Imagine this:
You want to build a swimming pool in your home. But there are some lingering questions on your mind that you want answered before you go ahead.
‘What’s a realistic budget for a pool?’, ‘What kind of materials should I use?’
And more of such questions are in your notebook. So you hop on Google and search for the average cost of a pool. Voila! Your answer is there waiting for you.
To your amusement, a swimming pool company had answered that question, along with the rest in your notebook and even more questions you hadn’t thought of.
Now you’re a bit more confident. You want the pool. Few days later you’re browsing through Instagram and YouTube for pool inspirations. To your surprise, that same swimming pool company has tons of helpful videos online! All the help you ever wanted about pools was right there provided for you!
In less than 2 weeks you’re ready to go ahead and build. You have your money set. All that’s left is the company who will build it for you…
Your wife found 3 companies for you. One of them happened to be the company whose website and social media channels gave you so much help on swimming pools.
Should I guess who you gave the contract to? Obvious, isn’t it?
What you don’t realise was that, it wasn’t really a mere coincidence. It was part of the major plan by the swimming pool company to get your business.
It’s an effective marketing strategy Marcus Sheridan used in turning his River Pools and Spas company into a million-dollar company in the midst of the 2008 economic crisis.
“What marketing strategy is that?”, you ask.
“That’s the Content Marketing strategy”, I answer.
So… what is Content Marketing?
Not to sound too techy here so I’ll leave you with this simple definition. Content marketing is a form of marketing where you share valuable and interesting content that is relevant and useful to your target audience.
It typically involves 3 main types of content: text/written word (blogs, etc), images/graphics, and videos. But now due to the growth of podcasts, audio is now considered a major form of content as well.
And all you do is to create the content that addresses the pain points or the questions of your potential clients which your product or service satisfies.
That’s what Marcus did. Through writing simple articles that answers questions about swimming pools and sharing them on the internet, his business exploded! He even recalls that one article alone earned his company a minimum of $1.7million!
Why invest in Content Marketing?
There are numerous reasons why you should most definitely invest in good content as a marketing tool, but in this article we will leave you with just 3.
Brand Loyalty
Think of it this way. If you want a simple way to build a lasting and loyal relationship with your target customers, then content marketing is the way to do it. Customers love to go (and stay) where they will find solutions to their problems and pain points. So when you consciously set out to give them those solutions, guess who stays loyal to you? (You guessed right!)
Become the Go-To Authority
Not only will you build a brand that is appealing and valuable, you grow as an authority within your niche or industry. With the vast growth and saturation (sort of) of the internet, it is not that easy to become the leading authority in your industry. But through educational and informative blogs and videos, you quickly establish a voice for your brand and give a reason for people to pay attention to you.
Financially rewarding (of course!)
Because of the vastness of the internet, content is easily accessible. Investing in quality content, that reaches your target audience reaps bountiful financial rewards for your company.
Why?
Because you are meeting them at the point of their need by bringing solutions to them instead of them coming to you. And they will gladly reach into their pockets and hand you their cash if you can convince them that your solutions are the best answer to their pain points.
Always remember this: People will readily pay to see their problems solved. It’s not that they don’t have money; they just need a good reason to give you their hard-earned cash.