Content Marketing is creating and curating valuable content to attract and retain customers. The type of content you produce should depend on what you sell and who you're selling to. The goal of content marketing is to produce FREE, relevant content that educates your customer base on your products and services, providing your brand with authority and evoking a sense of relationship and trust between you and your customers. You may have also heard this referred to as “brand stories." Consumers care about who you are as a company. They love it when you share stories about your brand, like how your company has grown or why you do what you do. Through content marketing, you're creating a genuine connection with your customers that creates a real relationship. They start to like you! And then, they start to prefer your brand over others. Relationship isn't just a touchy feely term here. It's just like relationships in your personal life. It takes effort on your part to capture the love and attention of your customers. You need to spend the time and energy required to create valuable, interesting content. Why should you spend time creating valuable content (and we aren't just talking blogs here)? Because your customers are spending time reading (or watching or sharing) branded content. 68% of consumers spend time reading content from a brand they are interested in.61% say they feel better about a company that delivers custom content.Interesting content is a top 3 reason consumers follow brands on social media.Content marketing has a HUGE impact on pricing, and there is one main reason why: when people love you, they don’t date around. [...] Good content = great teaching = more trust from consumers = less quotes from the competition = higher prices and margins. ~ Marcus Sheridan, voice behind The Sales Lion Two Content Marketing Tactics Catered to the DIY Consumer The DIY Consumer and content marketing are a match made in heaven! DIY Consumers have a natural knack for searching the internet to find out more about their next project. In our recent survey, 90% of DIYers said they watched how-to videos online about home improvement projects. If your company is trying to target the DIY Consumer but is feeling frustrated, content marketing is the best place to start. They are out there right now looking for brands to become loyal to. But how do you do it? How do you make your content stand out from your competition? The two types of content we've listed below are a perfect place to start. Digital Resources Digital resources have become a primary influencer for consumers. DIY shoppers start their project journey with online product and brand research. 65% of DIYers would be more likely to purchase from from a brand or retailer that provided online videos to help with their DIY projects, but don't just stop with videos. DIYers want to be confident that their project will turn out exactly as they imagine. Digital resources should also include things like checklists, printable instructions, FAQs, product reviews, link to DIY bloggers who've completed a similar project, tips from professionals or anything else you think they'd find helpful for their project. Forums In recent years, social media and blogging have exploded. Everyone who's anyone tweets, posts and blogs about their home improvement challenges, wins and loses. So why not bring all that social and consumer power right to your website? Give DIYers a place to voice their experience, thoughts, likes, dislikes and questions right on your website. User-generated content is a great way to take control of what's being said about your brand and use it to your advantage. In the future, you can gather some of the comments and stories to compile a user-success eBook. You can point some popular bloggers to your site and ask them to include their own thoughts and opinions there as well. Imagine how many more people would link and share your site if it was the place they were talking about their home projects?
Content Marketing is creating and curating valuable content to attract and retain customers. The type of content you produce should depend on what you sell and who you're selling to. The goal of content marketing is to produce FREE, relevant content that educates your customer base on your products and services, providing your brand with authority and evoking a sense of relationship and trust between you and your customers. You may have also heard this referred to as “brand stories." Consumers care about who you are as a company. They love it when you share stories about your brand, like how your company has grown or why you do what you do. Through content marketing, you're creating a genuine connection with your customers that creates a real relationship. They start to like you! And then, they start to prefer your brand over others. Relationship isn't just a touchy feely term here. It's just like relationships in your personal life. It takes effort on your part to capture the love and attention of your customers. You need to spend the time and energy required to create valuable, interesting content. Why should you spend time creating valuable content (and we aren't just talking blogs here)? Because your customers are spending time reading (or watching or sharing) branded content. 68% of consumers spend time reading content from a brand they are interested in.61% say they feel better about a company that delivers custom content.Interesting content is a top 3 reason consumers follow brands on social media.Content marketing has a HUGE impact on pricing, and there is one main reason why: when people love you, they don’t date around. [...] Good content = great teaching = more trust from consumers = less quotes from the competition = higher prices and margins. ~ Marcus Sheridan, voice behind The Sales Lion
The DIY Consumer and content marketing are a match made in heaven! DIY Consumers have a natural knack for searching the internet to find out more about their next project. In our recent survey, 90% of DIYers said they watched how-to videos online about home improvement projects. If your company is trying to target the DIY Consumer but is feeling frustrated, content marketing is the best place to start. They are out there right now looking for brands to become loyal to. But how do you do it? How do you make your content stand out from your competition? The two types of content we've listed below are a perfect place to start.
Digital resources have become a primary influencer for consumers. DIY shoppers start their project journey with online product and brand research. 65% of DIYers would be more likely to purchase from from a brand or retailer that provided online videos to help with their DIY projects, but don't just stop with videos. DIYers want to be confident that their project will turn out exactly as they imagine. Digital resources should also include things like checklists, printable instructions, FAQs, product reviews, link to DIY bloggers who've completed a similar project, tips from professionals or anything else you think they'd find helpful for their project.
In recent years, social media and blogging have exploded. Everyone who's anyone tweets, posts and blogs about their home improvement challenges, wins and loses. So why not bring all that social and consumer power right to your website? Give DIYers a place to voice their experience, thoughts, likes, dislikes and questions right on your website. User-generated content is a great way to take control of what's being said about your brand and use it to your advantage. In the future, you can gather some of the comments and stories to compile a user-success eBook. You can point some popular bloggers to your site and ask them to include their own thoughts and opinions there as well. Imagine how many more people would link and share your site if it was the place they were talking about their home projects?