Why Your Company Needs Content Marketing

“Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly-defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.”- Content Marketing Institute.

Content marketing is an extremely powerful tool that marketers are utilizing more than ever, and it should definitely be a part of every startups’ marketing mix. In the next two years, content marketing budgets are poised to grow by 59 percent. Every day, 4.75 billion pieces of content are shared, 1.8 billion photos are uploaded, and 500 million tweets are generated, driving millions of conversions daily. David Markovich, founder of Online Geniuses, believes content marketing provides the best ROI for startups working with a smaller budget. “The barrier of entry is easier to penetrate when going head-to-head with established companies than any other marketing avenue.”

I also believe that startups can have an advantage over large enterprises, even if they have more resources. Startups have the passion and patience, two very important components in cultivating an engaged and loyal audience. There are no shortcuts or magic formulas to content marketing, and serious strategy is imperative for startups, since any mistake can be a major blow.

Here are some of my recommendations to get into the game:

1) Videos: YouTube is now the second largest search engine on the web, and it is the strongest method to evoke emotion in your customers. Audiences are also about 10 times more likely to engage, embed, share, and comment on video content than blogs or other posts. Videos reportedly increase a buyer’s understanding of your product or service by 74%, and 80% of users remember the ad, making it a vital asset to any startup. The rise of video in marketing is no secret, and should definitely not be taken lightly. It is also much easier and more affordable to produce great video content today than ever before. So, what are you waiting for?

2) Infographics: Infographics are an innovative way to display text in a more easily digestible format, while grabbing the attention of your audience quickly. Infographics are more helpful in helping audiences break down and understand concepts. If combined with well written copy, infographics can really cut through the clutter of the content jungle and make an impact.

3) Don’t skimp on the visuals: People retain over 80% of what they experience visually, while they tend to only retain 10% of what they hear, and 20% of what they read. According to this infographic, blogs with images receive 94% more views than those without, and social media posts with images get far more impressions, likes, retweets, and shares. Make sure you optimize your images for SEO, by saving with a descriptive title, creating alt tags, and making sure they are small enough as to not slow down your website.

Content marketing works best when you have a complete funnel in place. If you are throwing out content without any conversion goals, it could be a waste of time and money. A small company should focus on one audience first, and create content based on their expertise. This will build your user base much faster, and keep your content focused rather than all over the place. Utilize analytics tools to better understand your audiences and measure ROI, and continue to tweak your campaigns to create and disseminate more relevant material.