Summary – It is not necessary to depend solely on advertising to connect your brand with total strangers and enable sales. Strategic content marketing will drive the same outcomes but only at a fraction of the costs. How? Read on!
Reading Time – 5 mins
Who is it for – Online marketing agencies, digital marketing agencies, content writing agencies, online business owners.
Why get listed in search engine results? An average of 99,000 searches are made on Google each second and it makes sense to index your website so you can generate meaningful leads. And there are two ways you can get listed in search engine results, namely, organic, and paid results. But search engines are designed for the user more than so for the advertiser. So whether your website comes up in the search results or not depends on the landing page, its content, and its relevance to the user.
It’s an open truth that the online visibility of your website, and hence your business, is determined by its search engine ranking. The higher your ranking, the more visible your website will be. This holds true for both organic and paid search results. Organizations often spend a huge chunk of their budget on paid ads to come up first in the search engine results. However, many big paid advertisement platforms like Google AdWords admit that even a high ad spend is no substitute to engaging SEO content and strategic content marketing.
Here’s how you can save your advertising costs with a well-thought out content marketing strategy that your customers will love.
1 – More Branding
If your website has great SEO content, it doesn’t matter whether your website comes up as paid or organic. As long as your website appears on the search engine results, your website is getting more attention.
2 – More Audience
Your reach in the market will show a dramatic increase with your content appearing on social media, internal media and third party media. And as the content is self-hosted, the cost for third party media is also cut down.
3 – Assists in the purchase process
People like to research before purchasing a product, regardless of where they buy the product from. Customers are looking on the internet for related content about product description, so they can make the right decision. Hence it’s important that your product has engaging content on the site
4 – Supports search engine optimization (SEO)
Keyword-rich blog posts, product descriptions, FAQs, and interactive media complement SEO and help boost search engine ranking signals for the brand. Hence, using this strategy is a key aspect of any marketing plan. Enlist the assistance of experts in content writing to engage better with your prospective customers online.
5 – Include content from the customer
Any review sounds more genuine when you hear it from a fellow customer. The authenticity of your website is also improved by including content from the customer. Remember to avoid negative feedbacks as the effects are doubled here. A few good examples are customer galleries for travel products, scrapbooking and customers reviews that can help third parties.
6 – More PR
Each word you put out about your brand is effectively PR. Content forms your brand communication and the content you publish on various social media platforms, press releases, advertisements, banners, etc. helps you make a target audience and project your brand’s attitude.
SEO and content marketing has evolved a lot in recent years and will continue to do so in the future. With every emerging technology, opportunities for generating more revenue with strategic content marketing is progressing, thereby making the future of content marketing brighter.
Parting thoughts
Advertising is no longer the key driver to bring your brand in front of your target audience. Engaging and relevant content is one way to create awareness, generate more leads and cut down on advertising costs. Such costs can then be invested in other areas of business. Take the smart decision and replace your ads with meaningful and engaging content for better RoI.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How can content marketing save on advertising costs?
With strategic content marketing, you achieve comparable results at a fraction of the cost. Your website’s visibility, whether through paid or organic search, significantly increases without the hefty advertising expenses. So yes, you save a lot using content marketing compared to traditional methods.
2. What’s the key takeaway for businesses regarding advertising and content marketing?
Smartly replacing ads with meaningful content is a strategic decision to enhance brand awareness and optimize costs. It contributes to a more sustainable and effective marketing approach. Also, quality SEO content ensures attention, regardless of whether it appears as paid or organic. This means more eyes will be on your brand.
3. How has SEO and content marketing evolved in recent years?
SEO and content marketing have evolved significantly, presenting opportunities for increased revenue. The continuous evolution promises a brighter future for content marketing.
4. How does content contribute to public relations (PR)?
Every content piece is a form of PR, shaping brand communication. Social media posts, press releases, advertisements, and banners create a target audience and project the brand’s attitude. They contribute to a genuine brand image, strengthening trust and credibility.
5. Why include content from customers on the website?
Customer-generated content adds authenticity. Positive reviews and testimonials enhance credibility. They let your new, potential clients know about your offerings, your reputation and more. In short, UGC (User-Generated Content) has a very beneficial impact on potential consumers and your brand in general.
