Content marketing! You can run banner ads until your heart’s content but many people will choose to opt out of seeing them. This makes them more inclined to say “yes” when you ask, “would you like to buy my widget?” We all like to buy from companies that have shared values and who stand for things that we believe in or that we’re very interested in. Content marketing in this scenario helped you to discover a brand that shares your same values and interests while also providing you relevant and interesting information. From there you might share the blog post link on Twitter or Facebook to share the tips with your friends. While the probability that you’ll place an order on Day 1 isn’t 100%, if the brand continues sharing useful, relevant, informative and/or entertaining content with you on social media while once in awhile encouraging you to buy a product, there is a good chance that you will at some point. Increase the Average Lifecycle of a Customer Finally, after you obtain the first sale from your content marketing efforts, your goal is to get those engaged customers to buy from you again and again. Just the same way content marketing helped customers to become aware of your startup in the first place, content marketing can help you stay top-of-mind so those same consumers think of you when they need to re-order or need something else that your company offers. Quest Nutrition is proof that content marketing works. Take at least 60 minutes each day to research and create a shareable social media graphics, write an email, put together a helpful blog post and publish informative/entertaining posts on social media sites.
Are you searching the web for ways to increase awareness and sales for your startup? Perhaps you’ve tried running some digital ads and that didn’t work, and maybe now you’re thinking about running a tv or radio commercial but have found that’s too expensive for your lean budget.
What’s an entrepreneur to do? Content marketing!
It’s no surprise that your digital ad campaign didn’t work. As of August 2015 200 million people worldwide have ad blockers installed. You can run banner ads until your heart’s content but many people will choose to opt out of seeing them.
Content marketing is immune to ad blocking software, and even better great content is something that consumers want to engage with!
According to marketing genius Neil Patel, companies that generate high quality content experience 8X more website traffic than companies who don’t. Additionally, content marketing costs about 62% less than outbound marketing but generates 3X as many conversions!
By now hopefully you’re at least a little bit intrigued by the possibilities of content marketing, so let’s dive into how it can actually work to generate awareness and sales for your startup!
1. Build Awareness Without Being Pushy
Content marketing allows you to reach your target audience with blog posts, videos, memes, podcast episodes, infographics and other material that’s very relevant to their interests without presenting them with a sales pitch right up front.
By sharing content with your potential customers that incorporates a common interest you build a bond with your audience before you try to sell them anything. This makes them more inclined to say “yes” when you ask, “would you like to buy my widget?”
We all like to buy from companies that have shared values and who stand for things that we believe in or that we’re very interested in.
Think of your own favorite brands. Maybe you are an animal advocate and only buy cruelty free products, or perhaps preserving the environment is a top concern for you so you only buy from eco-friendly brands. If the companies you buy from didn’t tell you in advance that they shared the same values as you, then when you were out shopping you would view them as just another product on the shelf.
Instead, perhaps you found one of your favorite brands because you were browsing Pinterest for recycling tips and clicked through to a blog post by an eco-friendly brand. Content marketing in this scenario helped you to discover a brand that shares your same values and interests while also providing you relevant and interesting information. That’s a win-win scenario for the consumer and the brand!
2. Nudge People Down the Funnel
Let’s jump back into the scenario in which…
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