Having trouble attracting and engaging your audience? Content marketing may just be the solution you’re looking for. But what do we mean by content? Content, put simply, is the intellectual property you develop for your business in the form of blog articles, social media, photos, infographics, videos, courses, FAQs and other multimedia materials. Content marketing is the vehicle through which you share your online assets as a way to connect with your intended audience and build relationships with customers–while also creating interest around your products and services. Sounds like a win-win, right? Exactly.

How Does Content Marketing Work?

Content marketing is the key to refining your audience and engaging with customers in a meaningful way that boosts your know-like-trust factor–which translates to conversions. At J Squared Communications, when we devise a content marketing strategy, it’s all about creating an ecosystem of assets you can publish and repurpose across channels. We never produce content for content’s sake. We craft original content that you own the rights to, and that you can be certain your customers will love and share. Content marketing is all about catering to your audience’s needs and interests, and providing them with something truly original on a consistent basis.

There’s not really a one-size-fits-all approach you can take with content marketing. It’s actually quite the opposite. Content marketing is your brand’s secret sauce. The whole point of content marketing is to stand out, be unique and show customers why your firm is special. And it’s worth mentioning, for the love of copyright, brand authenticity and Google ranking, you never ever want to steal someone else’s content or duplicate your own. Search engines want to consistently see shiny new content that demonstrates your knowledge, creativity and expertise.

This is why an appropriate approach to content marketing will vary among industries and between businesses–sort of like your brand’s thumbprint. Regardless of your industry, every company’s audience is also unique, requiring constant market research and data analysis to determine the best way to speak to them through your content. Knowing your customers inside and out is essential to developing an effective and compelling content marketing strategy. It’s your audience that often directs your content marketing strategy, and if you listen carefully, they’ll tell you exactly what they want to see, read, watch and experience online. 

How Can Content Marketing Grow My Business?

Your content marketing lever has the strongest pull when it comes to establishing credibility and positioning your brand as the authority in your space. Content marketing is relational. Well written, researched and engaging content has the power to create conversation with your customers, even break down possible barriers to communication.

You can easily use your content to attract prospects and create touchpoints during your customer journey. It takes between 7 to 10 touches with a brand before a consumer will make a decision to give you their email, watch your video, or ideally purchase your product or service. Your content strategy supports multiple touches that push your customer through your sales funnel and into your shopping cart.

Ever heard of the term edutainment? It’s the pairing of educational and entertaining pieces of content designed to capture attention, provide information, and create connection between you and the people most likely to buy from you. Help customers make informed decisions by educating them on your products, services and industry. Entertain them by incorporating your own brand of creativity. Content that can do both of these things successfully every time prizes you over the competition and leads to conversions.

Where Does SEO Fit into Content Marketing?

We’ve all learned by now that search engine optimization is critical for helping your business get found online, but do you know the easiest way to DIY your SEO? Content marketing. We recommend researching your brand’s top and trending keywords every business quarter and refreshing your online presence with web, blog and social media content containing those keywords. We promise, it’s easier than it sounds… because if you truly know your stuff, the right keywords will naturally fall into place across your digital marketing channels. And Google will become your new best friend.

Did you know? Seventy-five percent of Internet users never click past the first page of SERP for any given search. And while there are over 200 ranking factors that Google considers when surfacing your brand’s content, one of the easiest ranking factors to win is keyword rich web, blog and social media content plus SEO optimized photo and video descriptions. High quality, relevant, and consistent content marketing and SEO optimized metadata can help your company rank organically (that means free, folks!).

As your company builds its SEO strength and establishes a loyal and engaged audience, content marketing becomes exponentially more effective and cost-efficient. Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising may appear attractive at first blush because you get some instant gratification in the initial results. But the second that you switch PPC advertising off, there is no generating new leads… meaning that you end up having to pay indefinitely to keep your strategy going. Content marketing on the other hand, is a long game that only becomes stronger with time as you grow your online real estate.

Where Do I Get Help with Content Marketing?

At J Squared Communications, we believe the best route is to take an integrated approach to content marketing. Our teams devise content marketing strategies that balance SEO optimized organic content with paid advertising and other marketing activities. We believe that if content is king, then SEO is queen–and together they have the power to increase the number of touches your customers have with your brand, ultimately leading you closer and closer to sales. 

Are you stuck on ideas for creative content to boost brand awareness… or maybe you’re sitting on a goldmine of content ideas, but just don’t have the bandwidth to consistently produce the actual blogs and social media posts. 

J Squared Communications specializes in creating custom content that ranks and converts. With over 15 years of industry training and experience, we’re equipped with the tools and strategies you need to become highly visible in your space.

Book a call with our founder and CEO, Jessica Joy Reveles for content strategy tips you can implement today!