Why Content Production Is About More Than Keeping Up With The Joneses.
Content marketing is something that we have all heard of and is slowly becoming a very boring topic. Why? Because there are so many “content marketers” out there that are, at best, mediocre. There are so many companies who have a content marketing plan that is only there because they “have to” produce content in order to keep up with competition or because someone has told them it’s the future of marketing.
Firstly, let me correct you. If you are just producing content because you feel you have to its going to lack direction and will just be another boring article within someone’s news feed on social media. You run the risk of it being just another video covering the same topics that people already know about and have seen three posts further up their feeds. Secondly, the future of marketing isn’t content production, that’s the history of marketing. The future of marketing is the production of fresh, original, exciting, interesting and engaging content.
So Why Should You Be Producing Content?
To educate your audience and prospects
By educating your audience and prospects you will gain their trust, proving to them that not only do you understand what problems they may be facing but also that you can provide the solutions to their problems. People are not stupid, they understand that if you are talking about solutions to problems or products and services, it’s likely that you can provide them with the solution, product or service that they now realise they require. Plus, because you were the company or individual that has educated them about the solution, they now trust you. You have not tried to actively sell to them but instead have helped them. The result of all of this is that more often than not, assuming your product is well positioned within the market, the consumer will purchase from you.
Present yourself as a thought leader
As we have discussed earlier, the only way to retain a competitive advantage is through being the best. You can’t compete on anything other than quality because there is always someone who can do it cheaper. Where does content creation come into all of this? If you are producing content that continues to push boundaries, continues to innovate and continues to question the normal, it will be read. Not only that, your thoughts and practices will begin forming the future of your industry and if you are able to drive this change and innovation consumers will be receptive.
Consumers want to be a part of the newest trends and they want to have the best and newest products. Every industry has its early adopters and these early adopters are what we call “sneezers”. They will infect others with your ideas by talking about them which in turn increases brand awareness and sales. Discussing innovation and what you are doing to change the face of your industry (assuming you are trying to be exceptional) is interesting, exciting and original. It’s exactly the form of content that consumers want to consume.
It’s great for your SEO
This is the number one reason people feel they need content and they are both right and wrong. They are wrong because SEO ranking comes as a result of the content being engaged with not just produced, but they are correct because by producing content that is interesting and engaging, which is fully optimised for SEO purposes, it will do wonders for your rankings. If your goal is to produce blogs purely for SEO then stop now! The rankings will come as a result of quality content, but you will always struggle producing quality content for the sole purpose of SEO.
Great content is a lead generation monster!
If you can produce a piece of content that offers huge value to the reader, you can leverage this to generate leads. How? By making the content gated. This means that if you want to access this content you need to leave your personal details. After someone’s details have been left a member of the sales team can follow up on them. This works because if someone has downloaded a guide about interior design, the chances are they need some support with interior design. If you were an interior designer that got their details and made a call, there is an increased chance of a sale. Every download is a lead in this situation.
Key Takeaways
If you’re going to produce content, make it interesting or else you are wasting your time. When you are producing content ensure that people are going to engage with it because that is where you will see the best results and where it will deliver a return on investment. Most importantly make sure that you understand why you are producing content and that if the content you are producing is boring and “safe”, it’s likely to do more harm than good!