To market anything successfully, you must first understand the needs of your consumers and then create a strategy that can satisfy those needs. The problem is that marketing trends are always changing and it can be extremely difficult to keep pace with the developments. What was popular a few months back might seem outmoded today.
However, in recent times, one marketing strategy has remained on the right side of the trending chart for a pretty long time. It is a strategy that can hardly be ignored by any business in today’s times. And that is content marketing!
The primary goal of content marketing is to apprise clients and prospects and keep them engaged. It is a way of displaying your expertise and knowledge of the business and the industry to the people who matter to your business. It is an effective way of persuading the prospects to test and buy your products and services.
The ability to reuse content, and recycle it for your alternative marketing efforts, make content marketing a truly powerful marketing asset for any organization. For instance, your blog post or any other piece of content created for the brand or organization and posted on your website can be shared on social media channels to engage with a new set of potential customers.
You can also recycle old content in push notifications, emails, to create a whitepaper, or in presentations. Multiple marketing efforts can be initiated with a single piece of content. That’s how powerful content marketing is!
These three case studies show how three different companies utilized different content marketing strategies to achieve success and growth in under a year.
The Challenge: With fewer than 400 views on their blog per month, HotPads needed to curate traffic that would convert visitors into an engaged, returning audience. HotPads decided to turn to original content and forego the use of any paid content or promotions in order to achieve their goals for growth.
The Strategy: HotPads turned to content creators to create and publish original story-based content to their website. They focused on hiring quality, vetted journalists and content writers to produce the content.
The Results:
Takeaway:
Never underestimate the power of original content. HotPads used storytelling to get their message to the right people and created an engaged audience that helped them grow into the popular rental site we know today.
This content marketing case study shows why companies must shift their focus from paid content and go for original content if they want to get a surge in traffic on their website. Paid content and promotion can be a strategy but the dominating factor in any marketing campaign must be original content.
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The Challenge:
Superdrug.com wanted to build a campaign that would bring more attention to the lasting problems surrounding body image issues, especially in women. The goal was to offer and raise awareness of resources available to anyone struggling with these problems. This was a sensitive topic that needed to be handled well in order to be effective.
The Strategy:
Graphic designers from 18 countries around the world were hired, all with the same simple task: photoshop the same image of a model and make her attractive in a way that fits their country’s beauty standards. The results were shared as part of the campaign to show the vast differences in beauty standards across the world.
The Results:
Takeaway:
Appealing to emotion in a way that is relatable to your audience is an effective way to connect and encourage engagement. Emotions are also a key factor in viral content.
The Challenge:
Dell’s marketing strategy didn’t account for following up on leads from partner campaigns, leading to ROI losses and a disconnect between Dell’s marketing efforts and their sales channels.
The Strategy:
Dell began a lead nurturing solution that utilized thousands of pieces of unique content that would personalize the experience for every lead, guiding them through interactive content including emails, landing pages, and more that would enable viewers to explore and educate themselves about Dell’s products before ultimately making the decision to buy.
The Results:
Takeaway:
Always follow up on leads and never leave your customers with a dead end when they are viewing your content. Dell’s efforts in creating thousands of pieces of interwoven content allowed for a highly personalized campaign that appealed to a wide audience.
Different companies have different goals to achieve their idea of success, but the many sides of content marketing offer something for everyone when it comes to reaching those goals, whether it’s company growth, greater ROI, or greater brand recognition. Content marketing strategies are the most effective when marketers take the time and research to understand their target audience. The key takeaway from any content marketing case study is to craft a strategy that revolves around your company’s goals and the story you want to tell.
The above content marketing case studies show why success in digital marketing is directly proportional to the ability to create engaging content. To achieve this you must have a deep understanding of the buyer’s journey and know how to influence the next moves.
Digital marketing are of different types and the decision to use the one that fits well within your current business demands and future goals is entirely your call.
Businesses looking to increase search traffic can rely upon SEO and PPC to increase their ranking on top search engines. Brand awareness and reach can be extended by leveraging the social media connects you have and making use of the platform that best suits your business model. You can drive sales and gain profits by using the influencer marketing approach which can take your customer engagement level to a new high.
All these diverse digital marketing strategies are ideal for achieving various marketing goals. However, content marketing is better of them all as it can help you pull all these methodologies on one platform and make them work in synergy.
Content marketing is, without doubt, the most versatile of all the digital marketing strategies. The results can be enjoyed for a longer term as the benefits can compound over a period of time. Any business can adapt content marketing strategy as content can be created and published easily as compared to other marketing procedures. It can also be reposted in a completely different medium to give your free marketing edge by using the same old content in a different manner.
Content marketing is also one of the best tools for lead generation. It will cost you significantly less than traditional marketing and can generate thrice as much leads.
Consider this your crash course on research for content marketing. This 10-page guide explains the four essential types of research that will allow you to build a comprehensive content strategy to attract and retain your target audience.
