9 Benefits of Content Marketing

Whether a digital marketing agency captains your brand’s outreach or you’re sailing your own ship in uncharted waters, usingthe most powerful marketing strategies will keep your company afloat. To which, you’ve likely heard about content marketing—and for good reason.

A 2019 survey of American consumers found that 41% of poll participants access three to five pieces of branded content before ever reaching out to a sales rep, making the case for content marketing.¹ of content marketing.

So, what exactly is content marketing? And why should you invest in this long-term marketing strategy?

Let’s demystify this concept and explore the nine benefits of content marketing that your brand can reap as you navigate your way to success.

What is content marketing?

Firstly, what is content marketing? Withholding the jargon and buzzwords, content marketing is a few concepts in one:

• It’s a plan to create and release unique and relevant content that resonates with your target audience
• It’s a method that attracts potential customers to your site by providing useful content they want
• It’s a highly branded, consistent messaging campaign that shows your potential customers that you have what they need (brand awareness)

The term “content” deserves its own TED Talk. But put simply, it’s the stuff your brand puts out into the world that isn’t always your product—your social media posts, website, blog post, email newsletter, email marketing, video content, billboard and everything else that has your name on it.

In a content marketing strategy, great content needs to accomplish two critical tasks:

1. Your content has to provide valuable information to your viewers, visitors and readers.
2. Your content needs to convince your audience that you have the product they need.

Content marketing is multifaceted, complex and evergreen—just like your brand.

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9 advantages of a content marketing strategy

We’ve explored what content marketing is—but what can it actually do? Let’s break down nine benefits of content marketing that just might convince you to drop everything and start creating.

#1 Content marketing will teach you about your clients

One of the first steps in a content strategy is to build your brand’s persona—the voice your brand uses to send its messages.²

A robustcontent marketing strategy needs a unique voice that authentically connects with your audience —one that’s trustworthy, approachable and distinct enough to embody your brand. To create that voice, you’ll need to find out what kind of voice your customers want to hear. Do they prefer listening to, seeing and reading content that’s:

• High-level or in-depth?
• Quippy or to the point?
• High-brow or casual?
• Fast-paced or leisurely?
• Sarcastic or polite?
• Edgy or wholesome?

As you explore what your clientele wants to hear, you’ll learn more about them—information that can help you tailor your content and refine your products.

#2 Content marketing can scale with your brand

Content marketing is ultra-scalable.

Why? Because there are so many avenues for sending content out into the world and countless genres of content you can utilize.

Let’s explore a hypothetical:

• You run a small greeting card business. It’s a small business—you have just a few employees, you’ve recently become profitable and you want to grow your website traffic, sales, and existing customers by 10% in the next 12 months.
• You start producing blog content for your website with help from an SEO company, and you accomplish your sales growth goal within the expected timeline.
• With that extra revenue, you invest in your business. You buy another printer, hire another graphic designer or purchase real estate. But, to keep funding these investments, you need to grow a little faster.
• In addition to your blogging efforts, you decide to start making informative TikToks or running TikTok ads about greeting card etiquette, personalized stationery and other relevant topics. Your videos direct customers to your eCommerce site, and your website traffic and sales grow even more.

SEO and content marketing go hand-in-hand to help your business gain visibility and drive sales. The cycle continues—and as you grow, so does your content marketing strategy. There’s limitless potential.

#3 Content marketing makes your brand more visible

In the hypothetical above, the content marketing strategy grew your greeting card business because it introduced more people to your brand—people who will remember your logo, your voice or your unique product and return to you when they need what you offer.

One of the most important functions of a content marketing strategy is increasing your brand’s visibility. Two elements of content marketing make this possible:

1. Content quantity – The more you put out there, the greater the chances that a potential customer will stumble upon it.
2. Technical tactics – Content marketers use highly specific strategies to draw in visitors to your content. SEO, or search engine optimization, is one example.

Content marketing should be robust, but it should also be well-choreographed. Both efforts can help to increase your brand visibility.

#4 Content marketing encourages transparency

A 2022 poll discovered that about 72% of consumers prioritize a brand’s transparency when choosing between two similar products.³

And, as you develop your brand’s persona and put out unique, high quality content, you’ll share more information than ever before about:

• Your brand’s origin story
• Your product, what it’s made from and how it’s made
• How your brand conforms to (or rebels against) industry standards
• How your product reflects your brand’s values

The more specific you can be, the better—and content marketing presents a massive opportunity to be transparent with consumers. Trustworthiness brand loyalty.

#5 Content marketing creates a more informed consumer base

A major project for content marketers is discovering what information customers want at each stage of the sales funnel—and giving them just that.⁴

If you make it a priority to share high-quality, well-sourced information in your content, you aren’t just helping a few customers learn about one small part of your product or industry. You’re also helping your end users (and consumers in general) become more informed.

That effect flows through the entire economy, improving the market for the better:

• Transparent brands put out useful content featuring high-authority information.
• Potential customers view that content and learn more about the product they need.
• Armed with intel, they choose the best available product. And, when they can’t find one that meets their standards, they explicitly tell brands what’s missing from the available options on the market.

Informed customers demand better products—a phenomenon that challenges your brand to create the best money can buy.

#6 Content marketing is another opportunity to serve your customers

When a potential client searches one of your brand’s keywords and discovers your high-authority listicle, infographic or how-to video, you’re meeting their immediate need right away. They want information, and your content delivers.

And, whether or not they “like and subscribe” (or make a purchase), consumers will remember your brand the next time they think about the topic they were researching when they stumbled across your content. You met their needs once, and that increases their confidence that you—or your product—can do it again.

#7 Content marketing is customizable

Content marketing isn’t like traditional marketing—you aren’t limited to a 30-second TV spot, a 2” x 3” newspaper ad or even the seemingly-massive canvas of a roadside billboard.

You set the rules for:

• How your content looks.
• The tone you want your brand to embody.
• How much (or how little) you want to write, photograph or record.
• The topics you want to discuss.

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to content marketing, and you have the freedom to craft a bespoke strategy.

#8 Content marketing can establish your brand as an industry expert

Did we mention that your relevant content should be high-authority?

When you post video content, make an infographic or write a thought leadership blog post that cites quality sources and acknowledges the good, the bad and the ugly of a topic, you establish your brand as a knowledgeable industry expert.

In a landscape where consumers can access intel on their own, committing to spreading reliable information is a feather in your cap—one that your future clients will certainly notice.

#9 Content marketing generates high-intent leads

At its core, content marketing is about lead generation—putting your brand in the periphery of customers with high intent to buy. And statistics show that content marketing works.

Let’s consider video content alone. In a 2021 study of over 500 consumers:⁵

• 98% said they had watched a video while researching a product or service.
• 88% said that a brand’s video convinced them to make a purchase.
• 78% said that, after watching a video, they were convinced to download software or a mobile app.

When your target audience is on the hunt for product comparisons, reviews or industry knowledge—even if they’re on the fence about buying any brand’s product—your high quality content could be the last push they need to whip out their wallet.

Dive into content marketing with Power Digital

The benefits of content marketing are clear—releasing relevant, informative and quality content to your customer base can boost your bottom line, increase brand awareness and so much more.

If you’re convinced of the power of content marketing by now, you’re living proof that the concept works. When you’re ready to develop a high-octane strategy to draw in new customers, turn to the experts at Power Digital.

Our digital marketing experts use their tech savvy, industry know-how and content acumen to develop strategies for today’s top brands. Companies like AirBnB, Casper, Beyond Meat and Peloton trust the Power Digital team to drive growth and brand affinity.

Your brand is ready to grow—our content marketing agency is here to help.

Sources:

1. Forbes. Five Factors of Effective Content Marketing. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2022/04/04/five-factors-of-effective-content-marketing/?sh=25e82d3b588d
2. Investopedia. What Is Brand Personality? How It Works and Examples. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/brand-personality.asp
3. The Food Institute. Report Shows Modern Consumers Demand Transparency from Brands. https://foodinstitute.com/focus/report-shows-modern-consumers-demand-transparency-from-brands/
4. Forbes. 16 Top Content Marketing Trends to Stay on Top Of in 2022. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2022/01/24/16-top-content-marketing-trends-to-stay-on-top-of-in-2022/?sh=448266585c84
5. Wyzowl. The State of Video Marketing 2022. https://wyzowl.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/pdfs/Wyzowl-Video-Survey-2022.pdf

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