Look at it this way, you bought a bunch of likes, but those likers love Beef, but your company produces vegan products. Now you've got the attention of a bunch of Beef owners but you don't sell anything they would buy. Doesn't make sense does it?

Instead, you should be making the foundation of your marketing strategy designed around producing content that your actual audience would read. Why?

1. SEO is still very much a thing and it's not going anywhere

SEO is the organic solution. It has a better ROI than any other form of advertising. While no longer in the limelight, SEO is critical to your website and your ads performing well. And while many SEO experts out there will tell you to go buy links and increase your credibility, I highly advise against it. Instead, you should create good content that people are willing to link to and talk about. If you aren't getting any links, the likelihood is that they don't know about it, so make sure to spread the word. The best link is one from a fan, who is also creating content that readers enjoy, that loves your company so much they want to talk about you.

2. Are you on Social Media?

Or is it just a platform where you toss advertisements? I ask because people are looking for human connections, not robots sending the same message over and over again. Are you talking to your followers as if they're real people? You should be and you should be trying to provide them with solutions to their problems. If you aren't producing something useful for your readers / followers, then why would they follow? Would you follow someone that doesn't post content?

3. PR & Content Marketing, they aren't the same

PR is when a journalist writes about a company. When you write about your industry and post on your blog, that's content marketing. PR is something many online companies forget about or don't even realize they need. If you're a brick and mortar store, the odds are you've announced your opening in a newspaper, by submitting a Press Release for the news to consume. Thing is, once you have content and you've had a piece of PR published, it's a lot easier to get more journalists interested in your content.

4. Reduce User Acquisition Friction

So many of your website visitors are new. It's their first time visiting your website and the first time they've seen your brand. Guess what? Those blogs you write, that video of you showing your products in action, are the types of tools your visitors use to figure out if they like you. If they follow your twitter, read your blog and listen to your podcast, they're engaged with your company. These people are more likely to buy, share and spread your company messages. Which leads into the next item.

5. Working with a Stranger vs a trusted Friend

No one wants to be friends with the pushy sales guy that's always bringing up the next thing he's selling. If anyone has ever stopped you at the beginning of a conversation and said to you, "okay, what are you selling today", you've gone too far. What happened about creating a connection? Do you even care about your customers? Instead, the type of interaction you're looking for is, "Yo, my man, that blog you posted last week was fire! You're such a guru and I want to work with pro's like you. So, how do we get started?" That's the difference between cold and warm business development. If you're already outreaching with valuable content, your future leads will more easily convert because they're already interested and invested in you.

At the end of the day, you need to stop thinking about it and start writing. Not sure what to write about? Check out this blog on how to Create that Valuable Educational Well-Formatted Content.