Getting the content marketing equation right can be tricky even for most seasoned marketers.
But, you need not be a math whiz to understand these simple formulae that outline the ten real benefits of content marketing.
1. More Leads = More Business
Content marketing means more exposure for your business which eventually brings in more sales. You have many avenues and platforms to express, update and educate online. All these avenues, means link backs, traffic generation and enhanced exposure. Now exposure doesn’t always mean better business but if done smartly, it can definitely affect your bottom line.
Barry Feldman summarized it quite aptly saying, “Content marketing makes you money.” However he didn’t come to this conclusion out of the blue. He learnt from experts like Joe Pulizzi of Content Marketing Institute, Marcus Sheridan of The Sales Lion and Brian Clark of Copy Blogger. You can find his carefully-derived article here.
2. Share Knowledge x Multiple Platforms = Emerge as Thought Leader
So you are vying to become a market leader in business and are trying very hard. However, becoming a leader is not always about sales and market share. This is proven by companies like SAP, Vanguard and Whole Foods, who make a sincere effort to educate readers about their fields.
A lot of efforts go behind maintaining this Vanguard blog but it might not bring home any pennies. So the company seems to be satisfied with what it gets, position as an expert on everything finance!
SAP has a dedicated Digitalist Magazine (blog) for everything you need to know for managing enterprises – from articles advising on how to retain top talents to the art of 3D printing.
Apart from maintaining a health-oriented blog, WholeFoods even takes time to make free and printable handbook for healthy eating.
The same goes for NASA that manages NASA JPL (Jet Propulsion) and NASA Solar System, two channels on Vine that regularly posts videos and photos of their robotic missions and all things related to space.
All these companies have emerged as thought leaders simply because they refrain from making a quick buck.
Any small business has the potential to make it large online if they have intelligent content and knowledge resources that can help people.
It may look like a fancy past time for big companies who have content marketers on their payroll but even small businesses can do it with little dedication and reap the rewards.
3. More Traditional Marketing ≠ More Personal Connection
Traditional media channels such as print media, television and direct mailers do not offer an opportunity to get one on one with your customer. Your customers hear your side of the story but you are not there to hear their side of story. Their recent bad experiences might increase their aversion to your brand and create an opposite effect on your marketing efforts.
Online marketing gives you real time and real value reviews from your customers. You are actually talking to them, developing a relation with them, being a part of their world. Personal connection adds immense value to small time and local businesses such as restaurants, recreation parks, boutiques, service providers, consulting firms, basically any business that needs locals to interact with them.
“329000 people have liked the page of this Essex-based boutique. The population of Essex is 1,396,600. That’s over 400% of fans from total population.”
4. Right Tone + Strong Visuals + Well-defined Attitude = Business Gets a Face
If you have the right tone – upbeat or serious – depending on your business, if you use strong visuals like behind-the-scenes, product photography, attractive graphics, etc., and if you have a set of do and don’ts to determine your attitude towards people, your business gets a face.
Greyston, MinneapolisGreyston is a long-established Bakery, founded by a Zen Buddhist, that provides skill and employment opportunities to lift people out of poverty. Their philosophy is not fiscal but human growth. |
For Goodness Cakes (FGC)This is a Georgia-based local bakery that prides itself on making custom cakes. Mel, the founder, admits she was an engineer until she found her true calling, making designer cakes. |
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| Tone | Considering the deep-rooted philosophies, one can be sure that Greyston’s online content will talk more about people and less about fancy cakes and fondants. Their tone is:
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The name itself says that (FGC) is fun quirky and doesn’t take itself too seriously. Their tone on the all their online marketing channels is:
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| Visuals | Most of their blog posts, pictures and videos are about their people. They also post pictures of organic vegetables from time to time. Only a fraction of posts are about their products. |
Their blog mostly shares behind-the-scenes story about their cakes making the reader feel like a part of the team.  |
| Attitude | Greyston is deemed as a do-gooder and their online attitude reflects that.No wonder not only their employees but even their customers are always praising them.
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Their attitude is fun. Their quirky cakes and their fun customers are testimony to that.
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Let us take example of two local baking businesses here. Both these businesses are getting rave reviews from everyone and despite the wide disparity in their tone and attitude they both seem to be doing pretty well. In fact, with online content marketing, names that wouldn’t have meant much otherwise, have gotten a face, the former of a do-gooder and the latter of the quintessential funny guy.
5. Advertising Budget – Lots of money = Content Marketing and Advertising
The most important benefit of content marketing is perhaps its low cost. Compared to traditional mediums like print, outdoor and TV, online advertising is unarguably available for peanuts.
However here’s a mind twister, content marketing goes a step ahead and produces more results than online advertising too. In a research conducted by Kapost, content marketing yields three times more leads / dollar compared to paid search. What’s more, you don’t have to invest anything from your advertising budget for content marketing!
Some may argue that you need to have a dedicated team or a content marketing company and that needs money, but in comparison to obscene dollars spent on advertising, this sum is quite less. If you are a small business, dedicating just 30 minutes a day and routine follow up can also help you gain substantial benefits from content marketing.
6. Regular Updates + Great Content = Increased Popularity
Another variation: Regular Updates + Common Sense + Fast Thinking = Increased Popularity
If you are active on your blog and other social media channels and if you have great content, nothing can stop you from becoming popular online.
Caterpillar, INC or CAT is a global leader dealing in construction equipment. They are active on their blog, Facebook, Google+, Instagram, Youtube, Twitter and even their Linkedin pages. One might think what would a tractor manufacturer tweet about or how could they possibly have Instagram-type pictures, well one has to see it to believe it!
Another variation of this equation is Regular Updates + Common Sense + Fast Thinking = Increased Popularity
In today’s pop culture world, fast thinking is also another way to get into the limelight. If you can tweet / post / update as it happens, you are sure to be retweeted, quoted and shared until you bask in popularity, at least till the time that event is in news.
On average days, Krispy Kreme’s tweets are retweeted 10-20 times; however this newjacking tweet brought them to stardom with over 3400 retweets and 2200 favs.
7. Brand Universe / Specific Demographics = Well-defined Audience
When you really want to talk to your niche audience, there is nothing better than content marketing.
Customers and associates who are keen to listen to what you have to say will subscribe to your RSS and keep an eye on your blogs and PR.
People who are not aware about you, might stumble across your superb informative article on their favorite topic and decide to learn more about you, eventually becoming a loyal customer.
With advertising, you target everyone in a particular city or country or age group but with content marketing, you make rapport with audience who are already ripe for you to be picked. Unlike advertising, you can leap up time again in their search, timelines or feeds, but still not annoy them.
8. Content Marketing → Informed Buyers → Honest Marketplace
The best part about content marketing is that it has made everything transparent. While TV ads and glossy magazines may always paint a rosy picture, the reviews and the tête-à-tête online on social media can show the real picture to customers.
Buyers are becoming more informed. ‘Best business practices’ has ceased to be a mere promise but a reality for most businesses. From consumer and societal point of view, this is one of the best benefits of content marketing.
But it also helps businesses. Honest businesses with fair practices can benefit enormously with this turn of events as they have an edge over unscrupulous businesses that have money to burn on fake publicity and advertising.
9. Crisis / Content Marketing = More Control
It’s ok to have a crisis, but it’s not ok to not have a PR strategy
No one can control crisis. It can happen to anyone. But what’s important is to have smart and genuine response during the time of crisis. Content marketing allows companies to control damage caused by crisis.
One can learn a lot from Richard Branson about handling crisis. His marketing decisions are perfect to the T and he is what we can say a thought leader.
When Subway was slammed for using ‘yoga mat’ chemical in its bread, it was quick to send out a message on its content marketing channel that they had started phasing out the ingredient late last year and that the process would be completed this week.
Recently, UnderArmour showed the world how transparency, accountability, and availability to the media would be the best thing to do when its new speed skating suit was held responsible for poor performance of skaters in 2014 Winter Olympics.
Ford PR Crisis over the insensitive advertisement by JWT
A couple of years back, Ford benefited from a crisis and was in fact able to get support from loyal fans. The story goes like this – some over-enthusiastic advertising (JWT) geniuses (so not) in the Asia Pacific region posted mock ads brandishing Ford logo on Ads of the World. Soon people all over the world went crazy on Ford’s Facebook page. Initially Ford didn’t respond as these ads were neither commissioned nor sanctioned by them and let JWT do all the talking but soon it realized it needed to quell people’s wrath and issued a statement. This honest statement and constant vigil over their social media channels allowed them to garner sympathy as the wronged party.
10. One-to-one Discussions = Market Research = Big Savings
Online platforms give you a glimpse onto the real picture of your brand. It allows you to connect with your customer. You actually hear from the horse’s mouth and getting one real honest review is equal to 10 studies made on that subject. One to one discussions can lead you to more ideas, suggestions, feedback and reviews which can save you big bucks on market research.
We won’t debunk market research completely, but if you listen closely, these reviews can help you in a huge way. This is one of the most overlooked aspects of content marketing and only some rare geniuses care to listen that closely. However, with practice and ability to derive conclusions from random ravings and ranting, one can definitely benefit from it.
Just imagine how much a company with several branches spread across the world can benefit by tuning into their customers complaints / appreciation on Facebook page. This can help them to address the problem and uproot it before it takes an ugly shape.
You might even stumble upon a brilliant business idea by a random comment on your blog or PR made by someone who didn’t even think it was possible. This is the kind of insight content marketing and social media has to offer.
“One day we might be able to press a button and order everything sitting at home!”
And behold someone does it!
This pretty much surmises the 10 real benefits of content marketing.
In Conclusion
As they say, the proof lies in the pudding, the pudding here are entrepreneurs, CEOs and small business owners everywhere who are riding this wave and benefiting from it. With so many excellent examples of small businesses to large companies benefiting from content marketing, we can say safely say that content marketing has real benefits one can’t afford to ignore.
Note: The author of this article makes no claim to understand the above binomial equation. However, when you talk about content marketing, then all the below-mentioned equations are proven to be correct.
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