Think content is not king? Think again.
Even though emerging technology and changing priorities ensure that the world of digital marketing is always in flux, there's one constant that can be relied upon: Good content is always required.
Push Vs. Pull In The Digital World
If you're not a newcomer to the digital marketing industry, you're probably already familiar with the difference between "push" and "pull" strategies. In a nutshell, "push" marketing involves communications sent out to potential customers in order to persuade them to move further down the sales funnel. In contrast, "pull" marketing entails helping potential customers find their own way to the product and then convincing them of its value. Content has a role to play in both forms of marketing, but it's particularly important for campaigns that focus on "pull" techniques.
What Makes Great Content An Attractive Force
It's always worth reminding yourself that the Internet is fundamentally an information-gathering tool. Every day, countless consumers fire up the Internet to learn something. They may simply want to be entertained, or they might be researching an upcoming buying decision. Either way, you can picture your audience as a pack of hungry information hunters, eager to devour new facts and ideas. Quality content provides those tasty ideas, satisfying your audience and whetting their appetite for potential conversion into paying customers.
Good Content Encourages Audience Interaction
While "good" content should be well-crafted and interesting to your audience, it doesn't necessarily have to be bland or inoffensive. The best content will spur readers to react, whether it be by sharing your links, leaving comments on your blog, or contacting you directly via social media. From a marketing standpoint this is an ideal situation to be in. Content entices potential customers in via "pull" techniques, and direct contact with the audience allows you to deploy "push" strategies to make conversions and get sales. Plus, content that strikes a chord with your audience is more likely to go viral and take on a life of its own. Compelling content that lends itself to sharing can easily multiply the impact your marketing efforts have.
Spreading Content Awareness Across Multiple Channels
Another great advantage of compelling content is that it's easy to spread around. A well-crafted piece of text may start its life as a blog post on your website, but there's nothing to prevent you from reusing it as an email message, excerpting it on Twitter, linking to it through Facebook, or posting a photo related to it on Instagram. Good content can be the anchor to which you tie any number of marketing efforts focusing on different communications channels. When content is well-suited to sharing, it also becomes a terrific tool for studying your audience. The path your content takes through all of the different Internet media will show you where your customers spend their time and how they prefer to communicate.
Why Concentrating On Content Is Always A Safe Bet
One of the major factors that keeps digital marketing shifting is that every new "gimmick" strategy has an expiration date. Search engine algorithms are refined, closing optimization loopholes. The social media site that was hopping last year is deserted this year. Great content, though, never goes out of fashion. The time, money, and effort you invest in crafting quality content is never wasted. No matter what form the digital marketing landscape takes in the future, you're still going to need to provide compelling, informative, and honest content to your prospective customers.
Many people want to get the best possible results out of limited budgets for digital marketing. If your situation fits these constraints, think carefully before you try and save money by slashing the cost of content. Good content can elevate the effectiveness of a modest marketing campaign, and the opposite is true as well: Even the most expensive marketing effort can be undone by content that your audience finds disappointing.