You’ve probably heard the term content marketing, but do you know what it is?
Is it really that different than traditional marketing?
What are the benefits of content marketing?
Are there different types of content marketing?
Traditional marketing methods typically consist of putting your brand in front of people repeatedly, bombarding them with advertisements, and often without the permission of the customer.
Content marketing is the exact opposite.
Instead of forcing people to view your brand, you attract them with high-quality, helpful content. The content will inspire them, answer their questions, or teach them how to do certain things.
Effective content doesn’t always focus on your business, but instead, focuses mostly on the customer. Because you have taken the time to focus on them and help them, they develop a good impression of your brand and are more likely to consider your services.
So, What Exactly is Content Marketing?
Content marketing is the production and sharing of relevant content to acquire leads, generate traffic, and grow the revenue of your business.
Unlike other methods of marketing, content marketing is more of a permission-based marketing method. Clients and potential clients invite this time of marketing from businesses and share it with their friends. To gain their trust you need to provide information that is useful and relevant.
The main concept of content marketing is to provide actionable insight that guides your target client to services that may be helpful to them.
Content marketing is a popular, modern strategy and is the proliferation of eBooks, blogs, videos, and white papers that attest to its popularity. These strategies often have higher conversion rates than traditional methods like newspapers, television, and radio.
Nearly all brands that are performing well in search engine ranking has some kind of content marketing.
A Few Big Benefits of Content Marketing
1. Hits the heart of your client’s journey.
Consider a client that is interested in creating a trust. The first thing they may do is Google information about creating a trust. Nearly 90% of consumers begin their journey with generic search queries rather than searching for a specific brand or name. They are also more likely to trust organic search results rather than a paid ad.
Studies show that 85% of users ignore paid ads. Consumers want to gain knowledge about a service or product before purchasing, and the content that you provide can shape their choice to retain your services or someone else’s.
2. Content builds trust, awareness, and loyalty.
Marketing that focuses on the customer first is the most effective marketing approach.
If you help inform and educate potential clients by creating valuable content, it will determine how your brand performs. Creating high quality, helpful content helps increase a potential client’s trust in your brand and services.
3. Drive purchase decisions.
Although content marketing is not as simple as it sounds, the rewards you will reap are worth the time and effort. The best way to drive conversions is content marketing.
Studies show that effective content marketing is six times more powerful than traditional marketing methods when it comes to converting a website visitor into a customer.
4. Put your audience first.
Instead of a flashy advertisement or heavy sales pitch, content marketing puts the focus on the needs of your client. It isn’t focused on the brand, but instead is focused on answering the questions of a potential client.
The key to content marketing is to create an understanding of your client and then use the information to create a resource to help them make a buying decision.
Traditional marketing focused on what the brand wanted to say, but content marketing focuses on what the buyer wants us to say instead. Studies show that some 70% of people want to learn about services and products through content rather than traditional advertising methods.
Five Types of Content Marketing
You know that content marketing is a proven strategy for targeting your clients, however, it needs to be implemented through proven methods and channels to get the best results.
1. Blogging
An effective type of content marketing is a blog that answers questions that potential clients may have. Companies that have a blog generate 64% more leads on a consistent basis than those who don’t.
Blog posts help increase your organic search results, and high-quality blog posts will encourage people to spend more time on your website which is a ranking factor for Google. Blog posts should address a specific question and have relevant key words, should use a cluster or pillar model to organize your blog topics, and have content relevant to your services.
2. Videos
Some 54% of people say they like to see videos from brands they trust and support, so a good way to capture an audience is to create high-quality video content that leaves your potential clients wanting more. For long-term success, you want to create video content around your brand story, and not just on a sale.
3. Infographics
Just as the name implies, an infographic is information that is displayed in the form of a graphic. They are low-cost to produce but can still be very effective.
It should be easy to understand and provide value to your potential clients. You can use platforms such as Canva or Adobe Creative Suite to design the graphics yourself or outsource the job to a professional graphic designer.
4. Case studies
This is one of the best ways to add content marketing to your strategy. This is because you are showing a buyer how a typical person in their situation had results that they could also have.
Use a case study to walk your potential client through the challenges they are facing, how you can help, and the results that can be achieved.
5. White papers and eBooks
These are both similar to long-form blog posts, but often include more information. They are often organized into sections that make it easy to learn new information.
Checklists, step-by-step instructions, and tips are often part of these. White papers and eBooks are typically given for free, but many times people must provide their email address to get access.
This is a great way to build your email address and after you have their email, you can continue to offer them relevant offers and content to nurture your relationship with them.
Creating a Content Marketing Strategy
Now that you know what content marketing is, the forms that you can implement it, and the benefits of such a strategy, it is important to focus on executing such a strategy to get you the best results.
Here are a few of the basic steps to creating a content marketing strategy:
- Define your goal – Think about why you need a content marketing plan. Sure, you want to convert leads into buyers, but think about your specific goals. Are you trying to increase clients for a specific service or enter a new market? Set your goals before you start planning so you can develop a more effective and targeted strategy.
- Conduct research – Knowing the audience you need to target with your content is imperative for success. Research your audience and learn everything you can about them. This will allow you to create content that will help them and answer their questions, therefore increasing your conversion rate. Even if you are experienced in content marketing, target audiences and the things they are searching for change over time, so be sure you are conducting market research at least yearly.
- Run an audit – Many brands start their content marketing by publishing a blog. However, if you want to change the direction of your content or stand out, be sure that you are using a method that works for you and your audience. For example, consider creating a video that explains a blog post in further detail.
- Choose a management system – Having a system in place to manage your content strategy will provide structure for your efforts. Your management system should include content creation, content publication, and content analytics at the least. Some marketing automation software will help you plan, produce, and publish content all in one place and some software will even allow you to measure the results of your efforts.
As an elder law attorney, providing great client experiences while generating leads and creating conversions is likely your goal. Content marketing is the perfect way to make that happen.
Surprisingly, many brands are not on board with that strategy, but that’s good news for you. If you get serious with a content marketing strategy, you will be ahead of the game.
These tips will help you continue to grow your practice all year long!
At Bambiz, we work with elder law and estate planning firms and have extensive experience in developing social media marketing strategies unique to your firm, location, and potential client base.
To learn more about how we can help grow your business using online marketing, schedule a free 15-minute call with us.
